The Adam Dunn Appreciation Thread

[The Ultimate Champion]

One of the reasons the strikeout is LESS damaging than people tend to think (especially out of the 3rd spot in the lineup) is because it keeps you out of a double play.

 

Dude made tens of millions hitting 450+ homers while getting on base at a career .365 clip, largely in an era of depressed offense -- he deserves an article. Just accept it, TUC. Your rage is clouding your rationale.

A strikeout also makes it impossible to reach via base hit, error, or move a runner along/bring home a run via sacrifice, making the out either less damaging or even productive (an out can be productive if it forces the opposing manager to intentionally walk/pitch around other players to put more men on base, which in turn can lead to a bigger inning).

 

You also took my comment out of context.

 

Out of how many balls he actually made contact with that didn't leave the IF, how many were DP? Obviously other players will hit a lot more DPs because they put the bat on the ball. That wasn't my point. I was merely suggesting the author do his homework and compare the number of total IF groundballs off Dunn's bat to the number of times he hit right into the shift or GIDP.

 

The author is right, most of the time the result of an Adam Dunn PA didn't result in the ball ending up in play. But when he did actually put the ball in play the vast majority of those balls were easy outs, either high pop-ups the defender could lackadaisically trot under or easy outs directly into the shift.

 

Adam Dunn did 2 things great in his prime. Outside of his prime those things he still did but not nearly as well as in the past didn't make up for the overall s***tiness of his game. I wish there was a stat that recorded number of PA that resulted in a positive or even semi-positive outcome, because Dunn would not rank at the top of that list for sure.

 

It's funny how the stats people love to s*** on the base hits and sacrifices and stuff, and act like a walk is as good as a hit or a home run is as good as 4 base hits. Well, no, that's not usually the case, and those things are only true some of the time depending on the specific game situation. Sometimes you just need a grinding AB, not go down on 3-4 pitches. Sometimes you just need that sac fly, or the walk you draw with RISP and 1B open does nothing in the end whereas a basehit would change the game. For the most part when Adam Dunn came up he did nothing useful. In his prime however he was so great at mashing HRs and so dependable getting on base via walk that you could overlook the shortcomings in his game. But White Sox Dunn was complete and utter garbage.

 

Also I'm not hating, I love Dunn, just listen to what wite says. I'm just trying to even this thing out a lil bit. You Dunn lovers are taking over this board and quite honestly I find it frightening. I'm the good guy here. I'm the one in the right. You guys are the ones who are wrong.

Edited September 12, 2014 by The Ultimate Champion

[BlackSox13]

Interesting points made in the article, well written I think. Dunn is gone and that's that. I feel as though I've b****ed enough in the past so it would be pointless now. I wish him well and hope he gets a chance at a playoff run with the A's.

[greg775]

And how can we overlook his mind-boggling 2011 season with the White Sox, the one in which he somehow hit .159, bopped just 11 homers, piled up 111 more strikeouts (177) than hits (66), and managed to accumulate 42 more multistrikeout games (52) than multihit games (12)? It might be The Worst Season of Modern Times.

 

So the next season, Dunn appeared on our fabulous seamhead edition of "Baseball Tonight" and reported that, at one point, his wife asked him the best question of the year: “Have you ever considered hitting RIGHT-handed?”

 

And he was pretty sure, by the way, that she was serious. But you know what else is serious? That more people in this sport are truly sorry to see him go than you could possibly comprehend, including just about everyone who ever played with him.

 

Those are great paragraphs.

1.) That season described the Sox post 2005 in a nutshell. A disaster (except for the emergence of Abreu and Sale).

2.) That's hilarious stuff. Dunn's wife comes up with a great one.

3.) He's a great guy, sure. And he got paid a ton of money, so good for him. I'm just relieved he's gone. He was a nightmare IMO in terms of production on the South Side.

[Eminor3rd]

A strikeout also makes it impossible to reach via base hit, error, or move a runner along/bring home a run via sacrifice, making the out either less damaging or even productive (an out can be productive if it forces the opposing manager to intentionally walk/pitch around other players to put more men on base, which in turn can lead to a bigger inning).

 

You also took my comment out of context.

 

Out of how many balls he actually made contact with that didn't leave the IF, how many were DP? Obviously other players will hit a lot more DPs because they put the bat on the ball. That wasn't my point. I was merely suggesting the author do his homework and compare the number of total IF groundballs off Dunn's bat to the number of times he hit right into the shift or GIDP.

