Does Andre Dawson belong in the Hall of Fame? Sure.
Will Dawson go in wearing a Florida Marlins cap? That’s a distasteful possibility now that the man who was Rookie of the Year in Montreal and a Most Valuable Player with the Cubs has gone to work for his hometown team.
It’s the latest illustration why somebody should take this choice out of the hands of our greatest players. History is not some bargaining chip to be used to influence friends and prospective employers, but that’s what is happening at Cooperstown.
Consider Dawson. Because he retired in 1996 after spending the last two years of his exemplary career as a part-time player for the Marlins, he’s ineligible for Hall voting until the winter of 2001-02. Yet partisans are already pressuring him to wear their team’s hat when he poses for his plaque.
At a South Florida news conference last week, Dawson was asked if his position as a special assistant to Marlins General Manager Dave Dombrowski means he’ll go into the Hall as a Marlin. “I knew somebody was going to ask that,” Dawson said. “Let me get there first. That would be the easiest thing to decide. The toughest [part] will be getting there.”
If Dawson does pick the Marlins, it will be a bad joke. While Miami is his hometown, his legacy was made elsewhere. His memory belongs mostly to fans in Montreal–where he spent 11 pre-ESPN years playing full tilt in obscurity–and Chicago.
Players shouldn’t be put into the position of having to make that choice. Consider the late Catfish Hunter’s anguish over whether to go into the Hall as a member of Charlie Finley’s Amazin’ A’s or George Steinbrenner’s Bronx Zoo-era Yankees. He agonized over the decision until the absolute last minute, then asked to go in without a cap–which is how you’ll find him immortalized.
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Carlton Fisk faces a similar dilemma after spending 12 years with the Boston Red Sox and 13 with the White Sox. Fisk, who along with Tony Perez is awaiting Tuesday’s announcement of this year’s inductees, is expected to pick Boston. After all, he accepted a job offer from the Red Sox last year.
Even if it’s not spelled out–and it is spelled out in Jose Canseco’s current contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays–it’s plain to see the historical implications that come with such an offer.
Nolan Ryan earned 51 of his 324 career victories with the Texas Rangers. Yet he picked the Rangers over the California Angels and Houston Astros, with whom he combined for 244 victories, five no-hitters and 4,231 strikeouts.
Is it a coincidence that Ryan has office space at the Ballpark in Arlington? He has four years left on a 10-year personal-services contract he signed with then-owner George W. Bush after retiring in 1993.
Canseco is the most blantant example of historical reference being for sale. His one-year deal with the Devil Rays last year included a provision that he would represent Tampa Bay if option years in 2000 and ’01 were exercised–provided, of course, he is selected for the Hall. He’s a long shot, but a 35-year-old with 431 career homers can’t be dismissed.
Players have always been given discretion regarding their plaques. Officially, the Hall of Fame says it sees no reason to consider a new procedure.
“We don’t care which team is represented,” spokesman John Ralph said. “When they are inducted, they join our team. It’s through the years with all of their teams they were able to put together a Hall of Fame career.”
Sure, as if Dawson needed those 101 games with the Marlins to put him over the top. It’s time baseball hired a historian to serve as Cooperstown’s haberdasher.
Blue Jay way: It no longer looks as if Toronto will be showcasing shortstop Alex Gonzalez for the White Sox and Atlanta Braves in spring training. Barring a mandate from ownership to trim payroll, the Blue Jays will hang on to both Gonzalez and Tony Batista.
After signing a four-year, $16 million contract extension, an overjoyed Batista said he was more than willing to move from short to third base. He’s currently taking the new position for a spin in the Dominican Republic.
Despite a batting stroke that only Dick McAuliffe could love, Batista combined for 31 homers and 100 RBIs between Arizona and Toronto last year. “He’s a guy we thought would do a fill job, but he wound up as one of the more pleasant surprises in my 40 years in the game,” Jays manager Jim Fregosi said. “I was amazed what he gave us, both offensively and defensively.”
Stuck in the ’80s: You wonder if Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker still listens to Van Halen, the Police and Culture Club. If not for nostalgia, how do you explain his handing a spot in his starting rotation to Dwight Gooden?
“I don’t have any illusions of grandeur that at 35 we’re going to see the Doc Gooden of 27 or 28 years old, but I’ll take my chances with Doc,” Hunsicker said.
This is the same Gooden who managed to rack up all of three wins in 22 starts with the Cleveland Indians behind him last year. This is the same Gooden who has averaged eight wins in four years since his last drug suspension. And he is supposed to lessen the blow of Mike Hampton’s departure and Scott Elarton’s torn rotator cuff? This could be the year someone ends the Astros’ run in the NL Central.
Asleep at the wheel: The White Sox don’t have the only front office that has been slumbering through the winter. Anaheim, which may be in worse shape than Frank Thomas’ team, has been similarly inactive.
Fragile right-fielder Tim Salmon recently expressed disgust at the loss of Chuck Finley to free agency. “If Mr. [Gene] Autry were here, I don’t think Chuck would have ever left,” Salmon told the Los Angeles Times. “In July there was all this talk about different players we’d get if we traded Chuck [and] we wound up losing him for nothing. How did that happen?”
With Tim Belcher out after major surgery, Anaheim’s rotation is the worst in the majors. Yet GM Bill Stoneman has failed to trade an extra outfielder (Jim Edmonds, Garret Anderson or, as a last resort, Darin Erstad) for a pitcher.
Stoneman has talked extensively to the A’s and Mets about Edmonds, but says he won’t make a deal just to make a deal.
“That might excite people who want something to write about,” he said. “That’s not the type of person I am. … If we go to spring training with our club the way it is now, then we do.”
Touching the bases: Despite agent Scott Boras’ claim in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week, the Cubs made no effort to sign free-agent pitcher Andy Benes. But, honesty aside, why not create the perception of competition? That’s what got Kevin Brown $105 million from the Dodgers when no other team had gone as high as $70 million. … Notre Dame right-hander Aaron Heilman is a member of Baseball America’s preseason All-American team. That’s a good sign for the coming draft, as the team is picked with the assistance of scouts. … For the moment, the Braves plan to enter next season with Walt Weiss and Ozzie Guillen as their shortstops, but Rafael Furcal is on a fast track from Class A ball. He’s following his 97-stolen base season with a great winter in the Dominican Republic.
Pokey Reese and Mike Cameron are among nine possible arbitration cases on the Reds’ plate. Cincinnati is talking about multiyear deals with Reese and Cameron. . . . Mets shortstop Luis Lopez is there for the taking if either the Cubs or White Sox want him. Counting newcomers Domingo Cedeno and Kevin Baez, the Mets have seven middle infielders with big-league experience expected for camp. . . . Aaron Sele was a solid signing for Baltimore, but not an upgrade over predecessor Juan Guzman. And Sele could have simplified matters for himself by taking the four-year, $28 million offer that was on the table for a month with the Rangers. Factoring in state income tax, he’ll lose money in the move to Marlyland. … The Midwest League All-Star Game is coming to Kane County on June 20.
And finally, a question: Who has the most range among major-league shortstops? According to rankings by Baseball America, the answer isn’t Rey Ordonez, Omar Vizquel or anyone else you might suspect. It’s the Royals’ Rey Sanchez. Mike Caruso was 24th among the 33 players considered regulars. New Cub Ricky Gutierrez was 29th.
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