要約
アンドレ・ドーソンは、モントリオール・エクスポズから1977年にデビューし、8回のオールスター選手に選ばれ、4回のシルバースラッガー賞と1回のMVPを獲得したMLBの名選手です。彼は”ホーク”としても知られ、1990年にシンシナティ・レッズに史上初の5度の敬遠を受けるなど記録を残しました。ドーソンは後にカブスでプレーし、1987年には契約交渉を巡りMVPに輝きました。引退後は異例の経歴を歩み、地元のコミュニティで野球の普及や学校の支援に尽力しています。
記事の主要内容
ポイント1
アンドレ・ドーソンは、ワールドシリーズを制覇したことのない最高の選手の一人です。この外野手は、1975年にモントリオール・エクスポズから11巡目でドラフトされ、1977年にはナショナルリーグの新人王に輝きました。1996年に引退するまで、8回のオールスター選手に選ばれ、4回のシルバースラッガー賞を受賞し、1回のMVPに輝いた実績を残しました。愛称の「The Hawk」として知られる彼は、1990年にシンシナティ・レッズに対して史上初めて5度敬遠されたことでMLB史上の記録を樹立しました。「それに値することをしたのか？」とドーソンは試合後に言いました。ドーソンは通算438本のホームラン、1,591打点、143回の敬遠を記録し、シカゴ・カブス、ボストン・レッドソックス、フロリダ・マーリンズでもプレーしました。
ポイント3
モントリオールでの厳しい膝の怪我に耐えながら10年間プレーした後、ドーソンは南部に移り、名門リグリー・フィールドの芝生でプレーすることを切望していました。カブスは最初、フリーエージェントとして彼をサインすることを拒否しましたが、ホークはあきらめませんでした。1987年3月、ドーソンと彼のエージェント、ディック・モスはカブスの春季キャンプに行き、役員に空白の契約書を渡しました。GMのダラス・グリーン
翻訳された本文（約7割）
Andre Dawson is one of the best players never to win a World Series.
The outfielder was drafted in the 11th round by the Montreal Expos in 1975 and won National League Rookie of the Year in 1977.
By the time he retired in 1996, he was an eight-time All-Star, had four Silver Slugger Awards, and one MVP nod.
Known as The Hawk, he made MLB history in 1990 after the Cincinnati Reds intentionally walked him five times — the first player ever to get the honor.
“What did I do to deserve that?” Dawson said after the game.
In total, Dawson had 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI, and 143 intentional walks over his storied career which also took him to the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and Florida Marlins.
He famously joined the Cubs after presenting the team with a blank contract.
Having spent 10 years playing through a series of brutal knee injuries on rock-solid artificial turf in Montreal, Dawson was desperate to head south and play on the storied grass of Wrigley Field.
The Cubs initially refused to sign the free agent — MLB owners were later later found guilty of colluding to limit spending, which ultimately ended in a $280 million payment to the Players Association — but Hawk would not give up.
After setting Expos records for games, bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs batted in, extra base hits, total bases, and steals, he was done and even threatened to head for Japan rather than return.
Dawson and his agent, Dick Moss, went to Cubs spring training in March 1987 and handed executives a blank contract.
“The best avenue for me was to show up unannounced,” he later told ESPN. “I was sticking my neck out financially, but if you pay me what you think I’m worth, I’m willing to go from there.”
GM Dallas Green offered a base salary of $500,000 — a pay cut of more than 50 percent.
Dawson kept his word and accepted, going on to win his sole MVP award with the team that season despite not reaching the playoffs.
He earned $25 million over 21 years in the big leagues and took an unusual route after retiring.
“Paradise kind of fell into my lap,” he told ESPN in 2020.
Dawson bought a funeral parlour in Richmond Heights, Miami, just 15 minutes from where he grew up.
“You don’t know where God is going to lead you, and this never would have — in my wildest imagination — been something I would have thought that I’d be doing,” he explained. “But I feel like maybe this is my calling.”
His gut feeling was correct.
“The funeral home business is not about volume,” his brother Vince Brown explained. “It’s about controlling the quality of what you do and making it rewarding for the families that come to you and the people who work for you. Andre seems to have found enjoyment in that. Strangest thing!”
Now in his 70s, Dawson hasn’t left the sport that made him behind. Working alongside his alma mater, Florida A&M, The Hawk is still looking to help grow the game and support HBCUs.
“It was in my blood, instilled in me, very early on,” Dawson told MLB.com in 2024. “Once I was there and able to experience the whole culture of college and meet new people, that experience I wouldn’t trade.
“Major League Baseball, through its initiatives, are starting to get a lot of the kids to go through the programs and then go to the HBCU programs.
“I think the quality of talent is starting to get a lot better. Thanks to the initiatives, that’s one of the reasons why we’re starting to get a better quality of player.”
感想
アンドレ・ドーソンは、野球界で多くの栄誉を受けた名選手です。そのプレーぶりは記憶に残り、引退後も地元のコミュニティに貢献している姿は素晴らしいですね。彼のような選手が、野球の普及や若い世代の支援に力を注ぐ姿は、スポーツ界だけでなく社会全体にとっても大きな影響を与えることができると感じます。
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