Andre Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame, while Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar fell just short of earning baseball's highest honor.Dawson, nicknamed "The Hawk," received 420 of 539 votes in voting announced Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, 15 more than the 75 percent necessary to gain election.
Five of the ballots sent in were blank.
The eight-time All-Star, appearing on the ballot for the ninth time, had fallen 44 votes short last year.
"It was well worth the wait. I can't really describe the elation," Dawson said during a telephone conference call. "If you're a Hall of Famer, eventually you're going to get in, no matter how long it takes."
Blyleven had 400 votes, up from 338 last year, and likely will get in, what with two more tries on the BBWAA ballot. The highest percentage for a player who wasn't elected in a later year was 63.4 by Gil Hodges in 1983, his final time on the ballot.
"Hopefully, next year will be my time," Blyleven said in an interview on the MLB Network.
Alomar received 397 votes (73.7 percent) in the second baseman's first appearance, and was followed by pitcher Jack Morris with 282 (52.3 percent), a big increase from the 237 votes he got last year.
"I feel disappointed, but next year hopefully I make it in," Alomar said at his home in New York. "At least I was close."
Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin, also making his first appearance, was on 278 ballots (51.6 percent), followed by reliever Lee Smith at 255 (47.3 percent) and Edgar Martinez at 195 (36.2 percent).
Martinez, on the ballot for the first time, is viewed as an early test of how voters will receive players who were primarily designated hitters.
Mark McGwire received 128 votes (23.7 percent), 10 more than last year and matching the total from his first two times on the ballot. Eighth on the career list with 583 homers, he has been stigmatized since evading questions from Congress in 2005 about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Dawson, who won eight Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards, had a 21-year career with the now-defunct Montreal Expos (11 seasons), Chicago Cubs (six seasons), Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins.
He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 25 in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey, who were elected last month by the Hall's Veterans Committee.
A victim of the owners' conspiracy against free agents after he left the Expos, Dawson signed a blank contract with the Cubs during spring training. Then-general manager Dallas Green filled in the dollar amount of $500,000, making Dawson the second-lowest paid regular on the team.
Dawson stayed with the Cubs through 1992, then spent two seasons apiece with Boston and Florida. He had a .279 career average with 1,591 RBIs and 314 steals, playing through 12 knee operations.
He is one of only three players with at least 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases, joining Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.
The close calls for Blyleven and Alomar marked the first time in BBWAA balloting that two players fell fewer than 10 votes short in one year.
Below is the complete list of votes and percentages of players on this year's Hall of Fame Ballot cast by the Baseball Writers of America (BBWAA):
| Player | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|
| Andre Dawson | 420 | 77.9 |
| Bert Blyleven | 400 | 74.2 |
| Roberto Alomar | 397 | 73.7 |
| Jack Morris | 282 | 52.3 |
| Barry Larkin | 278 | 51.6 |
| Lee Smith | 255 | 47.3 |
| Edgar Martinez | 195 | 36.2 |
| Tim Raines | 164 | 30.4 |
| Mark McGwire | 128 | 23.7 |
| Alan Trammell | 121 | 22.4 |
| Fred McGriff | 116 | 21.5 |
| Don Mattingly | 87 | 16.1 |
| Dave Parker | 82 | 15.2 |
| Dale Murphy | 63 | 11.7 |
| Harold Baines | 33 | 6.1 |
| Andres Galarraga | 22 | 4.1 |
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
