That preliminary selection of the Expos emblem was made with out Dawson’s approval after the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America voted for his induction as a part of the Corridor of Fame’s 2010 class. Dawson just lately despatched a letter to Jane Forbes Clark, the chief of the Corridor of Fame’s board of administrators, asking for a evaluate of his plaque’s design, in accordance with the Chicago Tribune. Dawson referred to as it a possibility to “proper a mistaken.”
The Corridor of Fame intends to speak with Dawson as soon as the group truly receives his proposal, a Cooperstown official mentioned Tuesday, and will get the possibility to completely see what it entails.
“My choice all alongside was as a Cub,” Dawson instructed Tribune columnist Paul Sullivan. “I had my causes, and I believe that ought to’ve been one thing we sat down and mentioned.
“It’s laborious for stuff to trouble me, to a level. However this has toyed with me over time for the straightforward cause that I used to be approached with the (announcement) that was going to be launched to the press that I used to be going to put on an Expos emblem. I didn’t agree with it on the time. However for me, entering into the Corridor was crucial factor.
“Over time, I’ve thought of it extra and got here to the (conclusion) I ought to have had some say-so.”
Dawson, who was drafted by the Expos out of Florida A&M College in 1975, spent the primary 11 seasons of his 21-year major-league profession with Montreal. The substitute turf at Olympic Stadium battered his physique — 12 reported knee surgical procedures bolstered his status as a troublesome participant — and the Expos have been inoperative for the reason that franchise relocated after the 2004 season and rebranded because the Washington Nationals.
Dawson famously provided the Cubs a “clean contract” throughout spring coaching in 1987, telling the group to fill in his wage. This era of labor relations was marked by collusion amongst Main League Baseball’s homeowners. For $500,000 assured plus efficiency bonuses, Dawson produced 49 residence runs and 137 RBIs for a last-place group throughout that prove-it season, changing into the 1987 Nationwide League MVP.
That momentum carried into the following stage of Dawson’s profession as an enormously in style determine in Wrigleyville. He carried out at a excessive degree for the Cubs into his late 30s, spent two seasons with the Boston Crimson Sox and stored taking part in for the Florida Marlins past his forty second birthday.
Disagreements are a part of what makes the Corridor of Fame a extra fascinating establishment. The debates over who must be in and who must be unnoticed — a subject sophisticated by the steroid period — are a part of the offseason dialog across the baseball business. Greg Maddux felt extra comfy with no emblem on the hat on his Cooperstown plaque as a result of the Cubs and Atlanta Braves had been each so vital to his legacy as among the finest pitchers ever.
Dawson isn’t conflicted anymore, and he received’t be fearful about any remaining Expos followers on the market. His feedback to the Chicago Tribune appeared to shock the Corridor of Fame, which is making ready for bulletins subsequent week round its modern period committee — Lou Piniella, Jim Leyland, Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson are among the many candidates for induction — and the Ford C. Frick Award that yearly honors an impressive baseball broadcaster.
“I notice there’ll in all probability be some backlash, however at this level I’m 70 years outdated,” Dawson instructed Sullivan. “Do you assume I actually care?”
(Picture: Liv Lyons / MLB Images through Getty Photographs)
