Dunn works to cut down on strikeouts
Adam Dunn is defined by big numbers.
At 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds, he’s the most imposing of the Cincinnati Reds’ players, the one guy that no one wants to meet in a home-plate collision.
His 535-foot homer last season ranks as one of the longest in the last 30 years, a drive that cleared the stands at Great American Ball Park, bounced on the street and came to rest on driftwood in the Ohio River.
The outfielder hit 46 homers overall last season, fourth-most in the history of baseball’s first professional franchise. He became only the second player in team history – Hall of Famer Joe Morgan is the other – to score 100 runs, drive in 100 and walk 100 times in a season.
The enormous numbers just roll off his bat – and, all too often, over it and under it as well.
In baseball’s record book, he’s listed alongside one other huge number: 195, the times he struck out last season, more than anyone else in major league history.
“It was just a weird year,” Dunn said. “A lot of good, a lot of bad.”
The goal this year is to reduce the bad, specifically those strikeouts. He fanned in more than one-third of his at-bats last season, a percentage that’s simply unacceptable.
“What do you work on?” batting coach Chris Chambliss said Friday. “You work on fewer strikeouts and keeping those other numbers up. And now you’ve really got something – some MVP stuff.”
At age 25, the numbers suggest he has the stuff that could add up to those three letters. First, he has to do something about his mastery of the swing-and-miss.
“It’s going to change this year,” Dunn said. “I’m going to try not to get to two strikes. That’s going to be my main thing. It’s hard to hit in this league with two strikes.”
Schilling shaky in return
While Curt Schilling is on his way back from ankle surgery, former teammate Pedro Martinez is trying to shake off a stiff back.
Schilling struggled with the heat, the wind and the Twins during his first spring training appearance against a major league team Friday.
The Boston Red Sox ace allowed three runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings during Minnesota’s 5-1 victory in Fort Myers, Fla. He said he “pitched very poorly” in a game he had anticipated for some time — his first since the World Series.
Clearing the bases
Pedro Martinez was scratched from his scheduled start for the New York Mets in a game against the Florida Marlins because of a stiff lower back. The three-time Cy Young Award winner went to a hospital for X-rays, which were negative. … The New York Yankees released Doug Glanville, who was trying to win the spot as the backup to center fielder Bernie Williams. Bubba Crosby, Damian Rolls, Colin Porter and Russ Johnson are the top contenders for the reserve role behind Williams. … C.C. Sabathia was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Cleveland Indians, an expected move with the left-hander sidelined until mid-April because of an oblique injury. Reliever Jason Davis will take Sabathia’s spot in the rotation.