Comments for Dawson's Blank Check at http://wezen-ball.com , comment 1 to 16 out of 16 comments http://wezen-ball.com Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:32:49 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-359 As a mild baseball fan, I learned nothing new here. However, is it fair to blame the fans in Montreal? Didn't their attendance go from among the highest to among the lowest? Perhaps there were other factors beyond the simple? - Boca Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:07:19 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-325 Why are some of you turning this into a PISSING MATCH?!?!?! First and foremost, great article Larry! For the rest of you assclowns that want to start these pissing matches about which city is better, this is the wrong post for that!! And shame on you Montreal fans that have nothing better to write other than calling Cubs losers. Yeah, we know that they haven't won the big show in over 100 years....but, hey, at least they still have a franchise playing every year....and shame on those of you blaming the Expos fans for losing their team due to poor attendance.......the reason they left was a mixture of different things, so, stop with all the fan bashing hatred between the two of you fan bases! I've been a Cubs fan for the past 35 years and although Andre's Avg, Avg # of Hr's and Avg # of Rbi's were higher as a Cub than they were as an Expo, and even though he was in the MVP voting 4 out of the 6 yrs as a Cub compared to only 5 out of the 10 yrs as an Expo, I think he really made a name for himself while with Montreal and I think the HALL OF FAME made the right call. But, I will leave you with this; if he didn't put up the numbers he did with the Cubs, would he of still made the HOF??? Probably not or not this fast.....just chew on that for a minute! - niko68 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:54:52 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-324 Everyone knows that Dawson was awesome with the Expos. Everything was better than with the Cubs. Contender with the Expos, loser with the Cubs. Every possible stat calculated is better with the Expos. Better Expos teams, worse Cubs teams. No brainer Dawson in the Coop as a Montreal Expo. - bobbailey Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:03:31 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-323 Just so no one's confused...the good ole red, white and blue on that Montreal cap has much more to do with the French flag than the one flying in most MLB stadiums. - Jeff Hainey Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:41:57 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-322 For what it's worth, Dawson's people did engage in some shenanigans of their own. They didn't break through collusion strictly because they gave Dallas Green a blank contract. Dawson and Dick Moss (his agent) turned up to Spring Training unannounced, and when they tried to meet with Green his secretary pushed them aside by saying that Green was unavailable, and wouldn't be all week. So they just left an envelope with the blank contract there and told all the Cubs beat writers what they had done. Green found out from the newspapers. - berselius Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:09:32 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-321 Lar, I don't think you were being unfair at all. I agree that Dawson's comments about the Expos are piss poor and he should be ashamed for saying them. I was more curious about the juiced ball in 1987 and have found links later on documenting it. Well written article. - mb211 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:32:31 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-320 Baseball teams were colluding in 1987. They were found to be in collusion against free agents and later paid a penalty to the Players' Union. Andre Dawson didn't like the salary offers in Montreal because they failed to reward him for his success and courage in playing with injury. He was forced to have several knee surgeries, probably because of the crappy artificial surface in that dome. Getting on in years, he needed a place to play ON GRASS with a team that could afford to pay him what he was worth. Dawson realized that teams were not going to sign free agents that year, as part of their illegal collusion, and he offered to play for whatever fair price the Cubs offered. No team could turn down an offer like that from a player of Dawson's ability. But initially the Cubs did, proof to any fair observer that collusion was occurring. After a considerable period of time the Cubs finally accepted this extraordinary offer. Harry Carry, the broadcaster and the final arbiter on Dawson's situation, chided the Cubs in no uncertain terms. Then the Cubs signed Dawson for $650K, an outrageously low figure. Not much to like about Major League Baseball or the Cubs or Dallas Green. A lot to like about the class act, Andre Dawson. He played that way too. - Cjger31 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:09:08 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-319 It's the same old sad song, how angry the Expos fans are about Dawson's desire to wear a Cubs hat on his HOF Statue instead of the Expos. As I've seen on other blogs, it all comes down to respect and fan support. The MLB didn't abandon Montreal, you Fans did! All you had to do was attend the games! That was leading to that whole contraction nonsense...The stated attendance was 5K or less, and you know darn well there were around 500 in the seats. That's sad. The franchise