Adam Dunn Talking Retirement

By Rob Neyer - National Baseball Editor

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Jul 21, 2011 - Adam Dunn's got a .158 batting average, and yes you read that correctly. Just to reach the Mendoza Line, Dunn would have to collect 15 hits in his next 15 at-bats ... and he's got only 15 hits in his last 125 at-bats.

All of which, as you might imagine, is not a great deal of fun for him (let alone all the White Sox fans who rejoiced when Dunn signed a $56 million contract last winter). What's on Dunn's mind? Retirement. Jeff Passan:

Adam Dunn is talking about quitting. He’s talking about it like he’s been thinking about it, like it’s always a possibility, a failsafe if this misery continues. And then he’s talking about it like the chances of him doing it are infinitesimal because he adores baseball, even as it corrodes his sense of self. And then he’s talking about it like he’s not sure what he thinks, which tends to happen when a 31-year-old with 363 career home runs suddenly forgets how to hit a baseball.

"If I’m not having fun anymore, I’ll go home," Dunn told Yahoo! Sports. "Flat out. I’ll go home. I mean that. Swear to goodness. I’ll. Go. Home. I enjoy playing. Even though I suck. Or have been sucking. I enjoy playing the game. Love it. But as soon as I lose that, I’m gone, dude. It’s true.

Okay, but here's a List of Important Reasons Why Adam Dunn Flat Out Isn't Going Home:

1. He's still got about $45 million coming to him.

2. He almost certainly couldn't keep keep hitting .168, even if he wanted to (which he does not).

3. Same interview, Dunn says about quitting, ""It’s not going to happen. Zero chance. Zero. You can’t get this competition anywhere else, dude. I don’t care where you look. Nowhere else. It’s one-on-one, dude."

Which seems fairly definitive. Granted, if Dunn finishes this season with a sub-.200 batting average, then does it again next spring and summer ... Well, then you might see something crazy happen. He might quit, or the White Sox might quit on him. But that's a lot of money, and Dunn's hit a lot of home runs over the years.

But while Dunn might well finish this season under .200, today that's not exactly a mark of truly ill distinction. Since 1920, only 15 players have finished with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and posted a sub-.200 batting average. But would you believe that two of them did it just last year?

Carlos Peña batted .196 last year ... and was rewarded with a $10 million contract. Mark Reynolds batted .198 last year ... and has since been installed as the Orioles' every-day third baseman. Oh, and here's the best part of the story ... both Peña and Reynolds, with batting averages in the .220s this season, rank among their teams' best hitters.

Reports of Adam Dunn's demise? We'll check in again next summer. For now, they have been greatly exaggerated.

Read More: Adam Dunn (DH - CWS), Chicago White Sox

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