Dawson had 12 knee operations during his career. Two of those surgeries came when he was with the Sox, giving fans only glimpses of his Hall-worthy skills. He played just 121 games in his first season with the Sox, 75 the second, and hit a total of just 29 home runs in that span.

“I hurt my knee in the beginning of my first season [with the Red Sox] in Texas,” Dawson told me in a 2006 interview. “I got caught between sliding and standing up on a passed ball. I was on second base, and I took a chop step between strides and hit the corner of the third-base bag.

“I had knee surgery and they decided to use me in the DH role. Then I had knee surgery the following year, too. I never got untracked the way I wanted to in Boston, which was disappointing because I was a free agent then and Boston had shown a lot of interest.”

Dawson was teammates with Terry Francona on the Montreal Expos, and was the first player to Francona’s side when the Sox manager blew out the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Francona, after double-digit surgeries, underwent knee replacement surgery in 2006. Dawson has had replacement surgery on one knee, and has plans to have the same procedure on the other.

“We had a long conversation about it,” Dawson said before his first surgery. “I’ve been putting it off as long as I can. I have some apprehensions about it. I don’t do real well with anesthesia. I’m like a guy who’s been flying all his life who doesn’t want to get on a plane. I’ve had 12 knee surgeries and all of a sudden I’m afraid of having knee surgery.”

For a list of Red Sox players in the Hall of Fame, click here.

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