Has there ever been a stranger but truer baseball player than Adam Dunn? I mean, seriously. At least he didn't hit .159 again. But he still did all this:
Adam Dunn leads the majors in strikeouts (598) over the past three seasons.
• In 328 of Dunn's always-entertaining trips to home plate, the ball never got around to leaving the batter's box (222 strikeouts, 105 walks, 1 HBP)! So who else has ever had that many trips like that in one season? Nobody, obviously.
• Dunn also worked only 110 hits into his repertoire (amid those 222 strikeouts). That means he's now had back-to-back seasons with at least twice as many punchouts as hits. So how many other position players have done that two years in a row? You guessed it. Zero.
• In yet another bid for swing-and-miss history, the Big Donkey had more strikeouts (156) than the pitcher who was leading the big leagues in strikeouts, Justin Verlander (152), as late as Aug. 5! Alas, a late-season oblique strain got in the way of that quest. …
• But not this one: Dunn struck out at least once in every one of his first 32 games of the season, barely squeaking by the old record -- of 14!
• In yet more unprecedented Human Air Conditioner developments, Dunn became the first man in history to whiff 134 times before the All-Star break. Would you believe Albert Pujols has also whiffed 134 times -- in the past two seasons combined?
• In non-strikeout news, this man hit his 30th homer this year before he hit his 30th single! And kids, all we can say is, don't try that at home.
• But finally, here's this important question: Who had the better year -- Dunn or his "hot-hitting" teammate, Alex Rios? Don't answer too hastily now. Dunn hit .204 in 649 trips to the plate. Rios hit .304 in 640 trips. But Dunn still reached base more times (216) than Rios did (214)? You can look it up!