Congratulations are due to Andre Dawson for his election to the Hall of Fame. He deserved it.
When I think about Andre Dawson, a lot of memories come to mind, but two especially stand out. The first was on May 22, 1990. The Cubs were playing the Reds. In a sixteen-inning game, Andre came to bat five times with a runner in scoring position – and he was walked every time. Five intentional walks in one game. A major league record. And the Cubs won, 2 to 1. (The game had been scoreless until the thirteenth. The Reds got a lead-off home run in the top of the inning. The Cubs got a lead-off home run in the bottom of the inning.)
The second, and probably my biggest, memory of Andre Dawson, was September 9, 1989. It was a Saturday. The Cardinals were in town for a three-game series, and they were in second place. We had blown a five-run lead on Friday and lost, 11 to 8. That put the Cardinals just 1/2 game behind us. In the bottom of the eighth, Luis Salazar, who we had picked up from the Padres at the end of August, drove in Dwight Smith to tie the score, 2 to 2. It was still tied in the bottom of the tenth. Andre walked with one out. That brought up Luis Salazar again. Luis hit the ball into the right field corner, and Andre, bad knees and all, scored all the way from first. Rounding third base it seemed like Andre could barely bend his knees, but he was running all out and he scored. At which point, with no regard for Andre or his knees, Shawon Dunston, who followed Salazar in the order, jumped into Andre’s arms. The Cubs won on Sunday, too, and less than three weeks later clinched the division.
I probably should mention one other memory of Andre: Waiting in an autograph line with my son for two hours and 40 minutes to get Andre’s autograph at the 1998 Cubs Convention because that was who he really wanted.
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