| Shawon Dunston | |
|---|---|
 Dunston with the Chicago Cubs in 1988 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1963-03-21)March 21, 1963 (age 62) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 9, 1985, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 2002, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .269 |
| Home runs | 150 |
| Runs batted in | 668 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Shawon Donnell Dunston (born March 21, 1963) is an American former professionalbaseball player. Ashortstop, Dunston played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1985 through 2002. On January 13, 2023, he was selected as a member of the 2023 class of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.
Dunston was thefirst overall pick in the 1982 MLB draft by theChicago Cubs, and played for the Cubs (1985–95, 1997),San Francisco Giants (1996, 1998, 2001–02),Pittsburgh Pirates (1997),Cleveland Indians (1998),St. Louis Cardinals (1999, 2000) andNew York Mets (1999). Dunston was named anAll-Star in 1988 and 1990.
Dunston was born in theEast New York section ofBrooklyn, New York City, on March 21, 1963. As a youth, he lived in the Linden Apartments, apublic housing facility, with his father, Jack, mother, Brenda, and younger sister, Kindra. Jack worked as acab driver and delivered furniture, while Brenda worked in a women's clothing store.[1]
Dunston attended the nearbyThomas Jefferson High School. He played for the school's baseball team as aninfielder.[1] In his senior season at Thomas Jefferson, Dunston had a .790batting average, 10home runs, andstole 37 bases without beingcaught stealing in 26 games.[2][3]
As ashortstop, Dunston was considered one of the best prospects available in the1982 Major League Baseball draft.[4] TheChicago Cubs selected Dunston with thefirst overall selection of the draft out of Thomas Jefferson High School.[1] He was the first player from the New York area to be chosen with the first overall pick in the draft.[3] Opting to represent himself, Dunston signed a one-year contract with the Cubs for $100,000, and was assigned to the Cubs'Rookie-levelminor league baseball affiliate in theGulf Coast League.[2]
Dunston competed withLarry Bowa for the role as the starting shortstop for the Cubs inspring training in 1985. Dunston initially won the job over Bowa.[5] He made his debut in the major leagues on April 9. However, Dunston struggled offensively and defensively, batting .194 and committing nineerrors in 23 games. As a result, he was sent back to the minor leagues,[6] with Bowa regaining the starting role. After playing well for theIowa Cubs, the Cubs recalled Dunston in August, and released Bowa.[5]
In1988 and1990 he joineddouble-play partnerRyne Sandberg as anAll-Star and was a key contributor to the Cubs'NL East division title in1989, hitting .278 with 20 doubles, 6 triples, 9home runs, 60runs batted in and 19stolen bases. Due to become afree agent after the 1991 season, Dunston instead signed a four-year, $12 million contract to remain with the Cubs without testing the open market.[7] However, he injured his back that offseason, and required surgery to repair a herniated disk in May 1992.[8][9] The Cubs opted not to protect Dunston from being eligible to be selected in the1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft,[10] but neither theColorado Rockies nor theFlorida Marlins selected him.
After the 1995 season, he was granted free agency. The Cubs wanted to move Dunston tothird base, but he preferred to remain at shortstop. As a result, he signed with theSan Francisco Giants for the 1996 season, receiving a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.[11] He signed with the Cubs for the 1997 season, receiving $2 million.[12]
On August 31, 1997, the Cubs traded Dunston to thePittsburgh Pirates, who lost two shortstops,Kevin Elster andKevin Polcovich, to injuries.[13] He hit two home runs in his first game with the Pirates,[14] and three in his first three games.[13] He became a free agent after the season, and signed a one-year contract with theCleveland Indians for $400,000.[15] On July 23, 1998, the Indians traded Dunston,José Mesa, andAlvin Morman to the Giants forJacob Cruz andSteve Reed. Dunston was batting .237 at the time of the trade.[16] With the Giants, Dunston batted .176 in 51 at-bats. Dunston became a free agent after the season and signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals on a one-year contract worth $500,000.[17]
On July 31, 1999, the Cardinals traded Dunston to theNew York Mets forCraig Paquette. He replaced rookieMelvin Mora on the Mets roster.[18] Dunston became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cardinals for the 2000 season. He signed with the Giants that next offseason, playing with them in 2001 and 2002. He reached the2002 World Series, his first, as a member of the Giants.[19] He hit ahome run offKevin Appier of theAnaheim Angels in game six to give his team a two run lead in what could have been a championship clinching game for the Giants, but the Angels came back to win the game[20] and eventually the series.
Dunston was a career .269 hitter with 150 home runs and 668 RBI in 1814 games. He seldom walked, so in spite of his batting average, his on-base percentage was the second-worst among players with at least 4500 plate appearances during their careers.[21] At the end of his career, he was used mainly as a fourthoutfielder and a role player off the bench.He wore jersey #12 while with the Chicago Cubs.
Bill James noted that Dunston was an "eternal rookie, a player who continued until the end of his career to make rookie mistakes."[22] Dunston was known, especially early in his career, for his unusually strong throwing arm at the shortstop position.
He won the 1996Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership.
Dunston became eligible for theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008; 75% of the vote was necessary for induction, and 5% was necessary to stay on the ballot. He received 0.2% of the vote, thus being dropped off theBaseball Writers' Association of America's ballot.[23]
During his career, Dunston resided inFremont, California.[8]
Dunston has a son, Shawon Jr., who has played minor league baseball.[20] One of Dunston's three daughters, Jasmine Dunston, became the White Sox Director of Minor League Operations in 2022.[24]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1982 | Succeeded by |
