Montreal had better honor the Hawk

Andre Dawson dusted off the Expos beach ball cap one more time and was honored by the crowd in Washington DC tonight. The Hall of Famer got emotional watching the tribute to his career and the crowd was respectful and cheered.

But most of them were there to see Stephen Strasburg.

You see Strasburg plays for Washington... Dawson never did. In fact Dawson never played a big league game that counted IN Washington.

He played the bulk of his career for the Expos... who moved from Montreal to Washington.

The tributes have been many for The Hawk. The Marlins (his current employer) has honored him already and in August he will have his own day at Wrigley Field. (Hopefully they will retire his #8 there.)

But he went into the Hall of Fame as an Expo and became a superstar in Montreal.

Yeah his knees were banged up there and he became a national figure when he moved to Wrigley... but that doesn't excuse the fact that he should take his bows in front of the French Canadian fans whom he played his guts out for.

And there is a way to do it.

Montreal doesn't have a baseball team anymore... and it is sad because that team produced a lot of great players and as I have said before, I miss the Expos.

But they DO have a hockey team. And that hockey team has a crazed following. And it is safe to say if you are a Canadien fan of a certain age, you probably have fond memories of the Expos of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

When the Canadiens start their season, they should do the right thing.

They should bring out the Hawk and have him do that strange honorary first puck drop before one of their first games.

It would be the fitting farewell to his year long victory lap and closure to his Expos career that ended in collusion after the 1986 season.

One more time, Montreal. VIVE LE FAUCON!

Dawson is the second Expo in the Hall... Rock should be the third

Andre Dawson finally got into the Hall of Fame and today was enshrined. It took 9 ballots (and no doubt some anti Steroid sentiment put Dawson and Jim Rice over the top) but he's in... and he's in with an Expos hat on his plaque.

Now I am not sure if he wanted that hat... maybe he wanted a Cubs hat (or a Marlins hat as he is currently an employee of the Marlins) but he joins his former Montreal teammate Gary Carter with that weird ass M logo.

The Expos are sadly no more. They haven't played a game in Montreal since 2004. But there is still a Hall of Famer out there who should have the Expos cap on his plaque.

Tim Raines belongs in the Hall and don't make the poor guy squirm.

He didn't make it in his first two ballots, but that's enough. His numbers won't change and they are good enough to be in.

He got base, created more runs and used his speed better over a stretch of time longer than a decade better than anyone not named Rickey Henderson.

Put his stats up next to any player in the 1980s and he'll hold his own.

Take into consideration that he cleaned up his drug past and became a key veteran contributor to the 1993 AL West Champion White Sox and the 1996 and 1998 World Champion Yankees and you have the intangibles along with the numbers.

I am going to paraphrase John Travolta and say LET HIM IN.

Andre Dawson and Eddie Murray... reunited

Andre Dawson is now in the Hall of Fame and he will be forever linked to heroes and legends of Cooperstown… like Eddie Murray.

Now why of all of the Hall of Famers did I pick Steady Eddie?

It’s simple, really.

Andre Dawson was the Rookie of the Year in 1977 for the National League.
Eddie Murray was the American League Rookie of the Year the same year.

So often the Rookie of the Year is given to a flash in the pan (did someone say Joe Charboneau? Marty Cordova? Pat Listach?) or players who start off looking like superstars but flame out (Fred Lynn, Mark Fidrych, Fernando Valenzuela, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Nomar Garciaparra).

But that got me thinking… several Hall of Famers have won the Rookie of the Year… but how often has the Rookie of the Year in both leagues given to a future Hall of Famer.

Now let me preface this by saying I am talking about people CURRENTLY elected to the Hall of Fame. No doubt Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza and Albert Pujols will all get it… but they aren’t in yet, so I’m not bringing them into the discussion.

Now as I type this, I don’t know the answer… so let’s find out!

For the first few seasons there was only one award… but in the 1950s, both leagues awarded a rookie.

And looking up on Baseball Reference, the greatest website in the world, I see it has happened only two times before.


