“Hawk” ready to soar into baseball history

By Barry M. Bloom
MLB.com

On Sunday, behind the Clark Sports Center, just a stone's throw from the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street, "The Hawk" will take flight.

Andre Dawson, a former Florida A&M University standout, is this year's sole player elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and will go into the hallowed Hall wearing the fleur-de-lis of the Montreal Expos.

Dawson, an outfielder with power who played most of his career on injured and fragile knees, made it on his ninth try, earning 77.9 percent of the vote that was revealed in January. His name was included on 420 of the 539 ballots. Last year, when Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice went in, he missed the cut with 67 percent of the vote. Seventy-five percent is required for election.

"As a new inductee, I feel now that it's very important to protect the integrity of the Hall," Dawson said Friday on a conference call. "When I toured the Hall and I saw the history and the artifacts, I was in awe. Now I fully understand why it's so tough to get into the Hall of Fame. The criteria seem to change on occasion, but it's a very sacred organization and the writers really protect it."

Players have 15 years of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot, which begins after a five-year waiting period upon retirement. It's the third time in the past five years that the BBWAA has elected only one player -- Bruce Sutter was chosen in 2006 and fellow reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage followed him in '08.

It's also the third time since Ryne Sandberg was elected in 2005 that an inductee has had ties with the Cubs. Sutter was the other, although the right-hander was inducted as a member of the Cardinals. Dawson played his first 11 seasons with the Expos, followed by six formidable years with the Cubs. He was the National League Most Valuable Player for Chicago in 1987, when he led the Senior Circuit with 49 homers and 137 RBIs.

Dawson, who recently turned 56, said the most significant hurdle he now faces will be keeping his emotions in check when he gives his speech in front of what is expected to be a crowd in excess of 10,000 on the lawn behind the Sports Center.

"It's changed my life drastically. I couldn't have imagined it," Dawson said. "I was told that the road ahead was going to be hectic. Just put the seat belt on and enjoy the ride. It's been tiring, but it's been a lot of fun. It's been well worth it. In preparing the last few months for this particular weekend, I just wanted to make sure that I'm in control of my emotions.

"I don't know how that's going to change once I get to Cooperstown, once I get on that stage, once all the activities start. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event."