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The four-year, $56 million contract Chicago gave Dunn in December 2010 is another example of teams misunderstanding how baseball is played and how players age

Tom Verducci|

The four-year, $56 million contract Chicago gave Dunn in December 2010 is another example of teams misunderstanding how baseball is played and how players age in the testing era. Dunn had just turned 31 years old, had a bad body and no defensive or baserunning value whatsoever when the Sox gave him that huge deal. In three years with the White Sox, Dunn has hit .188/.313/.403 and struck out in 37 percent of his plate appearances.

Published Jul 5, 2013 | Modified Jul 5, 2013

TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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