Shawon Dunston

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1985-2002)

Shawon Dunston was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 2002 for 6 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 18 seasons. In 1,814 career games, he hit .269 with 1,597 hits, 150 home runs, and 668 RBI. Shawon Dunston was a 2-time All-Star.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .269
HR 150
RBI 668
H 1,597
OPS .712
PIV -4,580
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 175 lb
Born
3/21/1963 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1985-04-09
Last Game
2002-09-29
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Shawon Donnell Dunston

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Career Batting Statistics

Shawon Dunston — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,814 5,927 736 1,597 292 62 150 668 212 203 1,000 .269 .296 .416 .712 -4,580

Career AVG .269 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .296 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 10.7% below league average.

Career SLG .416 vs. league average .408 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .712 vs. league average .739 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Shawon Dunston Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1985 CHN NL 74 250 40 65 12 4 4 18 11 19 42 .260 .257 (+1%) .323 (-4%) .390 (-1%) .714 (-2%) -135.1
1986 CHN NL 150 581 66 145 37 3 17 68 13 21 114 .250 .257 (-3%) .325 (-15%) .395 (+4%) .720 (-4%) -592.3
1987 CHN NL 95 346 40 85 18 3 5 22 12 10 68 .246 .262 (-7%) .331 (-19%) .415 (-14%) .746 (-16%) -1003.0
1988 CHN NL 155 575 69 143 23 6 9 56 30 16 108 .249 .254 (-2%) .317 (-15%) .377 (-6%) .695 (-10%) -1017.0
1989 CHN NL 138 471 52 131 20 6 9 60 19 30 86 .278 .254 (+9%) .319 (avg) .375 (+8%) .694 (+4%) 259.2
1990 CHN NL 146 545 73 143 22 8 17 66 25 15 87 .262 .257 (+2%) .324 (-13%) .385 (+10%) .710 (avg) -265.0
1991 CHN NL 142 492 59 128 22 7 12 50 21 23 64 .260 .255 (+2%) .323 (-10%) .384 (+6%) .708 (-1%) -317.5
1992 CHN NL 18 73 8 23 3 1 0 2 2 3 13 .315 .255 (+23%) .322 (+6%) .377 (+2%) .699 (+4%) 35.1
1993 CHN NL 7 10 3 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 .400 — — — — 0.0
1994 CHN NL 88 331 38 92 19 0 11 35 3 16 48 .278 .269 (+3%) .338 (-7%) .424 (+3%) .763 (-2%) -162.0
1995 CHN NL 127 477 58 141 30 6 14 69 10 10 75 .296 .266 (+11%) .337 (-6%) .417 (+13%) .755 (+4%) 206.4
1996 SFN NL 82 287 27 86 12 2 5 25 8 13 40 .300 .269 (+11%) .340 (-3%) .426 (-4%) .767 (-4%) -198.2
1997 CHN NL 114 419 57 119 18 4 9 41 29 8 64 .284 .266 (+6%) .336 (-11%) .419 (-2%) .756 (-6%) -540.8
1997 PIT NL 18 71 14 28 4 1 5 16 3 0 11 .394 .266 (+48%) .336 (+15%) .419 (+65%) .756 (+43%) -540.8
1998 CLE AL 62 156 26 37 11 3 3 12 9 6 18 .237 .266 (-11%) .335 (-21%) .420 (-4%) .755 (-11%) -384.2
1998 SFN NL 36 51 10 9 2 0 3 8 0 0 10 .176 .266 (-34%) .335 (-34%) .420 (-7%) .755 (-19%) -384.2
1999 SLN NL 62 150 23 46 5 2 5 25 6 2 23 .307 .271 (+13%) .344 (-5%) .433 (+8%) .778 (+2%) 15.3
1999 NYN NL 42 93 12 32 6 1 0 16 4 0 16 .344 .271 (+27%) .344 (+3%) .433 (-1%) .778 (+1%) 15.3
2000 SLN NL 98 216 28 54 11 2 12 43 3 6 47 .250 .270 (-8%) .344 (-20%) .437 (+11%) .782 (-2%) -187.2
2001 SFN NL 88 186 26 52 10 3 9 25 3 2 32 .280 .263 (+6%) .332 (-12%) .426 (+20%) .758 (+6%) 111.7
2002 SFN NL 72 147 7 34 5 0 1 9 1 3 33 .231 .261 (-11%) .331 (-25%) .416 (-31%) .747 (-28%) -695.1
Career · 21 seasons 1,814 5,927 736 1,597 292 62 150 668 212 203 1,000 .269 — — — — -5,779

