SHAWON DUNSTON : That Promise May Finally Be Fulfilled

Will this be the year that Chicago Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston fulfills his potential and great expectations?

Dunston thinks so.

Cub Manager Don Zimmer hopes so.

And some of the rival managers in the National League are beginning to show respect for Dunston, the No. 1 pick in the June, 1982, draft and the highest amateur pick in New York City history.

“Yes, I’d say this is his hump year, I certainly hope so,” Zimmer said. “It’s not a matter of life or death, but this is the year he should become a good player. He’s been around several years and he has gotten better.”

Dunston has had a spotty career since coming up to the Cubs three years ago.

In 1986 he hit 17 home runs and drove in 68 runs, the most by a Cub shortstop since Ernie Banks. Last year he got off to a horrendous start and had one RBI during the first month. When he finally got rolling, a broken finger sidelined him for two months.

This year Dunston is off to a solid start. In the first month of the season he had four home runs with 17 RBIs and kept his average around .270.

“As you get older, you mature and see things differently,” said Dunston, 25. “I got married last November and I’m very happy.

“My wife is pregnant and that means more responsibility. I’m not playing for myself anymore, I’m playing for the family,” he said.

Dunston seems to have rid himself of the pressure that came from being a No. 1 pick from New York. Added pressures came because others selected in that draft after Dunston included the likes of star pitcher Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets and relief ace Todd Worrell of the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I can’t help what other people say or expect,” said Dunston. “The pressure came when I came to the big leagues. Everybody compared me to Dwight Gooden and to Wally Joyner.

“I was only 22 and I had the physical talent, but it’s not all physical. It’s mental, too,” said Dunston. “Now I have no goals, I just want to play everyday and do my best.”

Zimmer was a coach with the Cubs when Dunston first came up and felt Dunston was getting too much input from everybody in the organization. When he took over as manager this spring, Zimmer made a decision.

“The first thing I did in spring training was to tell the other coaches I didn’t want them to say anything to Shawon,” said Zimmer. “I decided I was going to handle him.

“I wanted him to relax and play the game and not be scared to death to make a mistake. He had too much feedback with four or five people telling him what to do and how to do it. Too much instruction can kill progress.”

Zimmer is enjoying the fruits of his efforts.

“When he first came up he was like a young colt with wobbly legs,” said Zimmer. “But he has matured and he has improved.

“I stay on him and keep talking to him but never too much, just enough,” said Zimmer.

Dunston’s biggest improvement is making the double play across his body, Zimmer said. The manager is still looking for consistency in Dunston’s hitting, but Zimmer says “he’s showing more discipline up at the plate.”

Dunston doesn’t think he’s the same player who was criticized for not being able to harness his talents and emotions.

“I don’t think I’m out of control anymore,” he said, “but I care when I strike out. I get mad when we lose and I’m happy when we win. I still show emotion, I just have to keep it at a happy medium.

“Somebody once told me that if I get to bat 600 times and get 200 hits, I’m going to make out 400 times. But I’d still hit .333 and you can’t be mad at that,” he said. But I do want respect.”

Dunston is getting that, too. In a recent game against San Francisco, Manager Roger Craig switched pitchers in order to force Zimmer to bat Leon Durham for Dunston in a one-run game.

“Dunston is playing and active and can hit the ball out of the park,” said Craig. “Durham is a power hitter but he’s rusty.”

Against the Los Angeles Dodgers recently, Dunston struck out three times but barely missed a home run and doubled in a run in the ninth inning to send a game into extra innings.

“He’s capable, very capable,” said Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda. “It wouldn’t have surprised me if the ball had gone out.”

Dunston said he is happy with Zimmer’s approach, but the shortstop isn’t completely harnessing his emotions.

“I have a manager who doesn’t holler at me and talks to me like a man,” said Dunston. “I don’t want people hollering at me. If you jump in my face, I’ll jump in your face.”

Maybe it will be the year Dunston jumps to the stardom expected of him.