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Originally Posted by Chip R
Also there was collusion going on where the owners weren't signing hardly any players and Dawson basically blackmailed the Cubs into signing him.
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The story of how Dawson ended up with the Cubs is one of my all-time favorites, and you're right, it was totally collusion-driven.
For anyone unfamiliar: that was the peak winter of collusion, when teams had an "understanding" that they wouldn't sign each others' free agents if the original team still wanted them. All-Stars were receiving offers worthy of Triple-A lifers. Dawson didn't want to back to Montreal, he wanted to play in Chicago because of the grass field (his knees were already going) and day games. So he and his agent went to the Cubs' spring training camp, threw a contract on the GM's desk -- with the salary blank, for the Cubs to fill in as they chose -- and then told all the writers about it. The Cubs had no chance.