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Shawon Dunston — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
27 51 6 14 1 0 1 3 1 7 .275

Playoff Batting by Year

Shawon Dunston — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2002 NLCS SFN 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500
2002 NLDS1 SFN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2002 WS SFN 4 9 1 2 0 0 1 3 0 1 .222
2000 NLCS SLN 4 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333
2000 NLDS1 SLN 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1999 NLCS NYN 5 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143
1999 NLDS2 NYN 4 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167
1989 NLCS CHN 5 19 2 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 .316

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1813 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Shawon Dunston — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home901290538082476333.284
Away912302135677274335.256

Last 10 Games — Batting

Shawon Dunston — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2002-09-29 SFGHOUW 302100000
2002-09-24 SFGSDPW 100000000
2002-09-22 SFGMILW 100000000
2002-09-19 SFGLADL 100000001
2002-09-18 SFGLADW 101000100
2002-09-16 SFGLADL 000000000
2002-09-12 SFGSDPL 211000001
2002-09-11 SFGLADL 100000001
2002-09-04 SFGCOLL 100000001
2002-08-08 SFGCHCL 200000002

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Shawon Dunston — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 16 3 64 2 1 6
2B 25 19 32 56 2 10
3B 11 3 3 12 1 3
OF 242 148 336 7 6 2
SS 1363 1314 2287 3731 205 708

Season-by-Season Fielding

Shawon Dunston — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1985 CHN SS 73 71 144 248 17 39
1986 CHN SS 149 148 320 465 32 96
1987 CHN SS 94 92 160 271 14 54
1988 CHN SS 151 150 257 455 20 76
1989 CHN SS 138 136 213 379 17 76
1990 CHN SS 144 144 255 392 20 77
1991 CHN SS 142 131 261 383 21 69
1992 CHN SS 18 17 28 42 1 9
1993 CHN SS 2 2 5 0 0 0
1994 CHN SS 84 83 121 218 12 48
1995 CHN SS 125 123 187 336 17 51
1996 SFN SS 78 77 116 217 15 51
1997 CHN OF 7 5 16 0 0 0
1997 CHN SS 108 105 163 227 12 46
1997 PIT SS 18 18 28 55 3 8
1998 CLE 2B 24 19 32 55 2 9
1998 CLE OF 12 9 18 0 0 0
1998 CLE SS 14 6 13 21 2 3
1998 SFN 2B 1 0 0 1 0 1
1998 SFN OF 6 4 9 0 1 0
1998 SFN SS 9 3 11 4 1 0
1999 SLN 1B 8 1 37 2 0 3
1999 SLN 3B 5 2 2 8 1 2
1999 SLN OF 23 19 38 1 0 0
1999 SLN SS 7 5 1 12 1 3
1999 NYN 3B 1 0 1 1 0 0
1999 NYN OF 27 15 43 1 1 0
2000 SLN 1B 6 1 21 0 1 3
2000 SLN 3B 5 1 0 3 0 1
2000 SLN OF 58 37 85 1 1 0
2000 SLN SS 8 3 4 6 0 2
2001 SFN 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2001 SFN OF 60 34 80 4 3 2
2002 SFN 1B 1 1 6 0 0 0
2002 SFN OF 49 25 47 0 0 0
2002 SFN SS 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Shawon Dunston Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 16
Second Base 25
Third Base 11
Shortstop 1363
Left Field 107
Center Field 75
Right Field 70
Designated Hitter 14

Awards & Honors

Shawon Dunston — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-09-16
1989 TSN All-Star SS

Salary History

Shawon Dunston's recorded salaries total $24,508,441 over 17 seasons, 1986 to 2002. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Dunston's career ran from 1985 to 2002. No salary is recorded for 1985.

