Andre Dawson (2010)


Date of Birth: 7/10/1954
Birthplace: Miami, Florida
College: Florida A&M University

Andre Dawson played little league baseball when he was eight or nine years old. He was so good that he played on teams with older boys. By the time he was in high school, he was an all-around athlete. He played football until he received an injury to his knee that resulted in surgery. After that, he played baseball in high school and at Florida A&M.

Montreal Expos (Washington Nationals)

Dawson was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1975. He played in their minor league system from 1975 through most of 1976, joining the Expos for 24 games in September, 1976.

In his rookie year (1977), Dawson won the National League Rookie of the Year award for batting .282 with 148 hits, 26 doubles, 9 triples, 19 home runs, 21 stolen bases, and 65 RBIs in 139 games. He also won the Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year award.

Dawson batted .253 in 157 games in 1978. He had 154 hits, 24 doubles, 25 home runs, 28 stolen bases, and 72 RBIs. The next season, he played better, finishing with a .275 batting average in 155 games. In 1979, he had 176 hits, 24 doubles, a career high 12 triples, 25 home runs, 35 stolen bases, and 92 RBIs.

Dawson won his first of four Silver Slugger awards in 1980. He had 178 hits, a career high 41 doubles, 17 home runs, 34 stolen bases, 87 RBIs, 69 strikeouts to 44 walks, and a .308 batting average in 151 games. He also won his first Gold Glove in 1980. As The Expos' center fielder in 147 games, he made 403 putouts and 6 errors. He would go on to win seven more Gold Gloves for his outstanding fielding.

Dawson had a strong season in 1981, when he was named the Sporting News Player of the Year and he won his second Silver Slugger award. He batted .302 with 119 hits, 21 doubles, 24 home runs, 26 stolen bases, and 64 RBIs in 103 games. He led all NL center fielders in putouts with 324, and he won his second Gold Glove.

In 1982, Dawson had 183 hits, 37 doubles, 23 home runs, a career high 39 stolen bases, 83 RBIs, 96 strikeouts to 34 walks, and a .301 batting average in 148 games. He again excelled defensively, winning his third consecutive Gold Glove.

Dawson won his third Silver Slugger award and he led the NL in hits in 1983. He had a career high 189 hits, 36 doubles, 32 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 113 RBIs, 81 strikeouts to 38 walks, and a .299 batting average in a career high 159 games. Defensively, he won Gold Glove number four, and he led all NL center fielders in putouts with 438.

Dawson's batting average dropped to just .248 in 1984. He had 132 hits, 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 86 RBIs in 138 games. He had only slightly better numbers in 1985, when he batted .255 in 139 games. That year, he had 135 hits, 27 doubles, 23 home runs, and 91 RBIs. Although he struggled offensively in 1984 and 1985, his defense was excellent and he won Gold Gloves both seasons.

Dawson played better offensively in 1986, batting .284 in 130 games. He finished the season with 141 hits, 32 doubles, 20 home runs, 18 stolen bases, and 78 RBIs.

Chicago Cubs

After the 1986 season, Dawson became a free agent and he signed with the Chicago Cubs. He had a great first year with the Cubs, winning the 1987 National League MVP award, the Sporting News Player of the Year award, the Baseball Digest Player of the Year award, and another Silver Slugger award. He led the NL in home runs with a career high 49 and in RBIs with a career high 137. He batted .287 with 178 hits and 24 doubles in 153 games.

Dawson played well again in 1988, batting .303 in 157 games. He had 179 hits, 31 doubles, 24 home runs, and 79 RBIs. He won his eighth and final Gold Glove that year.

Dawson played in only 118 games in 1989, and his batting average dropped to .252. The next year, he came back strong, finishing the season with a career high batting average of .310. He had 164 hits, 28 doubles, 27 home runs, and 100 RBIs in 147 games in 1990.

Dawson continued to play well in 1991 and 1992. He batted .272 in 1991, and .277 the following season. He had 153 hits, 21 doubles, 31 home runs, and 104 RBIs in 1991, and 150 hits, 27 doubles, 22 home runs, and 90 RBIs in 1992.

Boston Red Sox

After six seasons with the Cubs, Dawson again became a free agent. In October, 1992, he signed with the Boston Red Sox. He suffered a knee injury in 1993, and he ended up as Boston's designated hitter that year. He finished the season with 126 hits, 29 doubles, 67 RBIs, and a .273 batting average in 121 games.

Dawson's knee problems continued into 1994, when he played in just 75 games. He batted .240 with 70 hits, 18 doubles, 16 home runs, and 48 RBIs. He was named the recipient of the Hutch award in 1994.

Florida Marlins

Dawson left the Red Sox after the 1994 season and he returned to the National League, this time with the Florida Marlins. He was just a part-time player in his last two seasons, playing in 79 games in 1995 and in 42 games in 1996.

Awards

  • Gold Glove (8 times)
  • Silver Slugger award (4 times)
  • NL Rookie of the Year
  • Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year
  • NL MVP
  • Sporting News Player of the Year (2 times)
  • Baseball Digest Player of the Year
  • Hutch award

Career Statistics

Dawson played in over 100 games in each of 17 seasons (1977-1993). His statistics during that time include:

  • 10 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 189 in 1983
  • 5 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 41 in 1980
  • 13 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 49 in 1987
  • 4 seasons with 100 or more RBIs, with a high of 137 in 1987
  • 7 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 39 in 1982
  • 4 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .308 in 1980

Career batting statistics for Dawson include:

  • 2,627 games played
  • 2,774 hits
  • 503 doubles
  • 438 home runs
  • 1,591 RBIs
  • 314 stolen bases
  • 1,509 strikeouts to 589 walks
  • .276 batting average
  • .323 on-base percentage
  • .805 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Dawson as an outfielder include:

  • 2,323 games played
  • 5,158 putouts
  • 93 errors
  • .983 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

In 2003, Dawson joined the Miami Marlins' front office.

Dawson has co-authored three books: "Hawk" (1994) and "Andre Dawson" (1995) with Tom Bird, and "If You Love this Game..." (2012) with Alan Maimon.

Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 on the ninth ballot with 77.9% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Andre Dawson
ESPN - Andre Dawson
Baseball Reference - Andre Dawson
SABR - Andre Dawson

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