As disappointing as Jayson Werth’s season has been for the Nationals — and there’s no way anyone can sugarcoat what he hasn’t been able to do on offense — imagine how Chicago White Sox fans must feel about our old friend Adam Dunn?
Dunn spurned a three-year offer to stay in Washington for a four-year, $56-million deal with the White Sox, a decision that was contrary to a previously stated preference to stay in the National League. Dunn would have to DH with Chicago, a role he had said time and time again he’d rather not take on. There was talk early on that he’d share first base duties with Paul Konerko, but entering this weekend he’d only played defense in 15 games at first.
When the Nats moved Dunn to first base on a daily basis, he made no secret of the fact that he thought it would help him stay focused.
“I’ve got a real short attention span,” he told me one day before a game in 2009, “and sometimes in the outfield the game seemed so far away. I’d have to keep reminding myself how many outs there were and who was on base.”
Even then he was dismissive of ever becoming a designated hitter.
“If I had to hit,” he said, “then sit and wait 45 minutes before I could hit again I think I’d get bored. I don’t see how those guys who do it every day stay focused.”
A self-fulfilling prophecy?
Entering this weekend, Dunn was hitting .163 in 87 games with 10 homers and 38 RBI. He’d struck out 130 times against 49 hits and 54 walks. I read somewhere the other day that he’s on pace for the lowest batting average by a player with enough at-bats to qualify for a batting title in 100 years.
I suppose if you’re going to do something historic, make it really historic.
When Dunn signed with Washington, he was on track for a 500-plus home run career and, potentially, a future date in Cooperstown, despite a low lifetime batting average (currently .245). His home runs were frequently of the monster variety. He could electrify a crowd the same way Frank Howard did in Washington four decades earlier.
I don’t expect the White Sox to trade Dunn, though rumors persist that he’s been shopped around. It’s just year one of a four-year deal, and maybe he figures it out by 2012, as Nats’ fans hope Werth is able to. Dunn is six months younger than Werth but has played almost twice as many big league games. Werth seems far more athletic than Dunn, with greater versatility. Dunn is far more gregarious, a quality that seems more important to some fans than perhaps it should.
Dunn and Werth signed two of the more lucrative deals last offseason, and thus far have taken the bulk of the criticism over lack of performance. Keep in mind, though, that no one used a gun and a mask to get those contracts.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a baseball historian and contributor to MASN’s Nats Xtra. Contact him at [email protected].
