Hot July could net Dunn award
His 11 HRs, 31 RBI strong case for player of the month
By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer
When Adam Dunn finally ended the Great Sacrifice Fly Drought, someone asked if the bat was going to the Hall of Fame.
"Yeah, the Adam Hall of Fame," Dunn said.
The Hall, in Dunn's house off a lake near Houston, is probably about to get another collector's piece:
The National League player of the month award for July.
That might not sound like a big deal, but those kind of awards are tougher to come by than you may think. No Red has won a player or pitcher of the month award since Denny Neagle and Greg Vaughn swept the awards in September 1999.
Dunn's not an absolute lock to win, but he has to be the favorite. He led the NL in home runs (11), the majors in RBI (31). He hit only .281, but his on-base percentage was .409; his slugging percentage .701.
"I've been feeling pretty good," Dunn said after hitting his second grand slam of the season in a 7-1 win over the San Diego Padres Sunday.
"He's been outstanding," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "Even if he didn't hit all the home runs, he'd be outstanding. He's up there in all the stats that are in vogue - on-base percentage, total bases."
Narron has put Dunn in the cleanup spot lately. He'll continue to hit there if the matchups are right.
"I like him there," Narron said. "He'll be there if the other club doesn't have a lot of left-handers in the bullpen."