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 Andre Dawson after getting his 1000th hit, tips his helmet to a Montreal crowd. (QMI Agency files) |
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Whitey Herzog apologized for the fourth time.
“Sorry,” the former St. Louis Cardinals manager told reporters inside Cooperstown High School, “I need to fix the batteries on my hearing aids.”
We wanted to know how difficult it was for Herzog’s teams to pitch to Andre Dawson, first with the Montreal Expos and then with the Chicago Cubs, over 11 years.
“When I got to the Cardinals in 1980, the Expos had by far the best personnel,” Herzog said. “But they never got that roof put on, so they’d get to September and usually have a bunch of doubleheaders. No one had pitching depth to withstand that.
“If they’d put that roof on, they’d have been in post-season play a lot more than 1981.”
Herzog will speak, rather than listen, Sunday afternoon as he, umpire Doug Harvey and Dawson will be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame here before an expected crowd of 15,000 fans.
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If Main Street is an indication, plenty will be wearing Expos jerseys and hats.
Tim Raines and Warren Cromartie flew from Florida to Montreal to bus into the Adirondacks with fans on The Team-990 junket. Cromartie nicknamed the trio the I-95 outfield as all were from Florida.
What if the Expos had reached the 1981 World Series rather than losing on Rick Monday’s ninth-inning homer, would there still be a team in Montreal?
“I’d say it would have played an important part in us getting a new stadium,” Dawson said. “We contended after 1981.”
Former Cubs teammate and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg took time off from managing triple-A Iowa, and ex-Cub Shawon Dunston also flew in. Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, arrived on Saturday night for a special Cubs reception to honour Dawson.
“No way Andre should have had to wait nine years,” said Padres great Tony Gwynn.
While Baseball Writers of America Association voters ignored Jim Rice and Dawson and their puny home run totals in the early stages of the steroid era, voters swung. Rice was elected a year ago. Now Dawson.
Do Fred McGriff and Larry Walker have a chance?
“The BBWAA has its work cut out for them,” Dawson said. “This has been damaging to the history of the game. If I remember, integrity is a very important part.”
Dawson said each player should be judged on an individual basis.
“You don’t hear any negativity about people in the Hall of Fame,” Dawson said. “How voting goes remains to be seen. You (writers) have always been the experts.”
Herzog didn’t manage during the steroid era, but said he’d managed during the drug era of the 1970s and ’80s.
“I wonder how many games as managers we lost in the ’80s because of drugs,” Herzog said, “and how many victories managers got in the ’90s because of steroids.
“Until proven guilty, I don’t know how you disregard those records. It did hurt oldtimers and their records. Is Roger Maris the home run king? He had 61. Now everyone who has broken that record is accused of using steroids, yet it hasn’t been proven.”
Herzog said he was upset when Dawson joined the Cubs in 1987, as “he was in our division.” Said Herzog: “He played the game the right way. I never saw him go half-speed. He had all the tools.”
Harvey said Dawson was a true gentleman, adding “he must be, I never kicked him out. He was always calm, collected.”
Dawson said he was ejected twice. We saw one at Wrigley Field in 1991 after being rung up on a called strike three by Joe West. Dawson argued and tossed his helmet and batting gloves. Returning to the dugout, he noticed West writing down what he’d thrown and said: “I’ll give you something the write,” and emptied the bat rack on to the field.
The bronze plaque of Dawson will show an Expos logo.
“My preference was to go in with a Cubs logo,” Dawson said. “Once the Hall of Fame made the decision, I’m fine with it. Montreal gave me my start. I had mixed emotions leaving Montreal, but I had mixed emotions leaving the Cubs.
“I want to enjoy every moment of this weekend and on Monday look back on it and say: ‘Wow!’”
bob.elliott@sunmedia.ca