should have been pulled! Hell, one season, there was no T.V. contract because no one could agree if the games should be done in French or English. So get off your soapboxes you alleged Montreal Baseball fans. If you'd shown up to the freaking games, there would likely still be an MLB Franchise there! - rocky Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:53:42 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-317 Great stuff. I remember that blank contract like it was yesterday, but I did not have all the info. Thanks and it's wonderful to see the Hawk going into the Hall as an Expo. - jem1776 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:33:26 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-314 I'm not sure, but maybe the post is coming across as anti-Dawson. That wasn't my intention. Other than my feeling that he's being unfair to the fans of Montreal (who loved him plenty), I don't think he's ever really done anything wrong. Like everyone says, he honorably respected the undervalued contract the Cubs handed to him and turned it into an MVP season. I like Dawson, and Cubs fans have every reason to love the guy. I'm more talking about the way today's media is treating his time with the city of Chicago. When they mention the blank check, it sounds like a cute, clever little story about how he and the team worked something out to beat the evils of collusion (and, if you listen to Hawk himself, it almost sounds like he has rosied up the memory of it in his own mind). As these articles and press releases from the time clearly show, the truth was pretty different. Yes, Dawson showed himself to be a classy man by accepting it and making the most of it, but the journey was much tougher than we're being led to believe 20+ years later. It's not a bad idea to look into it again and see what the real truth was. That's all I'm saying. - lar @ wezen-ball Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:54:35 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-313 What do you mean by juiced balls in 1987? - mb211 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:45:03 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-312 First, let me say that I enjoy your blog. It's well written and even when I don't agree with you, your views are rarely unreasonable. In this case, I'm not clear on what you are trying to say. The evidence you provide points to Andre Dawson being as much or more of a class act than his reputation already indicates. Dawson offered the Cubs a blank check, the Cubs took undue advantage of it, and although he wasn't happy with the money, he went out and had a great year anyway. He didn't spend his time whining or feeling sorry for himself. He let his on-field performance do his talking. Even so, you seem to be spinning this story to in some way make Dawson come off looking like the bad guy. The facts just don't support that. Am I reading you wrong? - Sweet Lou Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:33:24 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-311 So, you looked deeper into it and find that Dawson gave props to the city of Montreal despite the team colluding against him his entire career. You also find that he did, in fact, offer a "blank contract" to the Cubs and he was a little miffed at the salary they saw fit to write in (do you think he should have demanded less money or something?). He did not let his displeasure prevent him from producing a great season. The only negative light this shines upon Dawson comes from the blogger's skewed commentary. - edillinia Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:54:55 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-310 I am a little bit confused at the way you are spinning this. If anything, the fact that he wasn't initially so enthused about the Cubs decision on his salary makes the story better, imo. I was not a proponent of Dawson going into the Hall mostly due to his OBP but this is a fantastic testimony to him as a person. He committed to playing for an indeterminate amount because his priority was to play in Chicago, he was then upset about how much money he was going to be paid, and he still went out there and dominated. Pretty great if you ask me. - Jesse G. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:45:49 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-308 I live in Montreal, was and am a huge baseball fan, but I have been truly disappointed by the comments made by Dawson during this period following the announcement of his impending Hall of Fame induction. He spent 10 years in Montreal, was adored by many thousands of Montreal fans (remember, when he was here, Montreal was regularly TOP FIVE in NL attendance)and yet he has had basically nothing good to say about his time here. Does he forget? I understand wanting to go in as a Cub, I really do, but please, please Andre, for the many, many Montreal fans who spent lots of time rooting for you and following your career during and after your time with the Expos, say something, anything nice about your time here. They were great teams, winning teams, and I don't recall the entire time being such duress for you. - RobL1 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:27:06 +0100 http://wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/january/dawsons-blank-check.html#comment-306 Great, great stuff, Lar. In light of the romanticizing of Dawson's decision and his "clean" career, it's nice to see someone willing to actually, you know, look into it. - Mike Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:20:57 +0100