Saturday, July 27, 2019

Dawson to find himself in middle of Hall of Fame '20 fiasco over Jeter?

The world of professional baseball just had its Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for this year, yet it seems that a prominent Chicago ballplayer will find himself in the middle of a stink over next year’s rituals.

Forner MVP in middle of Jeter affair
At stake is that the Hall of Fame usually invites all of its living members to attend the ceremonies each year. That would include Andre Dawson, who was inducted back in 2010 for his seasons of excellence with the Montreal Expos, but whom some fans prefer to remember for his stint with the Chicago Cubs.

WINNING A MOST Valuable Player award while wearing Cubbie blue can have that effect.

But now it seems that Dawson, along with one-time Cincinnati Reds star Tony Perez, are saying they may not bother to show up for the 2020 induction ceremonies.

Although we won’t know until year’s end, there are those who are convinced that next year’s Hall of Fame ritual will wind up being a celebration of New York Yankees star Derek Jeter.

Who as it turns out went from being the toast of Manhattan to being an owner of the Miami Marlins. He’s now baseball management. His own team, and in a city of tropical glory.


IT’S JUST A shame, in a sense, that the Marlins haven’t played worth squat during the years he has been in charge.
Still bitter about losing his job?

But as it turns out, back when Jeter became a part of Marlins’ management, both Dawson and Perez had been working for the Marlins as coaches. Both were amongst the people who lost their jobs because Jeter wanted to dump the ‘old’ way of doing things – and perhaps add an overtone of New York Yankee-style glamour.

For what it’s worth, both were later re-offered their jobs, but at significant pay cuts. Along with demands that the two stay out of the team clubhouses and not show up in uniform during spring training camp.


Which must seem a significant blow to the athletic egos of the two, both of whom seem to still hold a grudge. Dawson says he probably won’t attend because he, “doesn’t have a sense or feeling like I want to sit on that stage to hear what (Jeter) has to say.”

PEREZ IS MORE blunt, saying he doesn’t want to be a part of any day that celebrates the big star of the New York Yankees’ dominance over baseball in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Yankees glamour diminishing

“It wasn’t nice, what happened at the end,” he said.

So will Dawson or Perez be missed if they turn out to be no-shows? Maybe not! Chances are good that the baseball fan-types who will make the trek to Cooperstown, N.Y., because of Jeter aren’t going to notice who doesn’t show!

It will be a celebration of their guy, and nothing else. And as for the out-of-town (as in non-New York) fans, they’ll probably just think of it as another moment of dissing the Yankees – which is something they’re used to doing every moment they get.

IT MEANS WE won’t have to hear again the stories of that 1987 MVP award that Dawson won even though he was playing for a Cubs’ ballclub that won only 76 games and finished dead last in their division.

Will Jeter top Jordan as management failure
It also shows just how much of a blow that the Jeter image has taken with the fact that his Marlins’ teams, which in 2018 finished with a 63-98 won/loss record – which is actually even more pathetic than that Cubs team that had Dawson’s big bat to make things interesting.

It seems that some guys are not going to be interested in leeching off the Jeter persona on his big day. Because Jeter’s persona may have dived down even deeper than that of Michael Jordan.

For the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association have had way too many pathetic seasons since 2006, when Jordan transitioned from being the Hall of Famer of the Chicago Bulls into management. Almost as though Jordan is determined to take over the athletic losing ways of the Chicago Cubs – unless Jeter can top him in Miami.

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