THE HAWKI would not consider myself a Cubs fan, but if I had to pick a National League team to root for the Cubs would be the team. I used to love getting home from school and hustling downstairs to watch Ryne Sandburg and Mark Grace, Keith Moreland and Gary Mathews, Jody Davis, Leon Durham and Andre Dawson. It was a treat to catch day baseball before Wrigley got lights. Too much emphasis on longevity and just trudging along to accumulate statistics. Granted, Andre Dawson did play 20 years...he did forgetably play for the Red Sox and Marlins, but what I am going to do is focus on the years from 1977 to 1991. In those years he was a great outfielder. I don't mean good...I mean great. He played his first 10 years in Canada and when it comes down to it, in the eyes of the evil media, this fact hurts him. He won 8 gold gloves. He had an absolute laser beam coming out of his arm from right. He had 1 MVP (on a losing ass, last place team), 8 All Star appearances, and he was the Rookie of the Year in 1977. If we take his prime years ('77-'91) he averaged 30 homeruns 100 RBI and close to 30 stolen bases a year. He never played for a winner and he never really had a stud hitting behind him like a lot of these guys today. He finished with 438 homeruns, but that doesn't matter to me. During his prime years he was one of the best in the game. And that is what the Hall of Fame is. It should be based on eras and Andre Dawson was arguably the best Outfielder in the 80's. I don't really hate Goose Gossage, I think he was a good closer...I just think the Hall is a bit of a stretch. He is not more deserving than Jim Rice or Andrew Dawson. Basically, I don't like anyone who was once a Yankee.
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