1991 - A Special Season for The Hawk and Myself

The 1991 season was supposed to be the year the Cubs broke the curse and won the World Series (That's every year to a Cubs fan). With the newly acquired George Bell batting behind Andre, the Cubs were a likely favorite with three former MVPs in the line-up (Dawson, Bell and Ryne Sandberg). However, the Cubs finished with a disappointing 77-83 record, finishing 4th in the NL East. While the Cubs didn't enjoy much success in 1991, Andre did.*

Andre made his eighth and final appearance in the All-Star game, his fifth straight appearance since joining the Cubs in 1987. He finished the first half of 1991 tied for most home runs in the NL with 15 and was sixth in RBI with 52.**

What made 1991 special for me was that I got to attend the final game of that amazing first half. The game was July 7 at St. Louis; we drove from Oklahoma to see it. My family planned our summer vacation entirely around that game, so it was a big deal.

The Cubs won the first two games of the series. In the game on July 6th, Andre went 3 for 5 with a home run and a double to drive in 3 RBIs; Cubs won 12-2. I was hoping he would save some of that offense for the game we would attend the next day.

We brought our home made signs to the game, rooting for the Cubs to sweep the Cards. Of course, we got heckled by the home team fans, but I didn't let that damper my opportunity to see my first Cubs game live and my favorite player in action too.

Andre had one hit that night in four at-bats, but that one hit was a two-run home run. It was a deep left/center field shot off of Ken Hill in the 3rd inning.

The Cubs lost that game 8-7. The game was my first and last time to see Andre play and he didn't disappoint. Sure the Cubs lost, but even at the age of 12 I realized how special it was to have your favorite player come through for you with a home run.

A couple of days later he hit a solo shot over the center field wall in the All-Star game at the Skydome. The blast came in the fourth inning off of Roger Clemens; NL lost 4-2.***

He capped the season off with his fourth Silver Slugger award. It was most deservingly considering he hit two of his six career grand slams that season and his two pinch-hits in 1991 were both home runs.****

Andre finished 1991 with:*
Games - 149
Home Runs - 31 (4th in the NL)
RBIs - 104 (6th and accomplished back to back 100 RBI seasons)
Stolen Bases - 4
Hits - 153
Runs - 69
Avg. - .272
Total Bases - 275 (9th)
AB Per HR - 18.2 (7th)

What's your Andre Dawson memory? Please share with a comment!

* www.baseball-reference.com
** 1991 Upper Deck
*** www.wikipedia.org
**** 1992 Upper Deck

Andre's Biggest Games - 11 Games of 5 RBIs or More

Hall of Fame players have big games; they can carry an offense and intimidate a pitching staff on any given day, which was often the case in Andre's career. He had 11 games during his career of at least 5 RBIs or more.*

1977, July 4th - vs. Chicago Cubs, Won 19-3
Game Stats: In 6 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits, and 2 Runs

1985, April 27th - vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Won 8-3
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 4 Hits and 2 Runs

1985, Sept. 24th - vs. Cubs, Won 17-15
Game Stats: In 6 ABs - 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, 4 Hits and 3 Runs
(Became 2nd player in history to hit 2 home runs in same inning, pair of 3-run shots in the 5th inning.)

1987, June 1st - vs. Houston Astros, Lost 5-6
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 2 Hits and 2 Runs

1987, June 2nd - vs. Houston Astros, Won 13-2
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 2 HRs, 7 RBIs, 2 Hits and 2 Runs

1987, Aug. 1st - vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Won 5-3
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 3 Runs

1988, May 3rd - vs. San Diego Padres, Won 13-5
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 2 Runs

1990, Aug. 4th - vs. Montreal Expos, Won 10-2
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 Hits and 1 Run

1991, April 21 - vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, Lost 12-13
Game Stats: In 6 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 1 Run

1992, May 2nd - vs. Cincinnati Reds, Won 10-3
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 Hits and 2 Runs

1995, Aug. 16 - vs. Atlanta Braves, Won 8-5
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 2 Runs

Ask any pitcher that faced The Hawk in those 11 games and I bet they would tell you that he should be in the Hall of Fame without a doubt!

* www.baseball-reference.com

The 8 Gold Gloves

Fielding is rarely a statistic that comes into consideration regarding baseball's hall of fame. The only player I can think of that was inducted largely on the defensive aspect of the game was Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith.

What made Andre such a great all-around player was his ability to save as many runs with his outstanding glove as he created with his bat. He won 8 Gold Gloves in his 21-year career, six in which were in consecutive years (1980-1985, two additional Gold Gloves in 1987 and 1988).

I believe Andre would have won additional gold gloves later in his career had he began his career playing on natural grass rather than hard artificial turf during his time as a Montreal Expo. Despite that, only two outfielders in Major League Baseball history have won more Gold Gloves than Andre, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, both are in the hall of fame*.

Andre's fielding percentage for his career was .983 (1.000 is the highest possible %).*

*www.wiki.answers.com