Andre Dawson To Enter Hall As An Expo

When Andre Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier this month, many wondered which cap he would wear going in? Would it be the Montreal Expos or the Chicago Cubs?

That question was answered today.

According to a report by MLB.com, the Baseball Hall of Fame has decided that Dawson will enter Cooperstown as a Montreal Expo. On his Hall of Fame plaque, Dawson will be wearing an Expos cap.

Dawson will go into the HOF as an Expo

Dawson will become the second player to enter the Hall wearing an Expos cap. Gary Carter or “Pop up Gary” as my dad used to call him, was the first to enter Cooperstown wearing an Expos hat, when he did so in 2003.

While Dawson was obviously pleased with being elected to the HOF, he clearly is not pleased that he will be wearing an Expos hat. In an interview with WMVP-AM Chicago, Dawson said “I’m disappointed. I can proudly say that because Chicago was my preference.”

So which hat should Dawson being wearing? The Cubs or the Expos? Here are Dawson’s lines with both teams.

Expos: .280 with 225 home runs, 838 RBI, 253 stolen bases, and a .326 OBP in 11 years.

Cubs: .285 with 174 home runs, 587 RBI, 57 stolen bases, and a .327 OBP in six years.

It’s a tough call. Dawson played longer and was more of a five-tool-player with the Expos. However, he did have his MVP year and became a household name with the Cubs.

This whole to-do about which hat a player enters the hall with, is very silly to me. This whole Tom Foolery started when Wade Boggs wanted to enter the HOF as a Tampa Bay Devil Ray.

If that clown wanted to enter the Hall originally as a Boston Red Sox or New York Yankee, like he should have, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It was rumored that the then Devil Rays were offering Boggs monetary compensation to wear their hat on his HOF plaque.

The HOF changed their policy as to which cap a player would wear thanks to Boggs and some other players (Dave Winfield) in 2001. Boggs is wearing a Red Sox cap on his HOF plaque.

I don’t think things like this were an issue 30-40 years ago because players didn’t change teams as often as they do know. Now with players changing teams every couple of years, I don’t have a problem with the HOF deciding which cap a player should wear.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Ichiro: In A Hitting Class All By Himself

Yesterday against the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners’ superstar Ichiro Suzuki broke a major league baseball record that stood for over 100 years. With his second inning infield single, Ichiro became the first player in major league history to record nine straight seasons of at least 200 hits.

Ichiro broke the record of eight consecutive 200 hit seasons set by Hall of Fame “Wee” Willie Keeler, who accomplished this feat from 1894-1901. Not to take anything away from Ichiro, but Keeler got his 200+ hits playing in about 140 games a year.

That is impressive.

When I first saw Ichiro hit back in the Spring of 2001, I though there was no chance he would have the same success in the major leagues as he did in Japan. Up until that point, I never saw a hitter try to run and hit the ball at the same time.

Ichiro is an amazing hitter

Sure, it’s common in softball, but in baseball, trying to hit a 85 mph slider? No way. Boy, was I dead wrong.

Ichiro is a fascinating and probably the most unique hitter in the history of the game. The way he can get a running start, keep his hands back, and hit an outside fastball going 95 mph almost defies logic.

What is even more amazing about Ichiro is that if you have ever watched him in batting practice, he can hit the ball as far as anyone. If he wanted to change his game completely, he probably could hit 20 HR’s a year. That just tells you what kind of hitter he is.

Ichiro is easily in the top-five of the best pure hitters that I have ever seen (last 25 years). He is right up there with Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Edgar Martinez, and Paul Molitor.

Ichiro is unquestionably a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The only question that remains is when it is all said and done, is Ichiro the greatest hitter of all-time?