1956
NL - FRANK ROBINSON, Reds... AL – LUIS APARICIO, White Sox

















1967
NL – TOM SEAVER, Mets... AL – ROD CAREW, Twins

















So we’ve had it happen in the 1950s and the 1960s and 1970s.

It won’t happen with players from the 1980s.

The National League winners are filled with players who started off brilliantly but were derailed by injuries or drugs.

The American League Rookie of the Year winners from the 1980s yielded a single Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken, a few flashes in the pan (like Charboneau and Ron Kittle) and of course Canseco and McGwire.

The 1990s have Derek Jeter in the American League winning in 1996… but it is safe to say Todd Hollandsworth, the NL winner that year, doesn’t have a realistic shot.

So when will there be a fourth set of Hall of Fame Rookie of the Years from the same year?

It’s looking like 2001… Ichiro and Pujols both broke in… and as of this writing, they both seem like locks.

(It’s too early to tell for 2009 winners Andrew Bailey and Chris Coghlan!)

Blank Ballots?

5 writers left their Hall of Fame ballots blank.

That’s what Bob Costas said on MLB Network, and why would Bob Costas lie to us?

So that means there were 5 sports writers who looked at the 2010 ballot and said “Nope, no Hall of Famers here.”

I want to know who those 5 were.

And then take a close look at the ballot NEXT year… If they voted for anyone next year who was on the ballot THIS year, they should have their voting privileges removed and given TO ME!!!

Seriously, Robbie Alomar? Bert Blyleven? Andre Dawson? Nobody?

Is this the classic “He’s not a First Ballot” lunacy taken to an extreme?

And oh yeah… Blyleven came up 5 votes short. If those 5 lunatics scribbled Bert’s name on it and called it a day, Bert would be there this summer.

Now of course with two players in the 70 percentile (and Barry Larkin and Jack Morris over 50%) there is a strong chance that Robbie, Bert and another hold over will be elected NEXT year.

Jeff Bagwell is the closest thing to a sure thing for next year’s ballot. Unless of course people are going to look away at Rafael Palmeiro’s shady past and vote HIM in. (Ask Mark McGwire how voters are opening their arms to him!)

But if Alomar, Blyleven and any other hold overs get in with votes from writers who didn’t vote for them THIS year… the question remains:

Did their stats improve?

And why isn’t your ballot blank again?

ANDRE DAWSON... Hall of Famer

There's a lot of things to shake your head in disbelief from the Hall of Fame vote.

5 blank ballots? REALLY? 5 writers felt that nobody was worth voting for?

But let's be positive for a second.

Andre, the Hawk, is now a Hall of Famer. And he deserves it.

The main tone today should be a chance to celebrate the Hawk.

Sarcasm to follow.

The Sully Baseball HALL OF FAME BALLOT...2010

I admit, I am a lenient Hall of Fame voter. I am rough on some (sorry Lee Smith. You were an elite closer but you bombed in the post season… sorry Dale Murphy, you were an MVP and a class act but you didn’t do it long enough.)

But I also like to honor lots of players AND I like to see them voted in on the first ballot.

Writers can vote for as many as 10 and as few as zero.
I guess it is necessary to say as few as zero because no doubt there are writers would love to vote some players OUT of the Hall.

I can never understand how someone can be mad about someone being voted in… but I digress.

I know not all of these players are getting in tomorrow. Chances are only 1 or 2 will. But let’s just say I wouldn’t have a problem with any of these names being announced tomorrow at 10 AM Pacific Time.

ROBERTO ALOMAR… for 11 years he was no doubt about it the best second baseman in the game. And for many of those years he was in the conversation for MVP.

10 Gold Gloves reflected his defensive ability.

His four Silver Sluggers showed what he could do with the bat.

He had power (just ask Dennis Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS). He had speed (40th All Time in Stolen Bases) and he came up big in the post season.



BERT BLYLEVEN… one of the best strikeout pitchers of all time. He did it over the long haul, had post season heroics for two World Series winners and came up 13 wins short of 300 (but I broke that down.)

