Herban Sprawl

“It wasn’t a monetary issue,” Dawson said. “It was about respect, about not depriving me of that, about an organization not showing a sense of loyalty after being there all those years. I was sticking my neck out.”

Green got The Hawk for a song and a few incentives, and Andre Dawson went to work in the right field, formerly the domain of Billy Williams, with all the intensity and workmanship of a true professional.

The first Cubs game I ever attended with with an ex-boyfriend who was a Cub fan from below the line. In Illinois terms, this means he was from south of Peoria, which is often Cardinals territory. We sat in the right field bleachers because he was a Billy Williams fan, and I learned how to shriek, “Show ‘em where yer from, Billy!” when the inimitable Billy came to the plate.  That term is Diehard-speak for ‘hit that ball out here to your fans in right field, but over the fence onto Sheffield is okay, too.’ I knew nothing about baseball and it would remain that way until the spring of 1974 when I babysat my adorable little niece while her mommy had a little surgery. There was nothing on television while she napped, except the Cubs or the soaps. I opted for the latter and saw George Mitterwald hit three homeruns in his first appearance in a Cubs uniform. I was smitten.

My girlfriend from college, Lil Linda, was a second generation Diehard, having been taught to catch and throw by her sweetheart of a dad, Sy. She wore a yellow helmet in the bleachers during the heartbreak season of ‘64. With Lil Linda, I became a left field bleacher bum, but I maintained a healthy respect for the right field bums because they had Billy Williams. When they got Andre Dawson, I thought, “Man, how do they rate?!”

I have some arthritis developing in my knees, so I have a heightened respect for a guy who loved his profession so much that he was willing to take a chance with a blank contract just to play in The Friendly Confines. Personally, I think ANY player who is lucky enough to be a Cub should show the same kind of workmanship as Andre Dawson did, but in this age of cork and steroids, well… Ty Cobb used to sharpen his spikes with a rasp and yet he is revered. Somebody is going to have to explain to me how that’s any different from juicing, but then Andre Dawson, bad knees and all, stayed in shape without any tricks.

At this point I am so thrilled that he’s going into the Hall of Fame that I am all misty-eyed. But the bigger question is which cap will he be wearing on that plaque? The news was announced with a big picture of The Hawk in an Expos uniform. I’m offended by that because of what they did to him. The Cubs didn’t want him, either, until he showed up with that blank contract and proved that natural turf and a good attitude were good for the team. But it goes beyond that.

Andre Dawson joins Billy Williams, Ryne Sandburg, Mark Grace, Ron Santo, Don Kessinger and St. Ernie Banks as one of the all time most-beloved Cubs. We Diehards welcomed Andre Dawson with open arms and we shrieked, “Show ‘em where yer from, Hawk!” He obliged and never acted like a horse’s ass about it. We love Andre. We honored Andre at Wrigley and retired his jersey.  We deserve to have him in the Hall of Fame wearing a Chicago Cubs cap.

And Andre Dawson deserves this whether the baseball writers want to admit it or not. Clearly they cannot read what is in the hearts of Cub fans everywhere on this most auspicious day of 2010. I’m starting to feel better about the new year already.

“Let’s play two!”