I think it is ridiculous how teams are now trying to bribe players into wearing their hats on their hall of fame display.

Take the case of Andre Dawson.  The Chicago Cubs have told the Hawk that if he were to happen to wear a Cubs cap on his plaque, they would honor him by retiring the number 8.

Excuse me?  Are you telling me that the only way that they will honor a great player is if he does something for them first?  Hasn't the man done enough?  Isn't winning the MVP on a last place team in 1987 enough?  Isn't being a great player for a number of years enough?

In an era of free agents and players starring for multiple teams, there is often debate as to what team's cap the player should wear on their hall of fame plaque.  Dawson played for a total of four major league teams with his longest run coming in a Montreal Expos uniform. Montreal was the team that signed Dawson and developed him and he had a great run there for ten years.  Although the Expos no longer exist, Dawson could honor them by wearing their cap, which in my opinion, is the correct choice. 

My first memories of Dawson go back to when he shared the outfield with Warren Cromarte and Ellis Valentine, comprising one of the most lethal outfields in baseball and possibly the three best arms in an outfield at the same time.  If you think Dawson had a cannon, Valentine had a rocket launcher.  The only two players that I saw in person who had an arm like Valentine were Roberto Clemente and Dwight Evans. 

That said, Dawson will probably be the last Expo who will go into the hall.  While Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson also got their starts with Montreal, they had greater success elsewhere and probably will go in wearing the caps of other teams.  So Dawson's enshrinement is probably the last chance an Expos cap will ever get on a plaque in Cooperstown.

I'd like to see the Hall of Fame do away with the caps completely.  Very few players play for one team and sometimes show a vindictive side when they get elected.  Wade Boggs did everything he could to be enshrined as a Red Sox.  When and if Roger Clemens gets in, he'll be weighing offers from the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox.  When and if Mark McGwire gets in, he'll be deciding between the A's and Cardinals.  Greg Maddux will weigh the Cubs vs. the Braves most likely taking the Braves. And on it goes.

Just take the cap out of the equation and let's enjoy honoring these great players without the debate or the bribes.