 

The author is right, most of the time the result of an Adam Dunn PA didn't result in the ball ending up in play. But when he did actually put the ball in play the vast majority of those balls were easy outs, either high pop-ups the defender could lackadaisically trot under or easy outs directly into the shift.

 

Adam Dunn did 2 things great in his prime. Outside of his prime those things he still did but not nearly as well as in the past didn't make up for the overall s***tiness of his game. I wish there was a stat that recorded number of PA that resulted in a positive or even semi-positive outcome, because Dunn would not rank at the top of that list for sure.

 

It's funny how the stats people love to s*** on the base hits and sacrifices and stuff, and act like a walk is as good as a hit or a home run is as good as 4 base hits. Well, no, that's not usually the case, and those things are only true some of the time depending on the specific game situation. Sometimes you just need a grinding AB, not go down on 3-4 pitches. Sometimes you just need that sac fly, or the walk you draw with RISP and 1B open does nothing in the end whereas a basehit would change the game. For the most part when Adam Dunn came up he did nothing useful. In his prime however he was so great at mashing HRs and so dependable getting on base via walk that you could overlook the shortcomings in his game. But White Sox Dunn was complete and utter garbage.

 

Also I'm not hating, I love Dunn, just listen to what wite says. I'm just trying to even this thing out a lil bit. You Dunn lovers are taking over this board and quite honestly I find it frightening. I'm the good guy here. I'm the one in the right. You guys are the ones who are wrong.

 

Well I think the article's point is to celebrate what an anomaly he was. I thought it did a good job of mentioned the super good and the super bad in his game. At the end of the day, he's been a fascinating player.

 

[The Ultimate Champion]

Well I think the article's point is to celebrate what an anomaly he was. I thought it did a good job of mentioned the super good and the super bad in his game. At the end of the day, he's been a fascinating player.

I agree.

 

Part of the reason no one could see his freefall coming is due to the fact that there's never really been another player like Dunn, at least I can't think of any. Thome was a very different type of hitter although they were both high BB, high K leftys with megalithic power and so that's why they are compared. But there's been a lot of guys who have K'ed at a high rate and walked at a high rate who had a lot of power.

 

Maybe Dunn is more of a Jack Cust or Chris Davis or something in the end. Because Dunn has now existed and his career has been documented, maybe he's a reason you trade your Chris Davis or Ryan Howard or something after they put up a huge year at or just past the age of 30. I'm not sure who you really can even compare Dunn to in terms of a huge guy with a huge uppercut swing and relatively slow bat that nevertheless still can make enough contact to be dangerous (i.e. hit moon shots and get the opposition to pitch to him as if he's dangerous). Really the longevity of Dunn is mystifying. The only reason he ever gets compared to the likes of Thome and not the likes of Jack Cust is the longevity. But his bat speed, swing, and approach (at least with the Sox anyway) don't seem to be the kind of things you would find in a player that sticks around for so long.

 

Maybe Dunn was just a roider the whole time & he quit when he signed here. What do you think?

[southsider2k5]

I agree.

 

Part of the reason no one could see his freefall coming is due to the fact that there's never really been another player like Dunn, at least I can't think of any. Thome was a very different type of hitter although they were both high BB, high K leftys with megalithic power and so that's why they are compared. But there's been a lot of guys who have K'ed at a high rate and walked at a high rate who had a lot of power.

 

Maybe Dunn is more of a Jack Cust or Chris Davis or something in the end. Because Dunn has now existed and his career has been documented, maybe he's a reason you trade your Chris Davis or Ryan Howard or something after they put up a huge year at or just past the age of 30. I'm not sure who you really can even compare Dunn to in terms of a huge guy with a huge uppercut swing and relatively slow bat that nevertheless still can make enough contact to be dangerous (i.e. hit moon shots and get the opposition to pitch to him as if he's dangerous). Really the longevity of Dunn is mystifying. The only reason he ever gets compared to the likes of Thome and not the likes of Jack Cust is the longevity. But his bat speed, swing, and approach (at least with the Sox anyway) don't seem to be the kind of things you would find in a player that sticks around for so long.

 

Maybe Dunn was just a roider the whole time & he quit when he signed here. What do you think?

 

Sadly, it would explain a lot, and be on the perfect timeline.

[witesoxfan]

Sadly, it would explain a lot, and be on the perfect timeline.

 

I don't think so. There was no decrease in size or power. He never had quick bat speed to begin with, so once his body started slowing down, his bat speed did too, which makes the decrease in average more easily understandable. Plus, with his drop off in offense came a drop off in offense around the entire major leagues.