Home Run Kings

I was looking at Chris Shelton earlier, he of the humongous homer total of the Tigers and was surprised at some similarities in age.

Adam Dunn - born November 9, 1979
Chris Shelton - born June 26, 1980
Albert Pujols - born January 16, 1980

All three of these sluggers were born within seven months of each other. ESPN.com ran an article by a guy at Baseball Prospectus over the last two days listing the top fifty players based on projected future value. Shelton is unlisted. Dunn is #19 and Pujols is #1. Personally, I think they flipped Dunn and Pujols around. The paragraph on Dunn is critical of his appearance on the basepaths and in the field, undeservingly so. Dunn is an exceptional athlete and only looks clumsier than his fellow players because he dwarves them in size. So there.

Dunn drew a pair of walks last night as the Marlins defeated the Reds. The teams meet again in about fifteen minutes and at game time it is warm with a light breeze coming in from left. The Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis, #42 on the ESPN list, gets the start. Dunn has never homered off of Willis.

Aaron Harang starts for the Reds. Only Paul Wilson (15) has been on the mound more often at the time Dunn has homered than Harang (13).