I really loved Andre in the Cubs' 1989 season. He was such a cool steady guy, and they really haven't done much better since then. The crowds used to stand up and bow when he'd come on. I know personality doesn't make a great player, but I think he helped make a team.
Indeed, I do think that's a large part of what got him in. From all I've read, Dawson is a great guy, a wonderful teammate, and a fine leader. I wouldn't have voted for him (Getting on base is the most important thing a hitter can do, and Dawson's .323 On-Base-Average is the worst of any Hall of Famer by far) but there were other strong considerations and he slots in with a number of players already in the Hall.
Well, there is that! And statistics don't lie--even in 89, we were often disappointed--yet when he did come through, the feeling was a lot different from when Sosa hit one over the bleachers. He was sort of the opposite kind of player--or at least that's how he was perceived.
I'm a little puzzled about Dawson. He seemed like the big bat no one was really afraid of. He ran pretty well, but not so well that it was a giant factor. By far his best year was with the last place Cubs in '87. He wasn't particularly outstanding in 1981 when the Expos made the playoffs or in 1989 when the Cubs made it. As you said good, but I wouldn't call him great...
By far his best year was with the last place Cubs in '87. He wasn't particularly outstanding in 1981 when the Expos made the playoffs
If you go by HR and RBIs, perhaps. If you're using more advanced stats (On-Base Average and Slugging, and considering the difference between playing in Montreal's Olympic Stadium vs. Wrigley Field...) then actually - 1981 is his best year, and by far. (Dawson was 2nd behind Schmidt in MVP voting) He also stole 26 bases in 30 attempts in a strike shortened year.
What hurts him is that his batting average wasn't very good and he didn't take walks - which mostly means he made way too many outs. As nice a guy he was, guys who lead the league in Outs don't help their team as much as they should.
Not really, because RBI are a really bad stat to use when evaluating individual player performance. (See below) In any case, the Cubs in 1987, were awful because their pitching (after Rick Sutcliffe) was terrible. (11th out of 12 in almost any stat you'd want to pick) I wouldn't penalize Andre Dawson because the Cubs gave 500 innings to Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer and Les Lancaster - all of whom stunk that year.
But RBI is a notoriously team-dependent stat, and the 1987 Cubs were actually quite good on offense, particularly at the top of the order. No small amount of the credit for Dawson's RBI totals go to Jerry Mumphrey's .400 On-Base Percentage. (Look back at comparisons between Bonds and Sosa, where Sosa always had more RBI because he had better teammates who were on more often, even though Bonds hit vastly better with Runners on than Sosa did) Players can really rack up RBI when they always come up with runners on base.
In 1987, Andre Dawson was maybe the 7-10th best player in the National League. He made 463! outs. Dale Murphy
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But, Cardinal fans do look at the world differently. LOL
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If you go by HR and RBIs, perhaps. If you're using more advanced stats (On-Base Average and Slugging, and considering the difference between playing in Montreal's Olympic Stadium vs. Wrigley Field...) then actually - 1981 is his best year, and by far. (Dawson was 2nd behind Schmidt in MVP voting) He also stole 26 bases in 30 attempts in a strike shortened year.
What hurts him is that his batting average wasn't very good and he didn't take walks - which mostly means he made way too many outs. As nice a guy he was, guys who lead the league in Outs don't help their team as much as they should.
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But RBI is a notoriously team-dependent stat, and the 1987 Cubs were actually quite good on offense, particularly at the top of the order. No small amount of the credit for Dawson's RBI totals go to Jerry Mumphrey's .400 On-Base Percentage. (Look back at comparisons between Bonds and Sosa, where Sosa always had more RBI because he had better teammates who were on more often, even though Bonds hit vastly better with Runners on than Sosa did) Players can really rack up RBI when they always come up with runners on base.
In 1987, Andre Dawson was maybe the 7-10th best player in the National League. He made 463! outs. Dale Murphy ( ... )
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