Adam Dunn may be one of baseball's most under appreciated stars.
Dunn, 34, has averaged 34 home runs per season over his 13-year Major League Baseball career. His 440 career home runs are fourth among "active" Major Leaguers, trailing only Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, and Albert Pujols. Rodriguez is suspended for the entire 2014 season and Ramirez, who hasn't announced his retirement, also hasn't played a Major League game since 2011.
"We have a history in this game of calling guys 'the next Mickey Mantle'—then they come up and fail. Adam is different,” said Bob Boone, Dunn's former manager for the Cincinnati Reds from 2001-2003. “He doesn't let things get to him."
Now Dunn is not Mickey Mantle, but then again who is? Since making his major league debut in 2001, Dunn has shocked the league with hit or miss power. It's true he has also averaged 171 strikeouts per season. In fact the only season Dunn didn't strikeout less than 100 times was his rookie season in 2001. Dunn played 64 games in 2001, striking out 74 times. He's a career .236 hitter and doesn't make contact often. However Dunn is patient. His 1246 career walks are third among active players, behind Jason Giambi and Manny Ramirez. Dunn's lifetime on base percentage (OBP) is .366, 130 points higher than his batting average. He may not always get hits, but there is no denying Dunn gets on base.
He has six 40-home run seasons in his career. This doesn't even include 2008 and 2009, when Dunn had back-to-back 38 home run seasons. Let's put those numbers in comparison. Combined between the four of them, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Dave Winfield have five-40 home run seasons. Mantle, DiMaggio, Berra and Winfield are all in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"He's a special player,” said former Reds' first baseman Sean Casey. “He's one of those players that comes along once every 10 years. The power he had, the discipline he has at the plate. When you have all the physical ability, all you have to do is develop the mental abilities."
Dunn has developed the mental abilities as well as the physical abilities. It's hard to believe he came up in the same season as Albert Pujols. In fact Dunn (440) almost has as many career home runs as Pujols (492). Not many fans realize how great a player Dunn really is. The only question that remains is will Dunn himself ever make the Hall of Fame?
"He's amazing,” said former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton. “You don't see too many guys with that kind of easy pop, where he's not swinging hard but he hits it a country mile."
Dunn, a two-time all-star, has played “amazing” baseball in his Major League career. If Dunn were to play until age 40 and continue to average 34 home runs per seasons, he would 678 home runs. That would put him fourth on Major League Baseball's all-time home run list, trailing only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. Think it about. That would mean Dunn has more home runs than Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr, Jim Thome and Frank Robinson, among others. Would home runs alone be enough to put done in the Hall of Fame?
If Dunn retired today and I had a vote, I would not vote him in the Hall of Fame. If he had 500 home runs, I would not vote him in. However, if Dunn approached 600 home runs and even surpassed that mark, it would be tough to vote against him. If one day, Dunn has 600 home runs, then he's going to the Hall of Fame, at least as far as I'm concerned.
So looking back ten years from now, the real question people will be asking themselves is....
Has Adam “done” enough to earn a plaque in Cooperstown?
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