It has been over two years since Nationals Park opened, but the new “Hall of Fame Ring of Honor” just made an appearance Tuesday afternoon. The ring’s unveiling coincided with Andre Dawson‘s induction this year to the Hall of Fame as a member of the Montreal Expos.
Therein lies the rub — the Expos. Until this point, the only time the Expos ever were mentioned by the club is when it referred to franchise records — though most of the time when a player reached a milestone, the team invoked the “since the franchise moved to Washington” phrase.
Montreal had become part of the team’s forgotten past, much like Washington is treated in both Minnesota and Texas. You would be hard pressed to find any mention of the St. Louis Browns up the road in Baltimore.
Until this point, all of the fanfare surrounded Washington’s baseball past — both the Nationals/Senators and the Homestead Grays. Are the Nationals going to add a statue of Dawson alongside the ones of Josh Gibson, Frank Howard and Walter Johnson on the center-field concourse?
I mean, at least Dawson’s a Hall of Famer — whereas the only way Hondo will get into Cooperstown is by buying a ticket.
If that last sentence offended you — that’s because it should.
Dawson and Gary Carter are deserving of the recognition being given by the Nats, but they never played in this city, and the fans have little to no connection with them.
Are the Nationals righting a wrong? If so, then that’s fine. But then why has it taken so long?
