Dawson's Creak
The Tribune's Mike Downey comes out with the bold stance that he won't vote for Mark McGwire on this year's HoF ballot. But not for the reason many of you are thinking.
No, it's not the alleged steroid use. Downey is down on McGwire because...McGwire's career numbers aren't as good as Andre Dawson's:
What Downey leaves out is that Dawson also had career marks of a .323 OBP (not all that terrific) and a .482 slugging average -- which not only isn't in the top 100 of all time, but also ranks behind Geoff Jenkins, Bob Horner, Ryan Klesko, and David Justice.
If you think it's unfair of me to point out who ranks ahead of Dawson, here's another clip from Downey as he justifies his case against McGwire:
I give Downey credit for actually looking at McGwire's record, rather than present some knee-jerk homily about cheating and the children.
Unfortunately, the corollary to his argument doesn't hold water. The Hall of Fame isn't some logic puzzle (if McGwire = Hall of Famer, therefore Dawson and Baines and Surhoff = Hall of Famer as well). Saying McGwire shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame because Hal and the Hawk had better numbers doesn't really establish what kind of numbers merit election.
Dawson and Baines were fine players (favorites of mine, as a matter of fact). But they're not Hall of Famers. They just don't have the numbers to justify it. No matter how many more hits they had than McGwire.
No, it's not the alleged steroid use. Downey is down on McGwire because...McGwire's career numbers aren't as good as Andre Dawson's:
Andre Dawson's hit total is more than 1,100 higher than McGwire's. He had twice as many doubles. His average is 16 points higher. He has 177 more RBIs.
Dawson also won eight Gold Glove awards at his position. McGwire won one.
What Downey leaves out is that Dawson also had career marks of a .323 OBP (not all that terrific) and a .482 slugging average -- which not only isn't in the top 100 of all time, but also ranks behind Geoff Jenkins, Bob Horner, Ryan Klesko, and David Justice.
If you think it's unfair of me to point out who ranks ahead of Dawson, here's another clip from Downey as he justifies his case against McGwire:
Seventh on the all-time homer charts. More than Reggie Jackson. More than Mickey Mantle. More than Ted Williams. More than Ernie Banks. More than Lou Gehrig. Wow.
How could he not be in the Hall of Fame?
Then I came to McGwire's other batting stats.Lifetime hits: 1,626.That's it? Are you serious? Vinny Castilla has more. Jeff Conine has more. Juan Gonzalez has more. Ruben Sierra has more. B.J. Surhoff has 700 more.
No Hall of Famers in that bunch.
The brawny McGwire's career batting average is a scrawny .263. His RBI total of 1,414 is not all that hot for a slugger. It pales next to Palmeiro's. It is more than a couple of hundred shy than that of Harold Baines.
I give Downey credit for actually looking at McGwire's record, rather than present some knee-jerk homily about cheating and the children.
Unfortunately, the corollary to his argument doesn't hold water. The Hall of Fame isn't some logic puzzle (if McGwire = Hall of Famer, therefore Dawson and Baines and Surhoff = Hall of Famer as well). Saying McGwire shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame because Hal and the Hawk had better numbers doesn't really establish what kind of numbers merit election.
Dawson and Baines were fine players (favorites of mine, as a matter of fact). But they're not Hall of Famers. They just don't have the numbers to justify it. No matter how many more hits they had than McGwire.
posted by Bob at
7:49 PM
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