Congratulations, Andre Dawson!

Andre Dawson was the only player to get more than the 75 percent mark to gain admittance into the Baseball Hall Of Fame this year.


The obvious surprise at this year's hall of fame vote is that Roberto Alomar, one of the greatest second baseman of all time, didn't get the 75 percent needed to get in, finishing with 74 percent of the vote. Pitcher Bert Blyleven fell five votes shy of induction. He has two years remaining of eligibilty.

I think in 2011, Alomar and Blyleven will be inducted, no doubt about it.

Andre Dawson won the National League Rookie of the year award in 1976 with the now defunct Montreal Expos.

After ten seasons playing on the rock hard turf of Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Dawson left Montreal and offered the Cubs a blank contract. Cubs General Manager Dallas Green offered Dawson $500,000 dollars. Dawson then went on to have one of the greatest individual seasons in baseball history, as Dawson hit .287 with a league leading 49 homeruns and 137 RBIs to win the National League MVP Award for a last place Cubs team.

Dawson played six seasons with the Cubs before moving on to the Boston Red Sox before finishing his career in 1996 with the Florida Marlins.

Andre Dawson finished his career with  a .279 batting average, 438 homeruns,1,591 RBIs, and 314 Stolen Bases. Dawson also had four Silver Slugger Awards, Eight Gold Gloves, and was on eight All Star teams.

I think the most telling stat in favor of Andre Dawson is that he is one of only three players in the history of the game to have 400 homeruns, 300 stolen bases, and 1500 RBIs, joining Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

Congratulations to "The Hawk" Andre Dawson on making it to the most exclusive club in Baseball. Dawson shows that good things happen to those who wait for the call to the hall.

CORRECTION: Corrected to Show Andre's batting average of .279, not his OBP of .323, which was originally posted as his batting average. Thanks to blog reader JF for recognizing my mistake. No More Late Night Blogging for me!

Jim Rice, Rickey Henderson Inducted Into Baseball Hall Of Fame

Rickey Henderson, the most prolific lead-off man in baseball history, got his call to the Hall Of Fame on his first try.

Jim Rice, the prolific slugger for the Boston Red Sox, got in on his final try.

Henderson was the all-time leader with 1,406 steals and 2,295 runs scored. Widely considered to be the greatest leadoff hitter ever, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first time on the ballot with 94.8 percent of the votes cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Jim Rice received seven votes over the 75 percent threshold to garner 76.4 percent, earning 412 votes on the 539 completed ballots cast. Two ballots were sent in blank. This year, 405 votes were needed. Last year, Rice fell 16 votes short.

A .298 career hitter with 382 home runs, 2,452 hits and 1,451 RBIs in 16 seasons, Rice had four seasons of more than 200 hits, led the American League in home runs three times, RBIs twice, hits once, slugging percentage twice, was the AL Most Valuable Player in 1978 and was an eight-time All-Star

Both Rice & Henderson will be joined by Second Baseman Joe Gordon, who was elected to the Hall Of Fame by the Veterans Committee.

"The Hawk" Andre Dawson fell just short of the 75 percent required for election.

Congratulations to Rickey Henderson. Henderson, who habitually referred to himself in the third person, was the greatest leadoff hitter ever. Jim Rice was another great player who deserved to make the hall.

Hopefully next season Andre Dawson will make the Hall Of Fame.

Congratulations to Jim Rice & Ricky Henderson on their elections to the Baseball Hall Of Fame.