Once again, Ron Santo was denied entry into the Hall of Fame. I’m not quite the die hard fan of Santo, but as a Cubs fan, I still think he was a great player and would be deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame. There certainly is a following of people who are wanting to see Santo inducted in. He was the Cubs’ 3B from 1960-1973. His career numbers are:
- .277 BA
- 342 HR
- 1331 RBI
- 1138 R
- .826 OPS
- 9 All star appearances
- 5 Gold gloves
I imagine the majority of the people who are pulling for him to get in are Cub fans. His numbers are good, but they aren’t astounding. Maybe that’s why he isn’t getting voted in.
Another player that I would really like to see get in from the Cubs is Andre Dawson. Also known as “The Hawk”. Dawson spent most of his career between the Montreal Expos and the Chicago Cubs. His last years were with the Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox. Dawson was old school. When Ryne Sandberg was elected into the HoF, he mentioned Dawson in his induction speech saying how he believes Dawson should be in the HoF as well.
Andre Dawson, the Hawk. No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. Stand up Hawk. The Hawk. I watched him win MVP for a last place team in 1987 and it was the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday. We didn’t get to a World Series together but we almost got there, Hawk.
Dawson had a quirky batting stance where he placed all his weight on his back foot and then pushed off with it as he swung. He struck out a lot, but he was a power hitter. His defense was outstanding. Unfortunately, his knees were shot from the years of playing on the turf in Montreal. This slowed him down in the second half of his career limiting his range in RF. But his arm was unmatched. The Hawk would routinely take away singles from guys who didn’t hustle to first base when the ball was hit in front of him. Plays at the plate, I saw numerous times when he’d throw out a runner at home plate from RF on the fly. Ryno made a great point about him in his induction speech, Dawson won an MVP for a last place team one year. That says a lot about how much he contributed to the team.
A future Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux, retired this week as well. He started his career with the Cubs where he won his first Cy Young award. He was then let go and went to Atlanta where he had the best years of his career. The Cubs’s GM Larry Himes, an idiot, was responsible for letting him go. Maddux wanted to come back to the Cubs after getting a deal from the Braves, asking the Cubs to match it. Himes told him the money was already spent. Himes was eventually run out of town.
Maddux was a brilliant pitcher. He knew more about pitching, location, and how hitters think than anyone. He didn’t have overpowering stuff, but he could put the ball exactly where he wanted it and make the player hit his pitches. There’s even a story where a bet was made that Maddux’s catcher had the easiest job. They blindfolded his catcher one day in the bullpen to test a theory. All he had to do was hold his glove up there and Maddux would hit it. It happened. Maddux will be voted in his first year for sure. He’ll be an invaluable asset to any club who wants a pitching coach.
There is talk of the triumvirate of Maddux, Smotlz, and Glavine all retiring and all being voted in on the same day for the Hall of Fame. Those three were solid pitchers for several years in the Braves organization. When they left Atlanta, it was definitely an end of an era.
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