Andre Dawson

At 69 years old, Andre Dawson has this physical status:

Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson," is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

During his 21-year baseball career, he appeared on four different teams as a center and right fielder, spending the bulk of his time with the Montreal Expos (1976-1982) and the Chicago Cubs (1987–1992). He was named the league's Rookie of the Year in 1977 after batting.282 with 19 home runs and 65 runs batted in (RBI), and he was named Rookie of the Year in 1987 after leading the league with 49 home runs and 137 RBI in both 1981 and 1983.

He batted.300 runs, drove in 100 runs four times, and had 13 seasons of 20 home runs.

He stole 30 bases three times throughout his career and was a good baserunner early in his career.

He is one of the eight MLB players with at least 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases during his career. Dawson was a center fielder before knee pains, which were exacerbated by the artificial surface at Olympic Stadium, led to his move to the right field and his transfer to a team that played on grass.

He led the Netherlands in outfield putouts for three years (1981-1983), and he has received eight Gold Glove Awards for field excellence.

Dawson was known for his unbridled work ethic and thorough study of the game.

He was often seen in the dugout with a clipboard in hand, recording pitches and pitcher tendencies.

This was long before such activities were common, and such details were readily available.

He retired with a total of 409 home runs and 962 extra base hits, ranking him 10th in league history (2,303), and sixth in both outfield putouts (5,116) and total chances (5,366).

He set Expos franchise records for lifetime games, at bats, runs, triples, home runs, runs batted in, extra base hits, total bases, and steals, which have since been broken repeatedly by Tim Raines, Tim Wallach, and Vladimir Guerrero.

Dawson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 2010.

Source

Career

Dawson was selected by the Expos in the 11th round (pick #250) of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Since making his debut on September 11, he appeared in 24 major league games in 1976. In 1977, his stardom began as he was an everyday outfielder for the Expos, and he batted.282 for 19 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He was named Rookie of the Year in the National League in 1977, barely beating out Steve Henderson of the New York Mets. Dawson had a mixture of strength and speed, winning at least 20 home runs in seven seasons with the Expos and taking at least 20 bases in his first seven seasons. Dawson, who played mostly center field for the Expos, became an excellent defensive player, winning his first Gold Glove Awards in 1980. Dawson finished second in the National League MVP election in 1981 (won by Mike Schmidt) and second again in 1983 (won by Dale Murphy). In 1981 and 1983, he was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year.

Dawson played 1,443 games with the Expos, his fourth best in franchise history, and set single-season club records for home runs (32, now fourth), extra base hits (78, now seventh), and sacrifice flies (18, still first). He still holds the Expos' record for sacrifice flies (71), and he is the only player to reach 200 home runs and steal 200 bases with Montreal. Dawson twice in the same inning during his Expos days: at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium against the Atlanta Braves on July 30, 1978, and the Chicago Cubs on September 24, 1985. Dawson, Willie McCovey, Jeff King, Alex Rodriguez, and Edwin Encarnacion are the only five players to hit two home runs in a row twice as of 2021.

Dawson appeared in The Cap, a short film about a young boy in Montreal who was granted a baseball cap by Dawson in 1984.

Dawson played for the Expos until the 1986 season, when he became a free agent and started seeking a team with natural grass as his knee injuries were exacerbated by Olympic Stadium's artificial turf. However, he was unable to attract offers due to collusion on the part of the Major League Baseball owners. Dawson pleaded with the Cubs to sign him in the offseason, but general manager Dallas Green refused, insisting that the Cubs would start Brian Dayett in right field (Dawson's first two seasons with the Expos) and that one player could not make a 71-71 team a 91-71 team). Dawson and his co-signer Dick Moss arrived in Mesa, Arizona, with a signed blank contract in the hopes of securing a deal with the Cubs. Green characterized Dawson and Moss' performance as a "dog and pony show." Green reached an understanding with Moss on a $500,000 ($1,192,589) salary, second lowest on the team's money, and paid him $150,000 if he did not go on the disabled list by the All-Star Game break and $50,000 if he made the All-Star team. Both were awarded. Dawson also earned $100,000 in honor of either the league championship series or the World Series, but no provision was added for the National League MVP. Although he was named NL MVP, the Cubs did not qualify for the NLCS or World Series MVP, so he had no chance to win the NLCS or World Series MVP.

He was the Cubs' starting right fielder and hit a major league leading 49 home runs (equal with Oakland Athletics rookie Mark McGwire) and was named the league's MVP after two years as runner-up in Montreal. He also won the Home Run Derby that year, winning his fourth All-Star nod and his fourth All-Star nod. Nonetheless, Dawson wasn't able to turn around the Cubs' fortunes: Despite that the Cubs held first place for nearly half of May and remained in contention into July, the Cubs ended the 1987 season 76–85, last in the National League East.

Dawson was the first player to win a league MVP award from a last place team. Dawson played five seasons with the Cubs and was one of the franchise's most popular players at that time. He made his best individual appearance in 1989, when the Cubs captured the National League East championship. Dawson plummeted during the NL Championship Series, crashing.105 as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Cubs 4 games to 1. Dawson's.507 career slugging percentage with the Cubs is the fourth highest in team history.

Dawson was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox in October 1992. Dawson played for the Red Sox on April 15 at Fenway Park, his fourth home run in his career. Dawson sustained a knee injury early in the 1993 season in a game against the Texas Rangers, restricting him to just 121 games in his first year with the Red Sox: "I was trapped between sliding and standing up on a passed ball." I was on second base, and I took a chop step between strides and the corner of the third-base bag. "I had knee surgery, and [Boston] decided to use me in the DH role."

Dawson will have knee surgery the following year, and he only played 75 games in his second and final season with Boston. Dawson spent his remaining two years with the Florida Marlins, where he played sparingly until retiring after the 1996 season. Dawson was banned from the field for the final time as a final farewell to the fans and the game in his last game. As Dawson walked off the field, the fans gave him a standing ovation. Dawson returned to the Marlins shortly thereafter after taking up a job in the team's front office, where Dawson received his first World Series ring in 2003. Dawson also owns The Mahogany Grille, a soul food restaurant in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in Richmond Heights, Florida.

He entered the funeral market in 2003, investing in a funeral home owned by his younger brother, and becoming the owner and operator of Paradise Memorial in 2008. "It's very sad" that he and his company were struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, according to a Associated Press article on how they and his company were struggling with the virus. People mourn and mourn differently, and they aren't getting through the process as well as under normal circumstances. A lot of pain and agony are present." Vanessa, his wife of 42 years, was the office manager, while an uncle ran day-to-day operations, at the time of the tale.

Dawson has been attending Chicago Cubs games since his retirement and is a fan favorite. Dawson appeared in a "Discount Double-Check" commercial for State Farm Insurance that features former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood.

In May 2012, Dawson published If You Love This Game: An MVP's Life in Baseball.

Dawson had 2,774 hits, 438 home runs, 314 stolen bases, and 1,591 RBI in his career. He is one of only eight players in major league history to have over 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases in his career (300-300 team), but the other players to achieve this are Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Reggie Sanders, Steve Finley, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltrán. Dawson is also one of the 400 HR-300 SB club's top five players, as well as Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltrán.

Dawson's #10 was retired by the Montreal Expos in his honour in 1997 (the number had previously been removed for Rusty Staub). The Montreal Canadiens unveiled a banner in the Bell Centre to honor all of the old Expos figures, including Dawson's. Dawson was included in the Washington Nationals Park's "Ring of Honor" in 2010. Dawson was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.

Source