Fame coming into focus for Dawson

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - It's not easy for any of them to explain.

The words are elusive.

But for each, the moment the call arrives, the lives of Hall of Famers are forever altered.

"Lou Boudreau told me people would never look at me the same way again,'' Billy Williams said Friday night. "He was right. It's surprising what happens to you.

"But when you think about it, there's a few billion people on the Earth and this is a small group.''

There are 67 living members, and only 109 have ever been elected by the writers in 134 years of professional baseball.

"It's an exclusive club and when you see the other Hall of Famers, they're like teammates, or brothers,'' Williams said. "They're the only people who understand what it feels like to never have your feet touch the ground again.''

But it doesn't really feel that way until the inductee reaches Cooperstown for a weekend of parties and ceremonies.

"I've tried to prepare for this, to keep my emotions in check,'' Dawson said Friday. "I don't know how I'm going to react once I get on that stage.

"But being here in Cooperstown, it's really starting to hit home. It feels real now. It was just off in the distance until today.

"But we're here and Sunday will get here quick. It's hard not to think of my (late) mom and my grandmother. It's hard to sort of keep it together.''

Induction day will be an emotional challenge, but until then, it's supposed to be fun and games.

After his introduction to the rest of the Hall of Famers at a party Friday night, Andre Dawson will never again be just another baseball player, and gone is the pain of having to wait nine years to get elected.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes,'' said Ryne Sandberg, who made it in on his third year of eligibility. "Hawk understands that now. He's just a part of things here.''

When he's greeted by his new mates Saturday morning at the Hall of Fame golf outing, Dawson will be at home among his brethren.

"The guys will start picking on him and it will feel just like the best team you've ever been on,'' Sandberg said. "He won't feel left out anymore.''

Dawson's wait led him to question much about his career and the hallowed halls of Cooperstown, but that is a mere memory now.

"He had to wait longer than I would have thought,'' Sandberg said. "During my career, I'd always heard talk about him being a first-ballot guy, and then when I got here, all the (Hall of Famers) talked about him. They asked me about him.

"They knew he was going to get here but they were surprised he had to wait. But once you get here, it doesn't matter. First year, 10th year, it's the same thing. You're here.''

Sandberg's wait was short compared to Dawson's, but it was made difficult by the expectation of others.

"You hear so much about it and you begin to think it's going to happen quickly, and it takes a toll,'' Sandberg said. "The first year, when I didn't get a call and I saw my vote total, I went outside and dug a hole.''

Really.

"Yeah, we were doing some work out in the yard and we needed a hole dug,'' Sandberg insisted. "So I went out and spent the day digging a hole and thinking about things. It was the best thing for me.

"The Hall of Fame is a distant dream and players don't think about it when they're playing. The first time you really think about it is when people start comparing you to other Hall of Famers.

"That's a big thrill just to be mentioned in a sentence with those guys, but you don't think about it because you're focused on playing the game.

"Then, as you retire and get away from the game and you're considered one of best players of all time, it's still hard to imagine.

"I know I didn't want to think about it at all. It can get the best of you. But people bring it up all the time so it's tough not to think about it.

"Then, when it doesn't happen, it's something that you have to deal with. I dug a hole.''

When Dawson retired, only two players eligible for the Hall who possessed 400 home runs weren't here, Darrell Evans and Dave Kingman, two guys with whom Dawson's overall game would never be confused.

But the steroid era went into high gear just as Dawson retired, and the number of players who flew past 400 and 500 confused voters.

The scandal of the last decade, however, shed a new light on great players like Dawson, and Sunday he gets his just due.

"He was the best all-around player I ever saw play during my years in the game, and he just dominated the league for a long time,'' Sandberg said. "I'm really glad for him that this has finally happened. It feels good. I'm just really, really happy for him.''

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.

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