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Yesterday was a historic day for former Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson. He finally was enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after being eligible for the past nine years. His baseball career has finally come home.

However, in December of 1987, Vine Line captured what life is like for Andre Dawson at home. Just months after his mammoth NL MVP season, Dawson invited staff photographer Steve Green to document his life with wife Vanessa for one weekend at his home in Miami. Green was able to capture the essence of the All-Star outfielder--his work ethic, his interests outside of baseball and his motivations to be the best.Green was the proverbial "fly on the wall", observing Dawson while he worked out, and while he visited his grandmother's grave.

Vine Line offers some of Steve Green's most intriguing images from his visit:

While Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and the injured Chase Utley are the Philadelphia offensive regulars that grab most of the headlines, it is centerfielder Shane Victorino who often fuels the Phillies' run production.

Despite a .250 average, the 5-9 Hawaiian knocked 14 balls out of the park, accrued 48 RBIs and stole a team-high 17 bases in the season's first half. Baseball Prospectus' Christina Kahrl highlighted Victorino's versatility in July's Scorecard EXTRA (above).   

He couldn't wipe the smile off his face the entire time during batting practice.

Even though he was the last guy get his cuts in during BP, Cubs centerfielder Marlon Byrd didn't care. He was in a red carpet parade earlier in the day. He watched David Ortiz win the Home Run Derby last night. Even when the grounds crew was breaking down the cage and rolling up the tarp that protected the field, Byrd got four 10 swings in and that was enough.

"It's a dream come true," Byrd said, a first-time All-Star who was voted in by his peers. "You think about this when you're a little kid--making the All-Star team. Now I've done it. But I'm just happy to be here. I'm just following everyone else. It's just an honor to be around all these great guys."

But Byrd, whose baseball acumen might even outweigh his baseball skills, has been known to help out teammates with small nuggets of advice. This season, he made a couple of Cubs pitchers aware that they were tipping pitches.

He picked up this skill while with Philadelphia. And in Anaheim, the chance to closely watch opponents is a rare opportunity to scout and improve his own swing.

"I'm paying attention here," Byrd said. "I'm watching [the Brewers'] Corey Hart during the Home Run Derby and seeing how he's keeping his hands down now....I saw [the Marlins'] Hanley [Ramirez] circling his hands down, too. So I'm trying to piece together my swing with theirs now.

"But you're alwasy trying to improve, and what better way to do that than to be around the best?"

He patiently waited until the bottom of the fifth inning, when he was inserted into the lineup, replacing Hart in centerfield.

In the bottom of the sixth, Byrd nearly made a spectacular diving catch off an Elvis Andrus pop fly in shallow right-centerfield. The effort was applauded by the all-star crowd of 40,408, but Cubs fans know Byrd has been making catches and offering like that all season. And that's why his peers voted him in.

In the top of the seventh, going against lefty reliever Matt Thornton from the crosstown rival White Sox, Byrd coaxes a walk then scores sliding on a double by Atlanta catcher Brian McCann.

Byrd isn't taking anything for granted. Despite being a highly touted prospect in the Phillies organization, Byrd struggled through the first several years in his pro career, wandering through a couple of teams before finding rebirth in Texas and continued success with the Cubs.

"It's crazy, when you first get drafted you think you're going to the majors right away," Byrd said. "Then you make an all-star team in the minors and you think you're going to be a big-league All-Star, but you don't realize how tough it is. It wasn't an easy road for me so I really appreciate it. Never in my wildest dreams the last couple of years did I ever think I'd be here playing in the All-Star Game."

--Michael Huang

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Every once in a Cubbie blue moon, we are witness to seeing a dream come true at Wrigley Field. It might happen to a neighbor or friend of the Cubs, or even a business partner. Artist Steve Musgrave has been all three over the years.

You might have seen his work as you come through the Red Line "el" stop at Addison, just east of Wrigley Field. His murals include Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, and Ryne Sandberg tagging a sliding Ozzie Smith.

Last Monday, Steve got to fulfill a lifelong dream. He threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the 7:05 contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wearing a handmade Cubs beret, in front of his lovely wife Jane and a handful of friends and family--not to mention the more than 32,000 people in the stands--Steve conjured up visions of Fergie Jenkins (or Matt Clement, his favorite Cub in 2003) and threw a looping strike to rookie right-hander and Park Ridge, Ill., native Brian Schlitter.

Not only did he fulfill a lifelong dream, but he also was representing the Chicago Public Library's "Reading is Artrageous" program, a summer reading initiative centered around art for city kids up to age 14.

The program is a partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago. Steve has visited several libraries as a guest speaker and participant. To learn more about the program, click here.

A caring and genuine soul, Steve has done much work for Cubs publications in the past and has always been great to work with and an even better friend. In fact, while the longtime Lakeview resident has been a good neighbor of the Cubs, he was an even nicer neighbor to me, as he selflessly volunteered to walk our dog Bella every day along with his dog Molly.

His work has adorned the covers of our official programs, scorecards, and he even served as Vine Line's caricature illustrator for a time. More importantly, he has done a lot of work for not-for-profits around the area.

