Tuesday June 19, 2012

John Burns:  What a comeback season it has been for Adam Dunn so far, as he leads all of baseball with 23 homers… and it’s not even July yet.

Dunn experienced a miserable 2011 campaign in his first season in Chicago, as he hit a career low .159 and was not showing his usual power numbers. After signing a 4-year, $56 Million deal with the White Sox in 2010, the expectations were huge for the slugger. 2011 was a season to forget for Dunn. After he underwent an appendectomy in April, Dunn’s productivity declined rapidly. Dunn broke the White Sox record for most strikeouts in a season by a hitter with 177 strikeouts in only 415 at-bats. Dunn’s 2011 campaign was by far the worst of his career.

The slugger came into 2012 with a new attitude which has most definitely paid off. Dunn has been a huge reason for the White Sox early success. Chicago holds an early AL Central division lead with a record of 35-32. As I said earlier, Dunn leads the majors in homers and is fourth in RBI’s. This season has been a great bounce back year for Dunn. The White Sox’s have learned to take the good with the bad with Dunn. Adam Dunn has a total of 1,916 career strikeouts and usually is in the league’s top in strikeouts. Even though he strikes out a ton, Dunn has the fifth-lowest career at bats per home run average in Major-League history and gets on base at a strong clip. With 388 career homers in 12 major league seasons, Dunn is definitely known as a slugger.

I know the season is still young, but Dunn seems like a lock for the AL Comeback Player of the Year. If Dunn can raise his .227 average and continue his power surge in the second half of the season, he could be a legitimate MVP candidate also. I know what you guys are probably saying: “There is NO WAY a .227 hitter wins MVP”, and rightfully so. But he leads all of baseball in homers and is top 5 in RBI’s, which shows his tremendous power and value to his contending team. Now granted, Dunn is not the type of player that will hit .300. But having a good first half of the season is the key for Adam Dunn to continue enjoying success throughout the season.  It’s called building on momentum.

As July approaches, Dunn will go into the second half of the season with a lot of confidence. Dunn has been criticized for being lackadaisical player and not always showing his best effort throughout his career. Many people question Dunn’s passion for the game mostly because he was a football player when drafted by the Reds and many suspected Dunn’s heart was in for football and not baseball. Personally, I completely disagree with the criticism of Dunn. Baseball is a mental sport and if you’re not mentally strong, you will not succeed in baseball. I think that’s what Dunn’s problem was last year. Dunn has said that he feels better mentally this season. Who knows, maybe there was something wrong in his personal life that we don’t know about. We likely will never know. But the bottom line is that he feels good and his play is back to his previous career norm.

My prediction is that Adam Dunn continues to hit for power and wins the AL Comeback Player of the Year, as well as finishing in top-5 in the AL MVP voting. I would say that’s a great way to come back from his dreadful 2011 season.

***John Burns- MLB reports Intern:  I am a highschool junior, play 1st base and catcher. I am a diehard Phillies fan. I  was born in Philadelphia but now live in Virginia. I come from a huge baseball family and just love the game. My cousin was drafted by the New York Mets in the 2008 MLB draft. My favorite players are Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard. I tweet all the time and you can follow me on twitter (@JohnBurns_MLB)***

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