Shawon Dunston Stats

In his senior year at Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn, New York), Shawon Dunston stole 37 bases (no caught stealing), hit ten homers and finished the year with a .790 batting average. The Chicago Cubs selected him with the first overall pick in the 1982 Baseball Draft , the first Cubbie ever selected first-overall in a First-Year Player Draft (Rule 4 Draft).

Besides being former Major League ballplayers, what do Shawon Dunston and Roberto Clemente have in common? Dunston led all National League shortstops in putouts three times (1986, 1988, 1991), assists once (1986), double plays turned once (1986) and errors committed once (1986) - hardly comparable to Clemente , but each one was once a prospect and author Bruce Markusen shared this in his book, Roberto Clemente: The Great One (Sports Publishing, 2002, Page 74): "During Howie Haak's years as a scout with the Pirates , the organization had developed a rating system that attached a number grade to each player based on the strength of his throwing arm. According to Haak, a player with a 30 had an average major league arm. A 40 meant he was above average. If a player reached 50, he was considered outstanding. A 60 represented the highest grade a player could achieve - a perfect throwing arm. In the history of the organization, only two players merited a perfect score. One player, Shawon Dunston, would eventually play shortstop in the major leagues. The only other player to reach a 60? Clemente ."

Did you know that Shawon Dunston hit one-hundred seven home runs as a shortstop with the Chicago Cubs - the most by a shorstop in team history? Those with fifty-or-more include Jose Hernandez , Starlin Castro , Bill Dahlen and Roy Smalley . [ MLB.com Stats ]