Dawson: Time for Brady to “walk away’’

Legendary quarterback Tom Brady, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft.

February 1, 2022

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Andre Dawson can certainly relate to Tom Brady and his decision to pack it in his career.

Dawson, the former Expos great, was talking about Brady, the Expos’ draft pick from 1995, who opted for a football career.

Dawson played for more than 20 seasons in the big leagues, just shy of Brady’s mark. Dawson, like Brady, knew the time had come to pack in his career.

Dawson was 42 when he hung up the cleats, Brady was 44.

“Longevity pretty much runs its course,’’ Dawson said in an interview with this website. “It’s time to walk away.

“When you think of retirement, you think of people retiring from a job but Brady is still a young man. He’s only 44. He will map out a direction he wants to go. He could stay in the game as an ambassador, go into announcing, he has family. He can pick and choose what he wants to do.’’

When he went to Candlestick Park one day in June of 1995 to take BP with the Expos, Tommy Brady was an unknown, just another face, another player looking to impress, a needle in a haystack, a draft pick in the 18th round out of high school, no less.

Draft picks like him as the 507th overall in 1995 are a dime a dozen. After all, he was not a first-round pick, although Expos scouts projected him to be a major-leaguer.

Manager Felipe Alou, batting coach Tommy Harper and others in the Expos camp were versed about who Brady was, but few, if any recall Brady that day at Candlestick. He may have just been another also-ran, another average prospect for all they knew.

Nobody seems to have taken photos that day of Tommy Brady before he became Tom Brady. The Expos players that day encouraged the anonymous Brady to go the football route, egging him on to go to Michigan. Who in 1995 would have thought Brady would turn out the way he did?

That was the only time we know of that the Expos had Brady in for a workout. He had already indicated to the Expos he was going to play football at Michigan so he never signed with Montreal.

When he arrived at Michigan, he was also an unknown, just another face, another needle in a haystack. Online reports sad Brady was the seventh-best quarterback going to Michigan in the fall of 1995.

Brady defied all the odds to become one of the NFL’s greatest stars. Now that he’s gone from the playing field, now comes the hard part. The lights have gone out, the cheers have subsided, defensive linemen and backs are no longer coming after him, he's not in the pocket anymore, there are no more receivers to find, the rush for a game is not there, the adrenalin to go to the ballpark has stopped, no more five-star hotels, no more plane jaunts, no more daily diems on the road.

This all falls under the category of withdrawal symptoms caused by the abrupt discontinuation of a pattern of lifestyle. Quasi-depression and grief are sure to follow. It's tantamount to losing a loved one. How do you cope in a new life?

How will Brady keep busy? It's not easy. The mental and emotional stakes are high.

Brady has his wife and children to spend time with. He will surely get broadcasting offers. He has his foundation to look after. He will likely cope until next summer when he normally would report to another training camp. That's when reality would kick in.

“The toughest part is making the announcement,’’ Dawson said. “I don’t think it will be hard going forward. He has a lifestyle that is going to continue. The cameras are not going to disappear. Some things may change but he’s always going to be in the public eye. People will want to know what’s going on with him.’’

As Brady departs the scene, we can only thank him for giving us the thrills of a lifetime. He could barely run but what he did with pass protection under threat of being tackled, was something to behold.

His decision to leave the Expos behind and pursue Michigan and the NFL was a good one. Football put less stress on his knees and his body, allowing him to play for so long on the gridiron.

Let’s remember him for what he did on the field. Let’s remember him for those pass completions, those touchdown passes, those Super Bowl wins.

We may not see the likes of him again.