CINCINNATI — Even though Dunn is done, he wouldn’t mind being undone.
Adam Dunn — the former slugger for the Cincinnati Reds — was one of three new inductees last weekend as the organization increased its membership total to 89.
Dunn reflected on his career and said he wouldn’t mind doing it all over again.
“I have no regrets. (But) I’d like to go back if I could,” said Dunn.
“I miss the game. I miss being out there. I really enjoyed the between the lines and the clubhouse, but I really enjoy what I’m doing now.”
Dunn was inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame along with former manager Dave Bristol and left-handed pitcher Fred Norman.
“No one in any organization does it like the Reds. It’s truly an honor. It’s hard to put it into words. It’s cheesy and cliché, but it really is hard to put it into words,” said Dunn.
“It’s been everything I thought it would be. Just being around the guys and seeing everybody from the security guard and people you spend so much time with to, obviously, the players.
“Doing the press conference, you’re not only sitting there with some of the best players to ever play for the Reds but to ever play the game of baseball. The game’s been around 100 and some years and it makes you proud. It’s Cooperstown. (Cincinnati is) one of the greatest places to play.”
During his 14-year career, Dunn clubbed 426 home runs and drove in 1,168 runs.
Playing nearly eight seasons with the Reds, he hit 270 home runs to rank fourth all-time on the team career list. His .520 slugging percentage ranks third, his .380 on-base percentage is seventh, four seasons of 40 or more home runs ranks
Known for prestigious blasts including one that left Great American Ball Park and landed in the Ohio River, Dunn hit 40 or more home runs six times and had seasons of 34, 38 and 38 home runs overall during his career.
“There were some things I did that I probably shouldn’t have done and worked with some people I shouldn’t have worked with. But looking back, it was all on me,” said Dunn.
Nicknamed “Big Donkey” by his teammates because of his 6-foot-6, 285-pound frame and easy-going personality, Dunn was a second-round selection in the Major League Baseball draft in 1998 out of Texas where he also played quarterback on the football team. The Houston, Texas, native was 21 years old when he made his MLB debut July 20, 2001. In 66 games, Dunn hit .262 with 19 home runs, 18 doubles and drove in 43 runs. He had a .578 slugging percentage.
Dunn also played part of 2008 with Arizona before playing two years with Washington, four years with the Chicago White Sox and then finished his career by playing his final 25 games of 2014 with Oakland.
In 2,001 games, Dunn had 6,883 at-bats and collected 1,631 hits, walked 1,317 times and struck out 2,379 times.
Off all the stats, Dunn was more impressed with the number of games played.
“I signed up for 162 plus and that’s what I wanted to play,” said Dunn. “I tried to pride myself on being out there every single day — good, bad, however it shakes out.”
Along with raising his children, Dunn is now operating a baseball training center. The center had nine former players drafted this past spring.
Dunn tries to teach fundamentals but his philosophy is simple.
“Have fun. Baseball is the hardest sport in the world to play. Nobody can argue that. When you’re adding pressure to an already pressure-filled situation — especially hitting — it doesn’t work,” said Dunn.
“If guys are successful, don’t mess with them. Everybody is different. When you try to make them the same, you make them robots. It’s a round ball, a round bat and you hit it as hard as you can and wherever it goes, awesome.”
And when Adam Dunn hit the ball, it usually was awesome. After all, it took him to the Reds’ Hall of Fame.