CHICAGO --
Chicago White Sox designated hitter
Adam Dunn's stat line is as fascinating as you’ll find in the majors this season.
Dunn has 71 hits, comprising of 29 singles, 12 doubles and 30 home runs. Yes, he has more home runs than singles. Throw in the fact he also leads the majors in home runs, walks (75) and strikeouts (146), it’s even more interesting.
When Dunn was told Tuesday about his home runs outnumbering his singles after the White Sox’s 11-4 over the
Minnesota Twins, Dunn answered with one word.
“Awesome,” Dunn said as reporters laughed.
He was serious.
“Again, I don’t care about singles,” said Dunn, who was 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in Tuesday’s win. “I care about hitting the ball as hard as I can. If I do that and get a single, sometimes it’s OK. I’m not here to hit singles.”
Dunn was, of course, signed prior to the 2011 season to hit home runs and drive in runs. It’s well documented Dunn failed at that last season and endured the worst season of his career, hitting for a .159 average with 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, 177 strikeouts and an on-base percentage of .292.
Although Dunn has long moved on from last year’s woes -- he’s hitting .210 with 71 RBIs and a .353 on-base percentage and was selected as an All-Star this season -- and prefers not to talk about last season, his teammates haven’t forgotten where he’s come from.
“He’s a monster right now,” said
Paul Konerko, who was 4-for-4 on Tuesday. “It’s good to see. There’s been a lot of nice stories in here this year, but the guys that are having the redemption years where you have the year last year that no one likes and everything goes wrong. I think everyone in the locker room has had those situations and had those years where you had to bounce back. Those are the most satisfying ones I think.
“He handled it as well as he could handle it last year. I know he won’t talk about it, but he earned a lot of respect with everyone with the way he got through that.”
Konerko went beyond comparing Dunn’s current season to last season. Konerko not only thought this season trumped what Dunn did last season, but he also believe it surpassed what Dunn’s done in his entire career.
“I think he’s better now than he was before last year and he was great then,” Konerko said. “He might not know that or say that, but I think he’s even a better hitter and better everything even when he was having those great years before. I think he’s even in a better place. I think the best is ahead of him.”
