Outfielder, Chicago
Cubs
Age: 33 (July 10)
1st season
with Cubs
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 180
Prior to 1987:
A native of
Miami, Florida Dawson earned the nickname “The Hawk” as a Little Leaguer due to
his keen batting eye. A knee injury suffered while playing football for
Southwest Miami High School resulted in surgery (the first of many) and caused
him to concentrate on baseball. He went on to Florida A & M University and
was drafted by the Expos as an amateur in 1975. Dawson played for Lethbridge of
the Pioneer League in ’75 and hit .330 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. He spent
1976 with Class AA Quebec and Class AAA Denver and batted a combined .352 with
28 home runs and 73 RBIs. He earned a September call-up to the Expos and hit
.235 in 24 games. Dawson became the team’s starting center fielder in 1977. He had
a Rookie of the Year season, batting .282 with 26 doubles, 9 triples, 19 home
runs, and 65 RBIs. He proved to be a good fit in an outfield that consisted of
fellow rookie Warren Cromartie in left and All-Star Ellis Valentine in right. Dawson
followed up in 1978 by hitting .253 with 25 home runs and 72 RBIs. He also
topped the NL by being hit by 12 pitches. While his batting average rose to
.275 in 1979, and his RBIs to 92, his home run total was again 25, along with 8
triples and 35 stolen bases. Dawson won his first Gold Glove in 1980 while he
also batted .308 with 17 home runs, 34 stolen bases, and 87 RBIs. He followed
up with another strong performance in the strike-interrupted 1981 season,
finishing second in the National League’s MVP voting as he hit .302 with 24
home runs and 64 RBIs. Dawson was chosen to his first All-Star Game and won
another Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. The Expos also reached the postseason
for the only time during their Montreal tenure. In 1982 Dawson batted .301 with
23 home runs and 83 RBIs, received another Gold Glove, and was again an
All-Star while the Expos dropped to third place. He led the NL with 189 hits in
1983 to go with 36 doubles, 10 triples, 32 home runs, and 113 RBIs. Dawson was
once again the second-place finisher for the league’s MVP award in addition to
being an All-Star, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger recipient. The toll taken on
his knees from playing on artificial turf in the outfield began to become
apparent in 1984 as he appeared in just 138 games and batted .248 with 17 home
runs and 86 RBIs. Shifted to right field to take best advantage of his strong
throwing arm while reducing stress on his knees, he still won a Gold Glove.
With his numbers dropping further in 1985 and ’86, Dawson departed the Expos
following the 1986 season and signed as a free agent with the Cubs.
1987 Season Summary
Appeared in 153
games
RF – 152, PH –
2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 662 [12]
At Bats – 621 [4]
Runs – 90 [15]
Hits – 178 [5,
tied with Juan Samuel]
Doubles – 24
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 49
[1]
RBI – 137 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 32
Int. BB – 7
Strikeouts – 103
[15]
Stolen Bases – 11
Caught Stealing
– 3
Average - .287
OBP - .328
Slugging Pct. -
.568 [6]
Total Bases – 353
[1]
GDP – 15 [15,
tied with four others]
Hit By Pitches
– 7 [5, tied with four others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 2
League-leading
home runs were +5 ahead of runner-up Dale Murphy
League-leading
RBIs were +14 ahead of runner-up Tim Wallach
League-leading
total bases were +24 ahead of runner-up Juan Samuel
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 24, RBI – 74, AVG – .299, SLG - .568, OBP - .337
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 5 AB) vs. San Francisco 4/29
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
Most HR, game –
3 (in 4 AB) vs. Philadelphia 8/1
HR at home – 27
HR on road – 22
Multi-HR games
– 8
Most RBIs, game
– 7 vs. Houston 6/2
Pinch-hitting –
1 for 2 (.500)
Fielding
Chances – 287
Put Outs – 271
Assists – 12
Errors – 4
DP - 0
Pct. - .986
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star
(started for NL in CF)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Andre Dawson, ChiC:
269 points – 11 of 24 first place votes, 80% share
Ozzie Smith, StL:
193 points – 9 first place votes, 57% share
Jack Clark, StL:
186 points – 3 first place votes, 55% share
Tim Wallach,
Mon.: 165 points – 1 first place vote, 49% share
Will Clark, SF:
128 points, 38% share
Cubs went 76-85
to finish in sixth place (last) in the NL Eastern Division, 18.5 games behind
the division-winning St. Louis Cardinals, while leading the league in home runs
(209). The Cubs were in first place on May 20 but faltered the rest of the way
with manager Gene Michael resigning in September and Frank Lucchesi finishing
out the disappointing season that featured Dawson’s outstanding performance and
the solid pitching of RHP Rick Sutcliffe.
Aftermath of ‘87:
Dawson batted .303
with 24 home runs and 79 RBIs in 1988 and spent six seasons with the Cubs,
where he was a five-time All-Star although his numbers, while respectable,
never again approached those of his 1987 MVP performance. The Cubs improved to
reach the postseason in ’89, where Dawson hit .105 in a five-game NLCS loss to
the Giants. He joined the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in 1993, and with the
move to the AL was able to be a Designated Hitter as well as right fielder.
Dawson returned to the National League with the Florida Marlins in 1995 and
retired after the ’96 season. Overall, for his major league career, Dawson
batted .279 with 2774 hits that included 503 doubles, 98 triples, and 438 home
runs. He also totaled 1591 RBIs. Dawson, a popular and classy player with
strong leadership skills who prevailed despite numerous knee surgeries, was an
eight-time All-Star who also received eight Gold Gloves and was a four-time
Silver Slugger recipient. Of his career totals, 929 hits, 431 runs, 149
doubles, 27 triples, and 174 home runs were compiled with the Cubs. The Expos
retired his #10 and Dawson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010
and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.
---
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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