In honor of this weekend’s Chicagoland APBA World Series Tournament in Woodstock, Illinois, I’m featuring outfielder Andre Dawson of my team of choice, the 1987 Chicago Cubs.
I wish I could say that the “Hawk” carried the Cubs in 1987. He didn’t. The Cubs came in dead last with a 73-88 record. That’s not to say that Dawson did try his best. So much so that he ended up with the NL MVP award to go along with his Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and All-Star nomination.
Dawson led his league in a major category three times in his career and he did it twice in 1987. He banged out 49 homers and drove in 137 rbis, both NL best that year. He also hit .287 and even stole 11 bases despite his crippling knees (he was always a smart baserunner regardless of his speed).
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 Totals | 153 | 662 | 621 | 90 | 178 | 24 | 2 | 49 | 137 | 11 | 32 | 103 | .287 | .328 | .568 |
Dawson’s 1987 card is no Babe Ruth or Rogers Hornsby but it got the job done for the Cubs. His power numbers are great at 1-1-5-5. With a 44-7 and 15-10, he’s not all power either.
Andre was never known to walk much so I’m feeling lucky to get two 14s from him.
Remember when 100 strikeouts was a lot for a hitter? Dawson struck out 103 times and gets four 13s. Unfortunately, one is a 42-13.
Fun numbers: 22-5, 44-7, OF-3
Since I announced my selection of the 1987 Cubs for this weekend’s tournament, I’ve been getting a lot of jokes and faux condolences. Thanks but I’ll have fun with this team. Before you count us out, remember that the Chicago Cubs led the NL with 209 homers in 1987. Interestingly, the NL champ St Louis Cardinals were last with 94 dingers.
Jo-Deee! Jo-Deee Davis!
In a solitaire draft league I played, over a 64 game season Dawson (with this card), hit 33 homers and drove in 72 runs. It seemed he always hit with a man on first or second and had 4 chances to go yard. What a fun season that was.
I’ll never forget the game against San Diego where Eric Show threw a pitch that hit him in the face. He was down for a minute or two, then charged the mound.