Adam Dunn

Let's start with some basic numbers.

14 seasons

2001 games played
8328 ABs
462 HRs
1168 RBIs
1317 BBs
2379 Ks
.364 OBP

Do we need to say his batting average?  Oh, okay.  

.237 batting average.

Alright, that's not as putrescent as I expected.

Some other things:

Voted 4th in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, even though he only played in 66 games in his rookie season, 2001.   His WAR that year was 2.1.  Jimmy Rollings, who came in 3rd, and played in 158 games, had a WAR of 2.4.  First place was a little known fella named Albert Pujols, who played like a veteran.  

Okay, I have to go over Albert's numbers from that rookie year.  Sheesh.

161 games, 590 ABs, 112 Rs, 194 hits, 37 HRs, 130 RBIs, 69 BBs, 93 SOs, a batting average of .329, OBP of .403, slugging at .610, OPS at 1.013.  

Yes, that was absurd.  Man, I love that guy.

In 2nd place was Roy Oswalt, who was 14-3 with a 2.73 ERA.  Started only 20 games.

So, as you can see, Dunn was up against some tough competition, so getting 4th after playing only 66 games was doing pretty well.

From 2004 to 2008, Adam hit 40+ HRs every season.  In fact, for the latter 4 years, he hit exactly 40.  During all those years, though, he never led the league.  He did, sadly, lead the league in strike outs four times--including three in a row from 2004 to 2006.  His epic strike out season, though, was 2012 with the Chicago White Sox, in which he hit.. er... didn't hit anything 222 times, leading the AL.  That same year, though, he led the league in walks, too, with 105.  He led his league in BBs twice, but crossed 100 8 times in his career, with a high of 128 in 2002.  

Baseball Reference.com shows he was an all-star twice (sophomore season, as well as 2012), was 28th in voting for MVP in 2004, 26th in 2005, and 21st in 2010.  

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A few possibly interesting things for the stat-heads out there. 

All time high strike out seasons?  Adam has the 2nd highest, ties for 7th highest, ties for 13th highest, owns the 15th, ties for 17th, then doesn't make another appearance until he ties for 48th.

All time HR seasons?  Tied for 96th with a host of players, makes another appearance at 224th, then ties with himself repeatedly as well as many others at 263rd.

His best season of BBs tied for 68th all time.

His best season of HRs per at bat came in 139th.

~ ~ ~

The Dayton Dragons had Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns on their team one day when some friends and I attended a game.  It may have been in 2000, maybe 2001.  I don't remember.  It seems to me they were both in MLB within a year.  

Dunn, affectionately known as "Big Donkey" to both fans and peers, was always a fan favorite.  When you hit epic home runs, you tend to be loved by the fans, but it was not just hitting HRs that made him a favorite.  He always seemed to have a good attitude, even during his career worst year of 2011.  Maybe he didn't, really, but as a fan, looking from afar, he seemed to carry himself well during what may have been the worst MLB season in the history of man.  

Then, the very next year, he bounced back with 110 Rs, 41 HRs, 96 RBIs, 105 BBs, and an appearance as an All Star.  

Loved.  That's about it.

I won't be the only guy wishing that he would hang around another year or two.  His bat has the same pop in it as it always has, and I'd love to see him get to 500.  Without that historic number, he probably has no chance at the Hall of Fame.  

But here is a bit of a case for him.

He is one of only 11 players in MLB history to hit 40+ HRs in six or more seasons.  If you have any baseball history in your head at all, you'll know every one of these names: Ruth (11), Killebrew (8), Aaron (8), Fathead Bonds (8, 5 of which were after he was juiced), ARod (8, I don't know how long he was juiced), Griffey Jr (7), Sosa (7, when wasn't he juiced?), McGwire (6, ditto), Jim Thome (6), Albert Pujols (6), and our friend Adam Dunn (6).

How about an even more exclusive list?  There have been only eight players in MLB history to hit 40+ HRs in five consecutive seasons.  Again, you'll know all of these (and I'll refrain from juicing comments this time):  Ruth (7), ARod (6), Sosa (6), Ralph Kiner (5), Duke Snider (5), Griffey Jr (5), Barry Bonds (5), and Adam Dunn (5). 

Ah, well.  Chances are these tidbits won't influence HOF voters.  [Sigh]

In the end, he had finally been on a team that made it to the post season... but the A's lost the wildcard game, never having put him in the lineup.  

You can follow Adam Dunn at  twitter.com/adamdunn_44.

I know I will be.  As Adam Dunn walks quietly into the sunset, I cannot help recognizing the quiet.  He apparently had this one thing against him--he wasn't a Yankee.

Thanks, Mr Dunn.  You were fun to watch.

Read more about him here, see his stats here.