1963
Born March 21, 1963
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Shawon Dunston Marquee
b. March 21, 1963 · Chicago Cubs 1985–1995, 1997, San Francisco Giants 1996, 1998, 2001–2002, Pittsburgh Pirates 1997, Cleveland Indians 1998, St. Louis Cardinals 1999–2000, New York Mets 1999
Chicago took him first overall out of a Brooklyn high school in 1982, ahead of Dwight Gooden. He played eleven seasons at shortstop for the Cubs with an arm nobody questioned and a strike zone everyone did: 203 walks in eighteen years, against 1,000 strikeouts.
The bleacher crowd hung a hand-lettered Shawon-O-Meter tracking his batting average through 1989, the year he hit .278 and Chicago won the division. Eighteen seasons gave him 1,597 hits, 150 home runs, 212 stolen bases and a .269 average, with two All-Star selections.
A back injury cost him most of two seasons in his prime. He played until he was thirty-nine, reaching the World Series with the 2002 Giants, and has scouted for the Giants since. His son Shawon Jr. played in the minor leagues. The 2008 ballot gave him one vote of 543.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1988, 1990 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1989 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1989 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | CHC | 74 | 250 | 40 | 65 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 19 | 42 | 11 | .260 |
| 1986 | CHC | 150 | 581 | 66 | 145 | 37 | 3 | 17 | 68 | 21 | 114 | 13 | .250 |
| 1987 | CHC | 95 | 346 | 40 | 85 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 10 | 68 | 12 | .246 |
| 1988 | CHC | 155 | 575 | 69 | 143 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 56 | 16 | 108 | 30 | .249 |
| 1989 | CHC | 138 | 471 | 52 | 131 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 60 | 30 | 86 | 19 | .278 |
| 1990 | CHC | 146 | 545 | 73 | 143 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 66 | 15 | 87 | 25 | .262 |
| 1991 | CHC | 142 | 492 | 59 | 128 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 50 | 23 | 64 | 21 | .260 |
| 1992 | CHC | 18 | 73 | 8 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 2 | .315 |
| 1993 | CHC | 7 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .400 |
| 1994 | CHC | 88 | 331 | 38 | 92 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 35 | 16 | 48 | 3 | .278 |
| 1995 | CHC | 127 | 477 | 58 | 141 | 30 | 6 | 14 | 69 | 10 | 75 | 10 | .296 |
| 1996 | SFG | 82 | 287 | 27 | 86 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 13 | 40 | 8 | .300 |
| 1997 | CHC/PIT | 132 | 490 | 71 | 147 | 22 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 8 | 75 | 32 | .300 |
| 1998 | CLE/SFG | 98 | 207 | 36 | 46 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 28 | 9 | .222 |
| 1999 | NYM/STL | 104 | 243 | 35 | 78 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 41 | 2 | 39 | 10 | .321 |
| 2000 | STL | 98 | 216 | 28 | 54 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 43 | 6 | 47 | 3 | .250 |
| 2001 | SFG | 88 | 186 | 26 | 52 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 32 | 3 | .280 |
| 2002 | SFG | 72 | 147 | 7 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 33 | 1 | .231 |
| Career | — | 1814 | 5927 | 736 | 1597 | 292 | 62 | 150 | 668 | 203 | 1000 | 212 | .269 |
On this day & linked events
1985
Major-league debut: Shawon Dunston
Shawon Dunston made a major-league debut on April 9, 1985.
2002
Final major-league game: Shawon Dunston
Shawon Dunston played a final major-league game on September 29, 2002.