The American Leagues comeback player of the year thinks he can improve again in 2013.
Peers honored White Sox first basemandesignated hitter Adam Dunn with the award on Tuesday after he hit .204 with 41 homers, 96 RBIs and 105 walks in 151 games this season.
Even though his 2011 home run total increased by 30 and his on-base percentage jumped from .292 to .333, Dunn sees room for growth. But unlike last spring, Dunn, who earned his second All-Star bid in 2012, expects he wont be clouded with questions when he heads to Glendale, Ariz next spring to prepare for the 2013 season.
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I feel like I have a better base to work on during the offseason because I know what I need to fix, Dunn said. I didnt really have time during the season. We worked on it. When youre in the middle of a playoff race you dont want to go tinkering too much with stuff. So we kind of managed what I was doing, but there are some things I want to work on (to get where I want to be).
Dunns .204 average was 36 points below his career mark, his OBP was 70 points below his career norm and he struck out 222 times -- 27 more than he had in any previous season.
With the exception of an oblique strain that bothered him over the final month of the season --- after he admitted he rushed back --- Dunn is pleased he maintained his health and played in all but 11 games. Dunn appeared in only 122 games in 2011 when he batted .157 with 11 homers and stuck out 177 times in 415 at-bats.
There were some good things, obviously, Dunn said earlier this month about his season. There were a lot of bad things in there. I can go to spring training and not have 15 things to work on and clear your head. I can start earlier. There are a few things to work on that I think will be an easy fix.