Root for Adam Dunn to make the playoffs (finally)

Unless you’re rooting for a team in direct opposition to them, you should be pulling for the Athletics to make the playoffs. It’s not because it’s a team of fun players, or because Billy Beane deserves another shot at a World Series, or their snazzy uniforms, or any of the regular reasons neutral parties seem to gravitate toward the A’s. No, you should be rooting for Oakland to make the postseason for one 6’6 reason: Adam Dunn.

Dunn is in his 14th season in the majors. He’s played for five different teams now, swatted 462 homers, drawn over 1,300 walks, and has logged 8,270 plate appearances in 1,982 games. Not one of those has come in the postseason. Dunn has never been on a playoff team, putting him atop the list of games played by an active player without a postseason berth.

The Reds, Dunn’s original team, didn’t make it to meaningful October baseball until 2010, two years after they dealt Dunn to the Diamondbacks. Dunn then signed with Washington, but the Nats didn’t join the postseason fray until 2012, two years after Dunn left for the White Sox as a free agent. The White Sox came somewhat close to the playoffs in 2012, but finished three games back of the Tigers and well behind the Orioles and Rangers for a wild card spot. Now, Big Donkey is with the A’s, who went from looking like a lock for the playoffs to seven games behind the Angels in the AL West and just 2.5 games up on the Tigers for one of the two wild card spots.

That’s a tough note in an otherwise nifty career, but if the A’s make the playoffs now, it’ll all be erased and Dunn will no longer be a guy with nearly 2,000 games behind him without a single one in the postseason. For more reasons than just giving Dunn an opportunity to bring his power to the October stage, those of us without a stake in any specific team fortunes this postseason should be rooting for the A’s and Dunn, because it could mean we’ll get even more Dunn in the future.

The then-White Sox slugger told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in 2013 that he was ready to retire once he was no longer having fun:

Rosenthal mentioned that Dunn’s tune might change were the White Sox in contention, which was unlikely given the remaining time on Dunn’s deal and that Chicago is in the midst of a rebuild from the bottom up. But now that he’s on the A’s, the possibility is open. That’s just what’s happened, too, with Dunn telling the SF Gate’s John Shea he was going to “put [retirement talk] on the back burner for at least a couple of months” now that he was on a team with a chance at the postseason. Maybe being in an actual pennant race will revitalize him, and he’ll want to give it another shot elsewhere next year, be it in Oakland again or somewhere else in need of Dunn’s bat. While he’s no longer the player he was at his peak, his .224/.342/.443 line has been good for a 120 OPS+, just below his career rate of 124. Not bad for a 34-year-old who just a few weeks ago was probably ready to hang up his cleats.

The prospective free agent list at first base makes it even more obvious that there could be a spot in MLB for Dunn past 2014, and possibly on a competitive team. Michael Cuddyer will be a free agent, and while he’s hit well for the Rockies in his last free agent pact, he’s missed a lot of time to injuries and is a year older than Dunn. Corey Hart is available once more, but he’s a risky solution for anyone since he has managed a 71 OPS+ in what was supposed to be a comeback season. Neither Mike Morse nor Mark Reynolds should be considered for a gig over Dunn considering they’re both poor imitations of the real thing, and players like Lyle Overbay are clearly simply platoon pieces at this stage of their career.

Teams have a little more flexibility at designated hitter since just about anyone can go there, but assuming the Tigers lock Victor Martinez back up, there isn’t a whole lot to choose from there, either. Kendrys Morales is an option, but after that, it’s platoon players and part-time guys like Jonny Gomes, Raul Ibanez, and Delmon Young. Dunn would likely be the second-best option on that market should he put himself on it.

Maybe he can play in the outfield again!

Hmm. Let me run the numbers on that and get back to you.

If he does come back, he has some milestones to chase. He’s not hitting 40 homers like clockwork anymore, but he’s still gone deep 22 times in 112 games this year, producing a .219 Isolated Power number in the process. He’s at 462 homers, and with another two years, should be able to hit that 500th homer. It’s not as important to Dunn as having fun, but it’d be nice to see him both have fun and blast his 500th dinger.

It’s difficult to tell how many home runs he will end up with by the time he retires, because it’s unclear if he’s going to end his MLB career in three weeks or three years at this point. Getting to 600 homers was a possibility for him at one point, but his rough 2011 and questions about whether he’ll keep playing until he’s 40 or so make that far less of one than it used to be. He could still make it into the top-20 all-time if he hangs around for another three years. Albert Pujols is currently at 517, and ahead of him is the three-way tie of Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas, and Ted Williams at 521. If Dunn pops a few more this year then averages 20 per season for three more years, he’d pass them and come up short of reaching Jimmie Foxx at number 17 all-time. If Dunn could be closer to 30 per year -- likely with a lot of help on the health side -- he could get there in two years.

Dunn is currently tied for 35th all-time with Jose Canseco at present, and he needs another 48 to move into the top 25. If he keeps playing, it’s certainly within reach. For that to happen, the A’s probably need to keep winning. Those of you who aren’t Tigers, Angels, or Mariners fans, you know for what and for whom you need to root.