Now Batting 9th: Adam Dunn

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Adam Dunn is an “all or nothing” kind of guy. The problem is, all or nothing only works in … well, it never really works. And it especially doesn’t work in baseball because when you’re swinging for the fences on every pitch, you end up being Steve Balboni instead of Reggie Jackson.

I created this blog to celebrate and commend mediocre ballplayers who have beaten the odds by, not only making it to the Major Leagues, but for being wily enough to convince teams to pay them good money to occupy a position on 25-man rosters – while many other talented guys are left bussing around the minors (or merely bussing).

But when it comes to Adam Dunn, it's hard to be good-natured. He just pisses me off because pretending to have no talent is worse than having no talent and that's Adam Dunn.

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound reluctant first baseman should be an above-average ballplayer. He should be Garrett Anderson or JD Drew (or even Robin Ventura – his now manager).  

Instead, Dunn has spent his 12-year career acting like a second-string college quarterback, who wanted to make it into the NFL, but had to settle for MLB (and that is actually his story).

The Cincinnati Reds picked Dunn in the second round of the 1998 draft, allowing him to play football at Texas University. It wasn’t until he was benched, that he turned his sights toward baseball.

The Reds wanted Dunn to be their franchise guy but after years of watching his belly and ass expanding, his lazily strolling on and off the field and coming up empty in clutch situations, they couldn't justify building a team around him. J.P. Ricciardi, General Manager of Toronto Blue Jays said it best – "Dunn is a homerun hitter but doesn't drive in runs."

After watching Dunn dog it for seven years, the Reds finally had enough and at the end of the 2008 season, they traded the Big Dunnky, with cash, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Dallas Buck, Wilkin Castillo and Micah Owings.

The Diamondbacks basically traded three nobodies for cold hard cash, because three month later, they released Dunn into free agency.

Sure Dunn is a member of the 400-Home Run club (403 to be exact), but he’s more known for being a select member of the 2,000 whiff club. In fact, if you Wikipedia “strikeout” – there’sDunn’s picture. That’s no joke.

Dunn is tied for fifth (with Andres Galarraga) on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with a whopping 2,004.  The four guys ahead of him were/are difference players, contributing to successful teams. Just for kicks, I’ll list them here (compare the home runs to Dunn's 403):

1.    Reggie Jackson (563 home runs and one of the greatest clutch hitters of all time) – 2,597 strikeouts

2.    Jim Thome (611 HR and counting) – 2,534 strikeouts

3.    Sammy Sosa (609 HR) – 2,306 strikeouts

4.    Alex Rodriguez (644 HR and counting) – 2,005 strikeouts

WARNING: The following information should piss off any baseball fan. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK:

• In 2003 the left-handed hitter lead Major League outfielders in errors with 10 while finishing the season with a .215 batting average.

• In 2004, Dunn finished the season with an MLB all-time 195 strikeouts.

• In 2006, Dunn led all outfielders in errors with 12 while finishing the season with a .234 batting average.

• In 2009, Dunn signed $20 million deal with the Washington Nationals while finishing the season with 177 strikeouts.

• In 2012 agreed to a four-year $56 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. He is currently leading the Majors in homeruns with 38 – with 194 strikeouts and 88 RBI (as of September 11).

Slam Dunnk:

Dunn's estimated career-to-date salary is listed at approximately $69 million (not including future salaries). In 2010, the Chicago White Sox signed the .240 hitter for four years, $56 million (that's $15 million a year). Pissed off yet?

MLB Career Totals (as of September 11, 2012)
AB: 5862
Hits: 1410
HR: 403
RBI: 1010
BB: 1161
SO: 2003
AVE: .241

Teams:
Cincinnati Reds (2001-2008)
Arizona Diamondbacks (2009)
Washington Nationals (2009-2010)
Chicago White Sox (2011-Present)