Dawson, Herzog & Harvey in Hall
DAWSON, ALONG WITH HERZOG AND HARVEY, INDUCTED INTO HALL-OF-FAME. ESPN.com
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Former Montreal and Chicago Cubs star Andre Dawson, former St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog and former umpire Doug Harvey have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 56-year-old Dawson, an All-Star eight times and one of only three major league players to hit 400 homers and steal more than 300 bases, is the 203rd player to make the Hall of Fame. Dawson had 438 homers, 2,774 hits, 1,591 RBIs and 314 stolen bases in his 21-year major league career.
Dawson poked fun at several Hall of Famers before getting serious, warning players not to be lured to the dark side of using performance-enhancing drugs. “It’s a stain on the game, a stain that’s being gradually removed,” he said. Herzog served in baseball long before the Steroids Era took hold. The 78-year-old Herzog, who played eight seasons as a first baseman and outfielder before moving to the front office, is just the 19th major league manager to be inducted.
Herzog managed for 18 seasons, 11 with the Cardinals after stints in Texas, California and Kansas City. He guided the Royals to three consecutive playoff appearances in the 1970s and guided the Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title just two years after he was hired. The Cards also made World Series appearances in 1985 and 1987 under Herzog, who finished his managing career in 1990 with a record of 1,279-1,123, a .532 winning percentage. “Ever since I was elected in December, people have asked, ‘What’s it feel like to be a Hall of Famer,’ ” Herzog said. “Now I can tell you what it feels like. It feels like going to heaven before you die.”
While Herzog talked of heaven, the Hall welcomed in the umpire nicknamed “God.” The 80-year-old Harvey, who worked in the National League from 1962 to 1992, was one of the last major league umpires who didn’t attend umpiring school. He called 4,673 regular-season games during his major league career and also umpired five World Series, six All-Star Games and nine National League championship series. Harvey, the ninth umpire to be inducted and the first living umpire inducted since Al Barlick in 1989, has been battling throat cancer and tape-recorded his speech in the spring.
Harvey, nicknamed “God” because of his no-nonsense demeanor on the field, spoke during a rain shower that abruptly ended in the middle of his speech. “I want you to notice that I stopped the rain,” he deadpanned in closing. While Dawson, Herzog and Harvey were inducted for their contributions between the lines, two more inductees received honors for the stories they told. ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller was honored with the Ford C. Frick award while New York journalist Bill Madden earned J.G. Taylor Spink Award for his contributions as a baseball writer.
“I’m overwhelmed by the whole thing,” Miller said. “It was an incredible time being here.” Miller was introduced by his broadcast partner and Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan. “I always used to kid him … about going off with his fellow immortals to baseball’s Olympus,” Miller said. “These last few days … I’ve learned it’s absolutely not a joke at all, it really exists. What a treat it’s been. I’ve been walking on air for several days.”