Cincinnati Reds' Adam Dunn, left, and Austin Kearns share a conversation in the dugout during the first inning of play against the St. Louis Cardinals June 6, 2002. DESKTOP WALLPAPER Click to view the full-sized image, then right-click to 'Set As Background'. (Gary Landers photo) | WALLPAPER |

        CINCINNATI — Dashing around the baseball fields of Kentucky, outfielder Austin Kearns didn't have time for any other sports. All he wanted was to make it to the major leagues.

        Not Adam Dunn. The 6-foot-6 prep quarterback in Texas spent his time throwing touchdown passes and aspiring to lead the Longhorns to victory. Baseball was a fallback.

        As high school stars, Kearns and Dunn were about as similar as the Bluegrass and the Lone Star states. On a June afternoon in 1998, the Cincinnati Reds brought them together by making them their top two picks in the draft.

        They've been inseparable ever since.

        The two outfielders roomed together throughout the minors, budding into stars while sharing apartments and pizzas. Both made it to the majors in less than four years — an injury to Kearns slowed him by a few months.

        Together, they've helped turn the overlooked Reds into the season's biggest surprise. With Kearns in right and Dunn in left, upstart Cincinnati has surged into first place in the NL Central and stayed there for more than 40 days.

        “It's been a lot of fun,” Dunn said. “When we signed, we hoped that someday it would happen. I don't know if either one of us thought it would be this soon.”

        Dunn got promoted in July, four months before his 22nd birthday. He hit 12 homers in August — an NL rookie record for any month — and shared the league's Rookie of the Month honor.

        While Dunn was quickly establishing himself, Kearns was rehabilitating a torn ligament in his right thumb. They kept in touch.

        “He was hurt when I got called up,” Dunn said. “We'd just see how things were going, just like you talk to anybody else. We didn't really talk about baseball.”

        Kearns joined Dunn in Cincinnati on April 17 — a month before his 22nd birthday — and followed his lead, winning NL Rookie of the Month honors in May by hitting five homers and driving in 17 runs.

        Dunn bats left-handed and hits prodigious homers. Kearns bats from the right side and hits for higher average.

        “They have good recognition of the strike zone,” manager Bob Boone said. “Aside from that, they're different.”

        Not away from the field.

        Kearns was looking for a roommate at Single-A Rockford in 1999. Dunn moved in and they quickly discovered that as unlikely as it may have seemed, they had a lot in common.

        “We got along pretty well,” Kearns said. “We also roomed together later on in Dayton and Chattanooga. We just kind of assumed that we'd stay together.”

        They didn't part company until last year, when Dunn got promoted and Kearns got hurt. When spring training rolled around, they went fishing together nearly every day at a pond in Sarasota, Fla.

        “We both like fishing,” Dunn said. “We both like country music. We're both lazy. I'm a little louder than he is, but other than that, we have the same personality.”

        The similarities don't end there. Heading into the weekend, they had similar numbers.

        Dunn was hitting .303 in 57 games with 11 homers and 37 RBIs. Kearns was hitting .308 in 39 games with seven homers and 24 RBIs. Together, they'd given the Reds a sense that their short-term future is awfully bright.

        “We'll have a lot of young guys coming into their prime in the next few years,” Boone said. “They certainly add to the package that makes us think we're going to be good.”

        Neither one spends much time thinking about the expectations, but they know they've got a good thing going. They're not about to break it up.

        Dunn had an apartment when Kearns was called up for what was supposed to be a short stint with the Reds in April. Kearns did so well that he found himself looking for long-term accommodations.

        “He had an extra bedroom and once we figured out that I wasn't going to be here for only four or five days, I just moved in,” Kearns said.

        The two single guys are no Odd Couple.

        “Neither one of us cooks,” Kearns said. “We eat out or have pizza. There's a maid that comes in once a week, so that pretty much keeps it clean for the time being. We don't do a whole lot of cleaning.”

        They don't talk about baseball very much, either.

        “Some, but not a lot,” Kearns said. “We play baseball for six months, so you try to stay away from it off the field.”

        The favorite diversion is a PlayStation, the only place where they learn firsthand about the other's competitiveness.

        Who's better?

        “Oh, me, definitely,” Kearns said without hesitation. “He'll probably tell you different. He doesn't like to admit getting beat, especially in football. I wear him out.

        “He gets into it because he was a quarterback. He's trying to read the defense and audible. He knows more about it than I do, but I find a way to win.”

        That's one way to characterize it.

        “He cheats,” Dunn said. “It's a computer glitch. You can't stop this one play and he runs it every time — a pass play, 22 yards every single time. How much fun is that? So I'm not playing anymore.”

        There's no dispute about their good fortune on the field. Their careers have started better than either of them could have hoped — big leaguers and starters on a first-place team at age 22.

        “This is a funny game,” Dunn said. “Hopefully this continues for a lot of years.”

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