READERS: I'm back. Figured I'd share w/ you non-Kentuckians this KY-edition column that was published this morning on the south shore. (Normally, my KY columns appear in the Opinion/Columns dropdown box of cincinnati.com, but this one didn't, so I'll post it here, as it pertains to Adam Dunn.) Perhaps it will provoke a comment or two from detractors of the Big Donkey. -- JE
By John Erardi
Up in the Bit column
Adam Dunn
"Big Donkey"
Left fielder, 2001-2008
“Ranks among the Reds all-time greatest power hitters;
Stands 4th in home runs with 270; 2nd in slugging pct.;
hit 1 HR every 13.8 at-bats, tops in club history.
Hit 40 or more HR 4 consecutive seasons; 2nd player in club
history to produce 100 RBI, 100 walks and score 100
runs in same season (3 times). After his trade to Arizona in August, 2008, he completed another 40 HR, 100 walk season, making him only the second player in baseball history to accomplish that in five consecutive years.”
Something like the above is how I believe Adam Dunn’s plaque for the Reds Hall of Fame will read someday. I am writing about him today, because I first met him in 2001 when he was a Louisville Bat in Triple-A., the Reds top farm club. For me, that makes him a Kentucky story. Dunn enjoyed his time in Louisville .
Seven years ago, I was in Fort Mill , N.C. , to do a story on the attempted miracle comeback of Jose Rijo, after six arm surgeries. Dunn had helped with that comeback, not with a three-run homer to keep Rijo in the game, but with an all-the-way-in-the-air throw to Bats catcher Corky Miller to get a big out that allowed Rijo to survive a tough, third inning. Rijo finished that game strong, and soon after brought down the house (at then-Cinergy Field) on one of the most emotional nights I ever experienced in the ballpark that was home to the Big Red Machine.
I believe that Dunn is going to go down as one of the best players in franchise history. I think he’s Ted Kluszewski with a lot more strikeouts and no Frank Robinson to help him get into a pennant race (1956). I think he’s Wally Post with not as many hits but a lot more walks and no “Robby” to take him to the World Series (1961). Make of that what you will, and don’t take it as a slam on Ken Griffey Jr. – he wasn’t the player he was here in Seattle . And of course, both the ’56 and ’61 teams -- and some of the ones in between and a little after -- had the type of pitching the Reds haven’t had since 1999, two years before Dunn arrived.
It’s an unpopular opinion in Greater Cincinnati to say you are an Adam Dunn fan.
The subject came up at Dickmann’s Café in Fort Wright Wednesday night where I made an appearance with the Two Angry Guys. I said then what I feel today: Dunn was under-rated. His offense will be hard to replace.
Dunn's negatives are easy to isolate; on a good team, they would fade away.
Simply put, Dunn became the poster boy for a lousy team. Slice and dice the Big Donkey however you want: He couldn't hit for average, wasn’t a graceful fielder, wasn't the clubhouse leader. The misconceptions about him abound: He couldn't hit with runners in scoring position, he hit “meaningless home runs,” he drove in “meaningless runs.” He was a “lousy outfielder.”
There are numbers to disprove all of that. Let us, instead, take you to the meat of the matter.
Bullet: Dunn has a career .380 on-base percentage. That's good for 20th among active big-league players with 3,000 or more plate appearances.
Bullet: Dunn is one of only 14 players to drive in 90 or more runs in each of the last 4 seasons.
Bullet: Dunn is one of only 10 players to score 90 or more runs in each of the last 4 seasons. The only other players on the RBI/runs scored lists are Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz. Miggy Cabrera and Bobby Abreu.
Bullet: In career walk-off home runs, Dunn is tied with Pujos, A-Rod and Chipper Jones with seven. Among active players, only Vladimir Guerrerro, David Ortiz and Jim Thome have more walk-off home runs than Dunn. Every one of the hitters ahead of Dunn has at least 700 more plate appearances – and in most cases, 1,000 more.
Bullet: Of Dunn's 270 career home runs, 54 (or 20.0%) have come in what is known as “high leverage” situations. That's a better rate than David Ortiz (18.1%), Manny Ramirez (19.5%), Lance Berkman (17.0%), and Griffey (17.8%)…and anybody else except Pujols (20.9%).
Bullet: About 43% of Dunn's HRs have either tied the game or given the Reds the lead. That's a better rate than A-Rod or Ramirez.
I apologize for all the numbers. But the numbers are who Dunn was here…and who he will be elsewhere. If you are not into numbers, you are probably not into Dunn.
The point: When it comes down to numbers, Dunn wasn’t the one to blame for the last eight years.
The blame belongs to the owners. They didn’t provide him with the supporting cast that would have driven his numbers even higher
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