Welcome to the Hall Bruce Sutter. But Where's Andre Dawson?

Star closer Bruce Sutter was the only new inductee voted into the BaseBall Hall of Fame today. I'm glad to see relief pitchers finally starting to get their due. Rollie Fingers, and Dennis Eckersley are the only other closers in the hall. Sutter was a great choice as he was as dominant as anyone has ever been in the role and did it for a good 10 years. Most closers are only dominant for a couple of years then flame out (think John Wetteland, Rob Dibble) due to poor mechanics and the stress of the job. Part of the reason so few closers have been inducted is that the closer role has really only existed for about 30 years and soon guys like Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and potentially Eric Gagne will be headed to Cooperstown.

As a Sox fan (the real ones in Boston, not Chicago) it may seem natural to be pissed that Jim Rice once again didn't make it, but I am on the fence about him and can't make a strong enough case for him to get in. I can make a strong enough case for Andre Dawson though. This guy was what every player should aspire to be and everything scouts look for, a true five tool player and no outfielder was better in the late 70's and 80's. He had 438 career home runs, 1591 RBI's and 314 stolen bases, mostly playing on artificial turf in Montreal that helped destroy his knees. He played through injury, was an 8 time Gold Glove outfielder, 8 time all-star, 1987 NL MVP on a last place Cubs team (is there any other kind of Cubs' team?), showed up to work every day, and never complained. He deserves to be voted in.