Player #5 - Shawon Dunston Jr. - Outfielder
The 'Jr.' at the end of the name probably gives it away, but he is the son of former #1 draft pick and shortstop of the Cubs, Shawon Dunston, Sr., who just happens to be a favorite player of mine. I was able to pick up Jr.'s autograph on Ebay a little while back, and now I have my first father & son autograph cards!
Shawon was drafted with the 11th pick in the 2011 draft and he made his professional debut in Boise this year and finished the season in Mesa. I followed Dunston on Twitter for a while (@DonnyDShay333), but the guy blew up my Twitter feed and I had to drop him. He has a lot to say, most of it is baseball related, and he seems like a pretty good guy.
The main reason he makes this list is two-fold:
1) I think he has the talent to potentially be a solid lead-off hitter
and
2) I would have loved bringing the Shawon-O-Meter to Peoria Chiefs games, doing quick math after each at-bat of his, and posting his new average for all to see.
The original Shawon-O-Meter was a fixture a Wrigley Field for a span in late 80's and early 90's. My friends and I would have loved cheering him on with the hopes of seeing his average rise. Oh, the fun we could have had!
Good luck with your career, Shawon, and I hope to see you playing with the Kane County Cougars in Peoria soon!
** For the record, I have no idea who the Cub fan is holding the Shawon-O-Meter sign with Dunston.
I recently started following Jr on Twitter myself. He's pretty entertaining although I wish he was a Cubs fan. He seems to openly root for his hometeam Giants (where his dad ended his career and currently coaches) which I guess is understandable. Hopefully, the Cubs of the near future can give us all something to cheer for.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that the mis-spelled (?) Shawon name lives to see a second generation. Maybe we should have named you Tawom? Sorry--couldn't help myself! Love & Hugs, Mom
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