Shawon Dunston — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2002 SFN NL $1,150,000
2001 SFN NL $1,000,000
2000 SLN NL $600,000
1999 SLN NL $610,000
1998 CLE AL $1,000,000
1997 CHN NL $2,325,000
1996 SFN NL $1,460,941
1995 CHN NL $3,775,000
1994 CHN NL $2,375,000
1993 CHN NL $3,375,000
1992 CHN NL $2,475,000
1991 CHN NL $2,100,000
1990 CHN NL $1,250,000
1989 CHN NL $550,000
1988 CHN NL $207,500
1987 CHN NL $155,000
1986 CHN NL $100,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $24,508,441

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Shawon Dunston (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ian Desmond
    .263 avg, 181 HR
  2. 97
    Greg Gagne
    .254 avg, 111 HR
  3. 96
    Starlin Castro
    .280 avg, 138 HR
  4. 95
    Hubie Brooks
    .269 avg, 149 HR
  5. 95
    Mariano Duncan
    .267 avg, 87 HR
  6. 94
    Alexei Ramirez
    .270 avg, 115 HR

Shawon Dunston: the record in brief

April 9, 1985 and September 29, 2002 bracket Shawon Dunston's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Dunston played for the Chicago Cubs (1985 through 1997), the San Francisco Giants (1996 to 2002), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1997), the Cleveland Indians (1998), the St. Louis Cardinals (1999 through 2000), and the New York Mets (1999). Dunston is listed as a shortstop at 6 feet, 1 inch and 175 pounds. The bio says Dunston both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is March 21, 1963, in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Shawon Dunston was the playing name; the full given name is Shawon Donnell.

Dunston finished with 1,597 hits from 5,927 at bats in 1,814 games, which works out to .269, along with 150 home runs, 668 runs batted in, and 212 stolen bases. Dunston's career OPS of .712 combines a .296 on-base mark with .416 slugging. Against a .263 league average for those years, Dunston's .269 average was near the norm. 1986 was Dunston's biggest home run year, with 17. The hits column peaks at 145, in 1986.

Frequently Asked Questions about Shawon Dunston

What years did Shawon Dunston play?
Shawon Dunston played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 2002.
Was Shawon Dunston a pitcher?
No. Shawon Dunston was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Shawon Dunston hit?
Shawon Dunston hit 150 career home runs with 1,597 hits.
What teams did Shawon Dunston play for?
Shawon Dunston played for 6 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1985–1995, 1997), the San Francisco Giants (1996, 1998, 2001–2002), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1997), the Cleveland Indians (1998), the St. Louis Cardinals (1999–2000), and the New York Mets (1999).
Did Shawon Dunston win an MVP award?
No. Shawon Dunston did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Shawon Dunston win?
Shawon Dunston was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Shawon Dunston's career stats?
In 1,814 games, Shawon Dunston had 1,597 hits, 150 home runs, 668 RBI, 736 runs, and 212 stolen bases, with a .269 batting average.
How much did Shawon Dunston earn in his career?
Shawon Dunston's recorded salaries total $24,508,441 over 17 seasons, 1986 to 2002. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Dunston's career ran from 1985 to 2002. No salary is recorded for 1985.
What was Shawon Dunston's salary?
Shawon Dunston's last recorded salary was $1,150,000, in 2002. His highest recorded salary was $3,775,000, in 1995, and his lowest was $100,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 2002.
What position did Shawon Dunston play?
Shawon Dunston played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Shawon Dunston and how much did he weigh?
Shawon Dunston was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Shawon Dunston hit each season?
Shawon Dunston's home runs by season: 4 in 1985, 17 in 1986, 5 in 1987, 9 in 1988, 9 in 1989, 17 in 1990, 12 in 1991, 0 in 1992, 0 in 1993, 11 in 1994, 14 in 1995, 5 in 1996, 14 in 1997, 6 in 1998, 5 in 1999, 12 in 2000, 9 in 2001, and 1 in 2002. His most in one season was 17, in 1986 and 1990.
What was Shawon Dunston's career batting average?
Shawon Dunston batted .269 over his career, with 1,597 hits in 5,927 at bats.
How many RBI did Shawon Dunston have?
Shawon Dunston drove in 668 runs in his career.