Baseball

The Expos live on. The Hawk is in.

The powerful centerfielder who played half of his career in Montreal found his way into Cooperstown after nearly a 10-year wait today.

Dawson received enough voted to vault past the 75% plateau needed to make the cut.

It was a proper selection.

Dawson was not only one of the best players of his generation, but he provided a mix of spectacular skills, including power, speed and defensive instinct.

Here's a rundown of Dawson's accolades:

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman had said going into the offseason that one of his priorities was to upgrade the starting pitching.

But he would not get seriously involved in the Doc Halladay sweepstakes because the stakes were probably too high and Toronto was never likely to trade Doc within the American League East.

Cashman also apparently made no serious efforts to go after free agent John Lackey who signed with arch rival, Boston.

Yes, I am happy Andre Dawson has been voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. After nine years, he received 77.9 percent of the vote (a minimum 75 percent is required) for induction, and it's a fitting—howbeit overdue—honor.

One has to wonder what hat Dawson will wear on his plaque. He achieved most of his notoriety playing with the Chicago Cubs from 1987-1992, but he also played 10 years for the Montreal Expos. If he goes in as an Expo, will it be with an Expo cap or a cap of the team it is now, the Washington Nationals?

David Wright had a very bizarre 2009 season for a few reasons, mainly his low HR and RBI numbers, his extremely high strikeout number, and his first stint on the disabled list.

In 2007 and 2008, Wright had 30 and 33 home runs, respectively, but he only had 10 in 2009.  He joined the 30-30 club in September of 2007 and had a career high HR total in 2008, but both years saw the Mets eliminated on the last day of the season.

It’s not often that we Cleveland fans have something to be proud of.

We’re the Mistake on the Lake; the city so dirty that our river caught fire, and so stupid that we didn’t learn our lesson the first time it happened.

A baby born the day the Indians last won the World Series would now be 61 years old. It’s been 56 seasons since we've had an MVP trophy to put on the mantle.

Edgar Martinez didn’t invent the designated hitter rule. He did better than that—he owned it.

It’s not his fault he was so good at it.

Martinez, eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year but nowhere near election (he was named on just 32.6 percent of the ballots; 75 percent is needed for induction), pretty much did one thing and one thing only. He swung the bat, and that was it. Maybe he didn’t even own a glove. Or if he did, perhaps it was covered with cobwebs.

For the 13th straight year, Bert Blyleven failed to gain induction into the Hall of Fame, this time by the slimmest of margins as he received 74.2 percent of the vote (75 percent is necessary for induction). 

Often considered the best pitcher without a plaque in Cooperstown, the right-hander will remain just that for at least another 12 months, and it's not right.

What must a player do to enter the Hall of Fame? Let’s look at a player’s resume without the name attached.

He must have won awards; they tell us he was among the best in his era.

Rookie of the Year in 1977. National League Most Valuable Player in 1987—on a last place team. Eight-time All Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner, four-time Silver Slugger.

Washington, DC -- His home white No. 55 hanging in a locker stall behind him, Matt Capps was officially introduced to the media in the intimately lit clubhouse in Nationals Park he will call home in 2010.

On hand were a small gathering of beat reporters and selected Internet writers, far from the elaborately staged press conferences of the other significant free agent signings.  There were no television reporters, no cameras of any kind, and no columnists to be seen.