Dawson touts Raines, Smith for Hall

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Five years ago on the Sunday night of Ryne Sandberg's induction ceremony, Andre Dawson felt an emptiness in his stomach.

"I remember exactly what it was like," Dawson said Sunday night in his hotel lobby, sitting quietly and relaxing for the first time in months.

"We went out to dinner and I felt sort of sick, like I wondered if it was ever going to happen for me.

"I wondered how much fun the Hall of Famers must be having at their hotel.

"But I was really appreciative of Ryno saying what he said about me that day, giving me that endorsement, and I told myself that if I'm ever fortunate enough for it to happen to me, I'll do the same for others."

And pay it forward he did Sunday, going out of his way to promote former teammates Tim Raines and Lee Smith.

"There's no doubt in my mind they're both Hall of Famers," Dawson said. "It's my hope that I get to see them up on stage."

As for Sandberg, Dawson took a friendly poke at him in the speech when he said, "Ryne Sandberg was my teammate for six years, and I didn't even know the man could speak until I saw him up here five years ago."

But, he added, "My kind of player. Never whined, never complained, showed up every day and left it all on the field."

Battle of the nerves: Andre Dawson said he was prepared for it to be difficult when he spoke of his late relatives Sunday during his speech.

"I really surprised myself that I was able to get through it as well as I did," Dawson said at a post-ceremony news conference. "I think that I was so worried about it that I concentrated really hard on it. "I really did not feel pressure at all. Mostly, I felt numb when I first started. All I could think was, 'I can't believe I'm really here.' It was an out-of-body sort of experience."

Taking a shot at performance enhancers: Andre Dawson drew huge roars when he said there's nothing wrong with the game of baseball, and that it's the people in the game who are sometimes wrong.

He blasted performance enhancers, albeit subtly.

"Those mistakes have hurt the game and taken a toll on all of us," Dawson said. "Individuals have chosen the wrong road, and have chosen that as their legacy. Others still have a chance to choose theirs.

"Do not be lured to the dark side. It is a stain on the game, a stain not easily removed. But that's the people, not the game. There's nothing wrong with the game. Never has been."

Thanks to the wife who cared for him: Andre Dawson made light of how many times a night his wife, Vanessa, would have to get out of bed to get him medication or ice for his knees, but then he thanked her.

"She put up with a lot in 20 years of baseball, wondering if I was ever going to take off that uniform," Dawson said. "She put up with all the surgeries and all the rehab, the crutches and bandages, the many hours a day of working out, having to watch me in pain through much of it.

"That could not have been easy, and it took as much effort on her part as it did mine to get through those years.

"Thank you, Sweetie. I love you."

Teammates take some zingers: Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to get back at some of his Hall of Fame pals, who have been hazing him all weekend, Dawson said this about Gary Carter:

"We called him, 'Teeths,' because when the cameras came on, that's all you saw from him."

On Tommy Lasorda: "He taught me how to get a free meal. He said, 'Eat half your steak and then send it back and complain and get a whole new free one.' "

On Goose Gossage: "The only player I know who could drink a case of beer on a flight from Chicago to St. Louis, and then pitch lights out the next day."

And on Reggie Jackson: "Rickey Henderson mentioned last year that when he was young, he waited in a parking lot just so he could ask Reggie Jackson for an autograph. Reggie gave him was a pen with his name on it.

"In 1977, I met Reggie at a card show. I was very nervous but I had just been named rookie of the year, so I liked my chances of getting a signed picture. I asked Reggie for an autograph, and all he gave me was a candy bar with his name on it."

The quote: White Herzog: "People have been asking me what it feels like to be a Hall of Famer, and I kept saying that I'll tell you on July 25. Well, now I can tell you. It's like going to heaven before you die."

Exclusive club: In 134 years of major-league baseball, and of the more than 17,000 players who have reached the majors, 203 players have now been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

And finally: Andre Dawson on seeing the 15-year-old son of Dave Winfield tower over his father: "Never mind baseball or football or basketball, that boy is going to invent his own sport.''