With the Nationals in Atlanta to face the Braves, I spent a few minutes with Adam Dunn in the Washington Nationals clubhouse. He continues his friendship with another ex-Lookout Austin Kearns who is having a rebound year with the Cleveland Indians.
Dunn was not aware that the Chattanooga Lookouts are affiliated with the Dodgers, not the Reds.
If you’ve been attending Lookouts games at AT&T Field for the last decade, it’s possible you missed watching Dunn play since he progressed rapidly from Double-A Chattanooga to Triple-A Louisville, and then to the Majors in one season (2001).
Dunn made his debut in Cincinnati on July 20. Since then, the 6-5 Texan has become one of baseball’s premier power hitters.
The tall-Texan played only 39 games for the Lookouts in 2001, alongside his friend Austin Kearns. He had 140 at-bats, 48 hits, 12 homers, 31 RBI while hitting .343.
After his promotion to Louisville, he played in 55 games. He had 210 at-bats, 69 hits, 20 home runs, 53 RBI and hit .329. With these incredible numbers, he headed for the big leagues.
If nothing else, his home run production in the Majors has been consistent. He slugged exactly 40 homers in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. He slipped to 38 home runs last season.
The big red head is earning $20 million over the life of his current two-year contract with the Washington Nationals. Now in the final year of the contract, Dunn is mentioned frequently in trade rumors. Apparently both the White Sox and Angels are very interested in him. He has indicated a preference to remain in Washington
Dunn has a very good idea of the strike zone and walks a lot. The main knock on Dunn is that he strikes out too much. In 2004, he fanned 195 times, in 2006, 194, and last year, he walked 166 times but struck out 177 times.
Knowing that Dunn attended the University of Texas briefly before being drafted by the Reds in the 22nd round in 1998, I mentioned Kyle Russell, current member of the Lookouts, who played also at Texas. Russell, who was selected by the Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft, played three seasons at Texas where he finished as the all-time home run leader with 57. He hit 26 home runs in Class A last year.
Dunn was unaware of any of this.
I pointed out that Russell has much in common with Dunn, besides being a Texan. He is 6-5 in height, plays the outfield (although Dunn has been switched to first base), and is a left-handed power hitter.
We both chuckled when I mentioned that, like him, Russell strikes out a great deal. After 19 games with 73 at-bats, he has 34 strikeouts.
Hopefully, some day both Texans will meet on a Major League ball field.
Kyle Russell
- Photo2 by Tim Evearitt