So I felt compelled to bring him something that could fittingly commemorate his big Wrigley Field debut: An ice bag.

OK, so he might have not worked up a sweat out on the mound, but the guy has worked hard for his community. That's good enough.

--Mike Huang

The Cubs play the Reds in the second of a four-game set Friday afternoon after a 3-2 pitcher's-duel loss Thursday.

Chicago fans, though, should take note of Cincinnati's 16 hits in the 10-inning game. As Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus points out in July's Scorecard EXTRA (above), the hot-hitting Reds will look to do more of the same, putting runs on the board and pressure on the Cubs hitters.

An intense storm complete with tornado warnings ripped through the Chicago area Wednesday, but -- as meteorological cataclysms often do -- it left behind a beautiful sight at Wrigley Field.

Unfortunately, I only managed to capture half of it. I initially had raced back to the ballpark because there was a double rainbow beyond rightfield. But by the time I was in position to take a photo, they were gone.

The storm did leave behind a beautiful pot of gold, with a rosy backdrop overhead. Our director of publications, Lena McDonagh, pointed me to this old saying:

Pink sky at night, sailor's delight. Pink sky at morning, sailor's warning.

I promise I'll be quicker next time. But until then, tell us what you would like to see from Vine Line and enter to win a game-used Ted Lilly duffel bag. The sweepstakes ends soon, so enter today!

-- Sean Ahmed

"We're with Hayden Christensen at Wrigley....Wait, no, I mean Hayden Simpson," I began, on our video interview.

OK, take two.

Though I imagine that being nomenclaturally confused for a teenage heartthrob isn't the worst thing that could happen to a 20-year-old, I didn't mean to pile on either. The Cubs' first-round pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft already had taken everyone by surprise, launching Hayden Simpson from anonymity to...well, something slightly above it.

But my blunder wasn't going to affect this day for Simpson. The right-handed pitcher out of Div. II Southern Arkansas was at Wrigley Field to sign his first professional contract. And just moments earlier he threw a bullpen session for Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild and the team's baseball operations department.

Even Marlon Byrd came by--uninvited--to stand-in as a batter and maybe give the young kid an extra nerve or two. He seemed to handle it just fine.

"It felt great to be able to walk out here in the locker room and on the field, at Wrigley Field. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Simpson, whose deep voice belies his relatively diminutive size for a drafted pitcher. "Hopefully, we'll be back here one day, but this was great today. Everybody's been so nice to us and treated us so well--it's great to be part of the Chicago Cubs."

You can see Simpson's bullpen session, as well as clips from our interview, on our Vine Line Video Corner at cubs.com/vineline. (Quick plug: There, you can also enter to win a game-used Ted Lilly duffel bag in our survey sweepstakes.)

Continue reading 'The name's Simpson. Hayden Simpson.'...

Sunday's game against the White Sox almost had all the drama of a Hollywood script. There were men in black and men in white. A duel ensued under sheet of misty rain. And a champion paraded into town to uplift the masses....

Baseball fans were treated to near history with a double no-hitter taken into the seventh. White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd lost his bid in the seventh, while Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly extended his no-hitter through the eighth. Juan Pierre broke it up in the ninth with a single.

In the end the Cubs won the game, but the city of Chicago was the real winner. To be sure, it has been a rough first half for both sides of town. On national television, the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks triumphantly paraded around "The Friendly Confines." Indeed, the Blackhawks gave Cubs and White Sox fans something to cheer about, as they all collectively drank the goodness from Lord Stanley's cup.  

Again, don't forget to fill out that Vine Line survey and make yourself eligible to win a Cubs duffle bag full of gear! Click here!

The Stanley Cup gets the grand tour of "The Friendly Confines."

Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol revel in the Cup's presence. Who's No. 1?

Hoisting the Cup, Dempster hopes to be hoisting another type of trophy someday.

Forward John Madden shares the Cup with ecstatic Cubs and Sox fans.

And amid all that, a pitching duel broke out as Ted Lilly (left) and Gavin Floyd had no-hitters going through the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Lilly earned the win with a one-hitter.

--Mike Huang

Lost amid all the Hawks hoopla is the fact that there are baseball games going on at Wrigley Field.

It's brother vs brother, fan vs fan, cats vs dogs....It's Cubs vs White Sox this weekend!

And for that, we've put together a commemorative scorecard with and a special FREE poster on the inside. Also inside is a special informational section for history of the Cubs/Sox rivalry. Check it out below.

Again, don't forget to fill out that Vine Line survey and make yourself eligible to win a Cubs duffle bag full of gear! Click here!

GET A FREE POSTER!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CUBS/SOX SERIES!

After a moderately long wait, the Toyota sign finally went up in the leftfield bleachers. As with all additions to alterations to Wrigley Field, they tried to make it look as if it's always been there.

Well, Toyota was founded in 1937, the same year the bleachers and scoreboard were constructed. So here's a couple of photos of the sign going up yesterday. --Mike Huang