When Andre Dawson was elected to the hall of fame there were a lot of questions asked about how, or even if, the Nationals should honor the former Montreal Expo.
The club has decided to honor the Hawk in a new ring of honor that will be unveiled on Tuesday before Stephen Strasburg faces the Florida Marlins. But Dawson's name won't be the only one on the infield concourse when the curtain drops on Tuesday. The list, and its significance, after the jump.
According to Nats Daily News, the ring will honor three distinct parts of Washington baseball history: the two different teams that used to play here, and the team that the Nationals used to be. Those teams being the Montreal Expos, the Washington Senators, and the Homestead Grays.
From the Expos, Gary Carter and Andre Dawson will have the first positions on the first base side at section 126.
The Homestead Grays are then represented left to right by Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cumberland Posey, and Jud Wilson.
The Washington Senators are then represented by Joe Cronin, Ferrell, Goose Goslin, Clark Griffith, Bucky Harris, Walter Johnson, Harmon Killebrew, Heinie Manush, Sam Rice, and Early Wynn.
The Nationals were in an interesting and farely rare position when choosing the names that would adorn this new ring of honor. The organization has not been around for very long, so they had to borrow from the tradition and history of others. But luckily, there is enough baseball history in Washington for the club to borrow without it seeming like a reach.
So the ring of honor will serve more as a Washington baseball hall of fame than a ring of honor that focuses specifically on the Nationals franchise. The team can honor three different traditions that don't have a home anywhere else, which is actually pretty cool.