Which Red and Blue Hat is Hawk’s Hat?

Andre Dawson, “Hawk,” was the sole player elected to the Hall of Fame today, and it took a nine year wait for him to get there.  He deserved to get all the attention and be the sole player inducted because it makes up for his unnecessary wait to be inducted.  438 home runs, 1591 RBIs, and 314 stolen bases highlight a 21 season career.  But the numbers are not nearly enough to define Hawk’s career.  Andre was a fighter, a tough player who never showed when he was hurt or aching.  Excluding his first season, where he did not qualify as a rookie, and his last three seasons, where his knees had all but given out from all the surgeries, the Hawk averaged 142 games played per season for 17 seasons.  He averaged this many games played in the midst of 12 knee surgeries that impacted his career and effectively limited his mobility after his playing days.  But you would never know how much pain he felt by watching how hard he played every day.

There is but one small issue to be settled.  The Hall has not decided which hat Dawson will don in the Hall.  He started his career  and played 11 seasons in Montreal, played 6 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, and played 2 years for both Boston and Florida at the tail end of his career.  So which hat should the Hawk don?

I will start by eliminating Boston and Florida because he did not play enough for these teams and did not play effectively enough with these teams to wear either of their hats into the Hall.   That leaves Montreal and Chicago.  There are many good arguments for both teams, and his success with both teams is the reason for the controversy.  He started his career and won the Rookie of the Year with the Expos.  In addition, he won 6 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Slugger Awards, made 3 All Star appearances, and finished 2nd in the MVP voting twice with the Expos.  In 6 years with the Cubs, the Hawk earned 2 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger Award, 5 All Star Appearances, and won his only MVP award.  

After comparison of Dawson’s resume in both Chicago and Montreal, it seems to me that the Hawk should be wearing a Cubs hat in the Hall.  First, he won his only MVP in Chicago, which was undoubtedly the biggest factor in his enshrinement in the Hall.  Needless to say, the voters like MVPs.  In addition, he made 5 All Star appearances in 6 years in Chicago, as opposed to only 3 in 11 years in Montreal.  The statistic that most favors Dawson’s resume for Montreal over Chicago was his 6 Gold Gloves as opposed to only 2 with Chicago.  However, to the supporters of that statistic I ask this question.  Was Hawk voted into the Hall because of his defense?  Not really.  But even if you say yes, then i ask, what was more influential, his MVP award or his Gold Gloves?  It is important to realize that while the Hawk had great defensive numbers in Montreal, that was not the reason he was voted into the Hall, and thereby should not decide which hat he wears into the Hall.  What is more important is his MVP award and 5 All Star appearances in 6 years in Chicago.  Not to mention that the reason he did not have good defensive numbers in Chicago was because his knees were killed by 11 years of 81 games on the unforgiving Astroturf of Olympic Stadium.  While he had many good years in Montreal, that Astroturf had an extremely harmful impact on the health of his knees and the rest of his defensive career.

Therefore, to all those associated with the decision of which hat Hawk will don, think about the reason Andre was voted into the Hall of Fame.  If it was because of his defensive numbers, fine, put the Expo hat on him, because he had better defensive numbers in Montreal.  But, if he was voted in primarily because of his MVP award, which he won in Chicago, and his All Star appearances, 5 in his 6 years in Chicago, then put a Cubbie hat on him.  Enough said.