An Adam Dunn did you know?

[Highlifeman21]

Actually, I think Ted Williams would probably look more favorably on a patient Adam Dunn-type hitter than a guy who slaps at the ball and hits a lot of sac flies. He himself wasn't exactly known for things like sac flies and he preferred to move the runners over by waiting for his pitch and driving it. IIRC, he was also subject to a shift similar to what Adam Dunn faces. I think I heard he used to smash his hits right through it rather than deprive himself of power by trying to slap the ball to the other field. I could be mistaken though. There are folks here who have had the opportunity to read is "Science of Hitting" who would be able to shed more light on his hitting philosophy.

Great read.

I can't find the image, and maybe Cyclone can (he's posted it on here before) about Williams' zone and his AVG for balls in certain zones.

The zone basically showed that Williams had probably the best ability to turn on a baseball of anyone ever to play the game.

[coachw513]

I don't have numbers on it, either, but here are some three-year splits for Dunn with RISP and overall.

With RISP:	Overall:
AB: 407		1,672
RBI: 177	295
BB: 139		334
K: 134		557
AVG: .236	.249
OBP: .434	.380
SLG: .538	.533
OPS: .972	.913

Okay, what do we see?

First of all, when there are RISP, Adam gets an RBI every 2.3 AB (177/407). Overall, it takes him 5.7 AB to get an RBI (295/1,672). That means that the people who say he only drives in himself are dead wrong.

Secondly, we see that with RISP, Dunn gets a walk every 2.9 AB (139/407). Overall it takes him 5.0 AB to work a walk (334/1,672). That means Adam is getting pitched around whenever there are RISP, which should surprise no one. It also shows that Adam has the discipline to take a base when one is offered.

Thirdly, and this is very interesting, when there are RISP, Adam strikes out once every 3.0 AB (134/407). Overall, Adam strikes out once every (wait for it) 3.0 AB (557/1,672). Look at that again. There’s no change at all in the rate. He’s not choking. He’s not flailing. And the results speak for themselves in the final four lines above. Or at least they should. With RISP, he adds 54 points to his OBP and 59 points to his OPS.

what a great post...thanks for the information!!

[TeamBoone]

Hmmm, I wonder how many times he's scored a runner who was NOT in scoring position... like today for instance.