Put him in.







ANDRE DAWSON… A Gold Glover 8 times. An MVP with power and speed and one of the elites in the game for over a decade.

And oh yeah, he did it without having his body suddenly change shape when he turned 35.








BARRY LARKIN… Like Alomar, he did a little bit of everything for the long haul. He won an MVP, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and a World Series Title.

He began his elite status in the 1980s and carried it through into the new millennium.

And unlike Alomar, he stayed put. The hometown hero was a Red for life.




JACK MORRIS… the bulldog ace of the 1980s with 5 top 5 Cy Young finishes.

Won 7 of his first 8 post season decisions and threw possibly the greatest Game 7 in World Series history with his 10 inning shutout masterpiece. Was his ERA higher than you’d want it to be?
Sure.

But he was the #1 starter for three World Series winners and the guy you’d want on the mound in the big game.



DAVE PARKER… I admit the Cobra’s chances are fading, but I remain a supporter.

He had a stretch in his career where he was no doubt about it the best all around offensive player in the National League.

A batting champ, an OPS leader, an RBI leader, a Gold Glove winner multiple times over, an MVP (with 4 other top 5 finishes).

Plus he was a key player on one World Series winner (1979) and the stable veteran on another (1989.)


TIM RAINES… Possibly the most underrated player of his era as he played North of the border in his prime.

A batting champ, he was the National League’s answer to Rickey Henderson for many years. He stole 70 bases six straight years, had power and was always among the league leader in on base percentage (what you want from a lead off hitter).

Cleaned up from his drug problems, he became an elder leader on two World Series winners in New York. He deserves it.


I am still mulling over Edgar Martinez… and while I mull I hope he makes it to next year when I can cast a fake ballot then too.

My Hall of Fame Prediction…

I predict tomorrow there will be two new Hall of Famers...

Andre Dawson will be elected.

He had more speed and was a better defender than Rice and put up more homers.

Plus this will also be a way to honor a clean power hitter before the hand wringing begins next year when Rafael Palmeiro goes on the ballot.


And Bert Blyleven will finally get in... people have had too much time to look at his numbers.

They are too good.

And this T Shirt is too awesome.

Barry Larkin, Tim Raines et al will be left twisting in the wind.

Remember this is a prediction... not a ballot. That's coming up next.

Sully's Hall of Fame Ballot for 2008

Well sports writers... if you want to cast a vote against steroids, now is the time to do it.

The Hall of Fame is announcing its new entries in about 15 minutes and not much has changed from my ballot last year.



VOTE IN:

JIM RICE
Consistently a top 5 MVP candidate from 1975 to 1986. Criminal that he isn't in.

RICH GOSSAGE
Don't dub Mariano Rivera "The Greatest Reliever of All Time" before looking at the Goose and his stats. Let's see Rivera pile up 133+ innings out of the pen and close out the Red Sox, Royals and Dodgers in 1978.

TIM RAINES
My co worker Tim Alves at Sports Unfiltered converted me to Tim Raines' deserving candidacy. He was the best leadoff man in the NL for a decade, mirroring Rickey Henderson's dominance. And played well as a veteran in the World Series for the Yankees. Don't give me the "Not on the First Ballot" garbage. You are a Hall of Famer or you aren't.

JACK MORRIS
Tim doesn't agree with me on this and I don't care. As big a big game pitcher for a decade as there was.

DAVE PARKER
More of an emotional pick than any. Didn't have the career numbers but was a dominating offensive force for the long haul.

ANDRE DAWSON
Another candidate I've been converted to. Put up MVP numbers in anonymity up in Montreal while playing on bad knees on that carpet.


So there's my ballot.
I don't really have hope for Morris, Parker, Dawson nor Raines.
And I wouldn't be upset if Blyleven got in... I just never thought of him as an ace like Morris.

But what a way to protest the latest steroid scandal... by letting in Parker and Raines from the cocaine scandals of the 1980s!