Andre Dawson has had 18 knee surgeries.

That includes three knee replacements. Yeah, one of them had to be done twice because the first one didn't take.

Thanks very much.

It could be argued that the 65-year-old gave to the game of baseball everything his body would allow, so when he speaks you can be certain it's with love and concern for the sport.

And on the issue of the Houston Astros, he isn't at all vague.

"They should forfeit the title," Dawson said. "It's like I felt all along about steroids.

"Those guys reaped the rewards and they should suffer the ramifications. They got elite status and made a lot of money and achieved all the accolades.

"Cheating is cheating. It's not fair and you should pay a price for that. They should take away the title."

Dawson was taken aback when informed that commissioner Rob Manfred thought the World Series trophy was nothing more than an irrelevant "piece of metal" and not worth retrieving from the Astros.

"It's much more than a piece of metal to all of us who played," Dawson said. "It's the prestige of winning and being a part of history. It's the glory of getting through an entire season and being the last team standing.

"It's something that you live with for the rest of your life when you win, and it's something that you live with for the rest of your life if you don't get that chance."

There are some very familiar names on that unpleasant list, the leaders of a club no one wanted to be a part of, the men who appeared in the most MLB games in history without ever playing in a World Series game.

Topping the list is Rafael Palmeiro, second is Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and third is future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki.

Not surprisingly, there are many Cubs in the Top 30.

Having retired as the leader, Dawson is No. 4 all-time with 2,627 games and Ernie Banks -- who also retired as the leader -- is No. 5.

Billy Williams is No. 7, Ron Santo is at No. 21 and Ryne Sandberg is No. 28. They have all been elected to the Hall of Fame, but not one of them got what they wanted most, to play in the Fall Classic.

White Sox great Luke Appling is No. 10 with 2,422 games played -- retiring in 1950 atop the list -- and fellow Hall of Famer Frank Thomas is 17th. At least Thomas was with the club and got a ring when the Sox won the 2005 World Series, but he was not on the roster due to injury.

Ask any of those mentioned above and they'll tell you they feel incomplete, even having achieved immortality and a place in baseball's most hallowed museum.

"I got close a couple times," Dawson said of the '81 Expos and '89 Cubs. "Those are things you think about every year when you watch teams celebrate.

"That's the dream when you have a club that you know can go far, but a lot of things have to go right and you need some luck.

"You've got to have the personnel. I don't care how good you are individually. Ernie can attest to that. If you don't have the personnel, it's not happening.

"There's no use beating yourself up. It's just hard when you play against your peers and you see them get there. For some of us, you just have to accept that it wasn't meant to be."

That drives home even deeper the foolishness of Manfred diminishing the trophy.

To hear the pain in Dawson's voice and to have seen up close the pain he endured, you can't help but feel for a guy who wanted it that much.

"If I had to do it all over again, I would do it again," Dawson says with no hesitation. "My knee problems helped build my work ethic, and my attitude was to get that uniform back every year, as opposed to them taking it away from me.

"After that, it was all a bonus."

It doesn't minimize his distaste for those who used PEDs or swiped a championship.

"People do stuff for selfish reasons, for personal gain," Dawson said. "But now they're gonna have to deal with the fallout, and that fallout can come in a lot of ways.

"It's going to be pretty uncomfortable for them this season and probably for a long time. Like with steroids, probably some of them will never get away from it.

"They knew what they were doing and they knew it was wrong, or else they wouldn't have tried to hide it."

True enough.

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Rozner: Andre Dawson says 'cheating is cheating,' and Astros should vacate title - Chicago Daily Herald