Growing up in Brooklyn, Shawon Dunston didn’t shy away from any sports as a kid.

Baseball, basketball or football, you name it and a young Dunston tried his hand in it.

“I played all the sports,” Dunston told host Cole Wright on Cubs 360 Daily.

But baseball was different for a young Dunston. That sport caught with him.

“I loved baseball,” Dunston said. “Baseball just stuck with me. I know it’s kind of boring, but to play baseball you’ve got to love it and I just fell in love with it. I played basketball … football, but I just took to baseball.”

The passion for the sport led him to be the 1st pick in the 1982 MLB Draft by the Cubs. He was selected ahead of Dwight Gooden, who the Mets took with the 5th pick, who went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1984 and the Cy Young Award in 1985.  

“Now to this day … I said, ‘[former Cubs general manager] Dallas [Green], I don’t think you drafted the right guy, I think you should’ve drafted Dwight Gooden,” Dunston said with a laugh. “He said, ‘No, son, I think we drafted the right guy, because you’re an everyday player and you had a fine career.

“To this day, [Gooden] is the toughest pitcher I faced; Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan.”

Dunston had a pair of All-Star appearances in his 18-year career, including the 1990 All-Star Game held at Wrigley Field.

“You always want to make the All-Star Game, but when you make it at your own ballpark, it was really nice,” Dunston told Wright. “When they introduced me, I got a standing ovation. I was like, ‘Wow.’ I really felt like Andre [Dawson] and [Ryne Sandberg] that day.”

Watch the full interview with Dunston above.