Adam Dunn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Adam Dunn

Free Agent — No. --
Outfielder
Born: November 9, 1979 (1979-11-09) (age 29)
Houston, Texas
Bats: Left Throws: Right 
MLB debut
July 20, 2001 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
(through 2008)
Batting average     .247
Home runs     278
Runs batted in     672
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Dunn during 2008 spring training.

Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979 in Houston, Texas) and nicknamed the "Big Donkey"[1], is a Major League Baseball outfielder, who is currently a free agent. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. A former standout quarterback at New Caney (Texas) High School, Dunn signed with the University of Texas; however, Dunn quit football and concentrated on baseball. The Cincinnati Reds drafted Dunn in the second round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft while he was still an active collegian, and he played 1,087 games with the Reds over eight seasons before being traded to the Diamondbacks.

Contents

[edit] Professional career

At six feet, six inches (198 cm) in height and weighing 275 pounds, Dunn, who is one of the National League's most feared sluggers, invites frequent comparisons to Mark McGwire.[who?] His power and size have earned him the nickname "Big Donkey" in baseball.[citation needed]

Despite his high strikeout totals, Dunn often exhibits good plate discipline. He is among the major league leaders every season in number of pitches per at-bat, an indication that he generally knows when to swing and when not to. Although his career batting average is only .247, he has compiled a .382 on-base percentage while striking out about ten times for every six walks and averages more than one strikeout per game. He always is one of the top receivers in base on balls. However, his main weakness continues to be his tendency to strike out. Many point out that his on-base percentage is actually higher than several hitters with batting averages over .300 each year.

Dunn has the fifth-lowest career at bats per home run average in Major-League history. His 13.96 ratio (about one home run every 14 times he comes to bat) is eclipsed only by Mark McGwire (10.61), Babe Ruth (11.76), Barry Bonds (12.90), and Jim Thome (13.68). Stretching behind Dunn are such Hall-of-Famers as Ralph Kiner, Harmon Killebrew, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Mike Schmidt, in that order.

[edit] Cincinnati Reds

Dunn made his Major League debut on July 20, 2001, and set a National League rookie record for the most home runs in a month by hitting 12 in August.

In 2002, Adam Dunn had a career high 128 walks and a.400 on base percentage.During that same year, he was elected to the 2002 National League All-Star team. In that game, Dunn hit a ball to center field that was a few feet from being a game ending home run (the game famously ended in a tie). He also walked in his only other plate appearance.

Dunn's most productive season came in 2004, when he posted career highs in batting average (.266), home runs (46), runs (105), hits (151), , slugging average (.569), and OPS (.957). On September 30, 2004, Dunn once again got his name in Major League Baseball's record book, albeit not in the manner he wished. That day, Dunn struck out three times against Chicago Cubs right-hander Mark Prior, raising his season total to 191 and surpassing Bobby Bonds' single season strikeout record of 189, set in 1970. He finished the season with 195 strikeouts. He held the record until Ryan Howard broke it on September 27, 2007.

Dunn's 46 longballs in 2004 were the fourth most in Cincinnati Reds history. That year, he joined Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan as the only Reds players to score 100 runs, drive in 100 runs, and draw 100 walks in a single season. Dunn repeated the feat the following season making him the only player in Reds history to do it more than once.

On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Dunn was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.

In 2004, 2005, and 2006, he struck out 34.3%, 30.9%, and 34.6% of the time, respectively. In each season, his was the highest strikeout percentage in Major League Baseball.[2]

On October 31, 2007, Dunn's $13 million dollar option was picked up by the Reds, making him the highest-paid player on the team.

On June 19, 2008, Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi cited Dunn's lack of passion for baseball as a deterrent for acquiring the outfielder during a Toronto call-in radio show. Ricciardi later publicly apologized for his statements, but has yet to speak to Dunn personally about his comments.

On June 29, 2008, Dunn won the Ohio Cup MVP when he went 6-for-20 in the six-game series, with 5 home runs and 10 RBI.

[edit] Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 11, 2008, Dunn was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitcher Dallas Buck and two other players to be named later.[3] The two players were catcher Wilkin Castillo and pitcher Micah Owings.[4]

[edit] Position changes

In December 2005, Reds manager Jerry Narron informed the press that, due to the trade of popular first baseman Sean Casey to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-handed pitcher Dave Williams, Dunn would be moving to first base for the 2006 season. However, with the acquisition of free agent first baseman Scott Hatteberg (who played for the Oakland Athletics in 2005) during spring training and the March 20 trade of outfielder Wily Mo Peña to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed pitcher Bronson Arroyo, the plan to convert Dunn was scrapped (Dunn had mentioned that he would rather not play 1B also) and, to date, he has only played 108 games there.

[edit] Personal

Dunn is married to Rachel Brown of Kentucky, and the couple have a young son, Brady, who is two years old.

His batter walkup music in Arizona is In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins.

[edit] Statistics

Year Age Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
2001 21 Cincinnati NL 66 244 54 64 18 1 19 43 4 2 38 74 .262 .371 .578 .949 141 0 0 2 4 4
2002 22 Cincinnati NL 158 535 84 133 28 2 26 71 19 9 128 170 .249 .400 .454 .854 243 1 3 13 9 8
2003 23 Cincinnati NL 116 381 70 82 12 1 27 57 8 2 74 126 .215 .354 .465 .819 177 0 4 8 10 4
2004 24 Cincinnati NL 161 568 105 151 34 0 46 102 6 1 108 195 .266 .388 .569 .957 323 0 0 11 5 8
2005 25 Cincinnati NL 160 543 107 134 35 2 40 101 4 2 114 168 .247 .387 .540 .927 293 0 2 14 12 6
2006 26 Cincinnati NL 160 561 99 131 24 0 40 92 7 0 112 194 .234 .365 .490 .855 275 1 3 12 6 8
2007 27 Cincinnati NL 152 522 101 138 27 2 40 106 9 2 101 165 .264 .386 .554 .940 289 0 4 8 5 12
2008 28 CIN/ARI NL 158 517 79 122 23 0 40 100 2 1 122 164 .236 .386 .513 .899 265 0 5 13 7 7
Totals: 1,131 3,871 699 955 201 8 278 672 59 19 797 1,256 .247 .381 .518 .899 2,006 2 21 81 58 57

Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through September 28, 2008.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Adam Dunn Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Dunn deal: D-backs acquire slugger
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ "Adam Dunn Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adam Dunn
Preceded by
Andruw Jones		 National League Player of the Month
July, 2005		 Succeeded by
Andruw Jones
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Dunn"
Personal tools