- Adam Dunn
Infobox MLB player
name = Adam Dunn
width = 300
caption =
team = Arizona Diamondbacks
number = 32
position = Right fielder
birthdate = birth date and age|1979|11|9
birthplace = city-state|Houston|Texas
bats = Left
throws = Right
debutdate = July 20
debutyear = 2001
debutteam = Cincinnati Reds
statyear = September 28, 2008
stat1label =Batting average
stat1value = .247
stat2label =Home run s
stat2value = 278
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 672
teams =
*Cincinnati Reds (by|2001–by|2008)
*Arizona Diamondbacks (by|2008–present)
awards =
*All-Star selection (2002)Adam Troy Dunn (born
November 9 ,1979 inHouston, Texas ) and nicknamed the "Big Donkey" [http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dunnad01.shtml] , is aMajor League Baseball outfielder for theArizona Diamondbacks . He batsleft-handed and throwsright-handed . A former standoutquarterback at New Caney (Texas) High School, Dunn signed with theUniversity of Texas ; however, Dunn quit football and concentrated onbaseball . TheCincinnati Reds drafted Dunn in the second round of the1998 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.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 fearedslugger s, invites frequent comparisons toMark McGwire .Who|date=August 2008 His power and size have earned him the nickname "Big Country" in baseball.Fact|date=August 2008Despite 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), andJim Thome (13.68). Stretching behind Dunn are such Hall-of-Famers asRalph Kiner ,Harmon Killebrew ,Ted Williams ,Mickey Mantle ,Jimmie Foxx , andMike Schmidt , in that order.Cincinnati Reds
Dunn made his Major League debut on
July 20 , mlby|2001, and set a National League rookie record for the most home runs in a month by hitting 12 in August.He was elected to the mlby|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 mlby|2004, when he posted career highs in
batting average (.266), home runs (46), runs (105), hits (151),on base percentage (.388),slugging average (.569), and OPS (.957). OnSeptember 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 againstChicago Cubs right-handerMark Prior , raising his season total to 191 and surpassing Bobby Bonds' single season strikeout record of 189, set in mlby|1970. He finished the season with 195 strikeouts. He held the record untilRyan Howard broke it onSeptember 27 , mlby|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 apink bat to benefit the [http://www.komen.org Breast Cancer Foundation] .In 2004, mlby|2005, and mlby|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. [
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2004 Baseball Leaderboard 2004 season] fangraphs.com
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2005 Baseball Leaderboard 2005 season] fangraphs.com
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2006 Baseball Leaderboard 2006 season] fangraphs.com]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 , mlby|2008,Toronto Blue Jays General ManagerJ. 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.Arizona Diamondbacks
On
August 11 , 2008, Dunn was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handedpitcher Dallas Buck and two other players to be named later. [ [http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080811&content_id=3291023&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari Dunn deal: D-backs acquire slugger] ] The two players werecatcher Wilkin Castillo and pitcherMicah Owings . [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-reds-castillo&prov=ap&type=lgns] ]Position changes
In December 2005, Reds manager
Jerry Narron informed the press that, due to the trade of popularfirst base manSean Casey to thePittsburgh Pirates for left-handed pitcher Dave Williams, Dunn would be moving to first base for the 2006 season. However, with the acquisition offree agent first basemanScott Hatteberg (who played for theOakland Athletics in 2005) duringspring training and theMarch 20 trade of outfielderWily Mo Peña to theBoston Red Sox for right-handed pitcherBronson 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.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 byPhil Collins .tatistics
small|Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through
September 28 , 2008.cite web| url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dunnad01.shtml | title=Adam Dunn Statistics| work=Baseball-Reference| accessdate=2008-08-03]ee also
*
Top 500 home run hitters of all time References
External links
*
* [http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Dunn/Dunn_bio.html "JockBio.com" profile]
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