So Cubs fans around here are happy that Andre "The Hawk" Dawson has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame. But it still hasn't been decided as to whether Dawson's plaque will have a Cubs hat or an Expos hat.
In the past, the Hall of Fame had traditionally deferred to the players' wishes regarding which hat a player was depicted in for his plaque. However, there was a policy change in 2001. Now the Hall of Fame does not consult the player in the matter.
As it turns out, 2003 was the first year an MLB player who had played for multiple teams was forced by the Hall of Fame to wear a hat other than his first choice for the plaque. Can you name this player who wanted to go into the Hall as a Met, but ended up going in donning the cap of another team?
7 comments:
Gary Carter jumps to mind...
Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner.
And to think, Carter was a teammate of Dawson's in Montreal for many years.
BTW, here's an article about Hall of Famers who were on multiple teams.
Hey dont forget that Carter should have gone in with the hat of the only team he won a world series with......you guessed it, the FLORIDA MARLINS!!!!
He won his only MVP trophy as a Chicago Cub, but it looks like Andre Dawson will collect his Hall of Fame hardware as a member of the Montreal Expos.
Dawson sent a text message to the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday night saying: "Hall will issue a press release [Wednesday] announcing that I will go in as an Expo."
Dawson spent the first 11 seasons of his career in Montreal, winning Rookie of the Year in 1977. He hit 225 of his 438 career homers with the Expos. He also showcased more of a speed game in Montreal, registering 253 of his 314 career steals.
But it was in Chicago that Dawson became a household name. He handed the Cubs a blank contract in 1987 as a free agent and signed for $500,000 with $250,000 in incentives. He proceeded to bat .287 and led the league in homers (49) and RBIs (137), while winning MVP, a Gold Glove and going to the All-Star Game.
The "Hawk" was an All-Star in five of his six seasons in Chicago before moving on to the Red Sox. He finished his 21-year career with the Expos.
Pauly, I was wondering yesterday if any other players would be going unhappily into the Hall as an Expo in the future. The first name that came to mind was Pedro Martinez, but I've looked up his career stats and he only played 4 seasons in Montreal. Too bad... that would have been funny.
The only other good Expos player is Tim Raines. And he's definitely an Expo.
Oh yeah, and by the numbers he is one of the biggest HOF snubs around.
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