It was a summer night at Wrigley in 1991 when Andre Dawson had enough of Joe West. After a questionable called third strike, Dawson argued the call while Cubs manager Jim Essian stood by from the dugout, silent and chewing. West, never one to back down, gave a smug smile that pushed Dawson over the edge. The outfielder got tossed, cursed out the ump, then stormed off the field slinging bats—eighteen of them by the end. The crowd followed his lead, tossing garbage and even a golf ball onto the field. Stadium staff had to clean everything up by hand, looking miserable in thick uniforms under the summer lights.
Dawson’s postgame comments made it clear he didn’t regret standing up to what he saw as disrespect. He felt West baited him with the delay and smugness, saying, “He got that little smirk on his face… when you run somebody out of the game and you smile at him, that can set him off real easy.” Dawson said he didn’t care about the fine and admitted he “just lost it a little bit.” The whole incident spotlighted both West’s flair for confrontation and Dawson’s refusal to be disrespected. It wasn’t just about the strike call. It was how the moment was handled. And Dawson made sure everyone in the park felt his response.