Support System Plays Crucial Role In Cunningham's Recovery, Success

Not everyone in the family was so enthusiastic about Jarek Cunningham’s decision to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates after the organization drafted him in the 18th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.

Cunningham, a Spokane, Wash., native, had already signed national letter of intent with Arizona State University. His older brother, Brendan, has been with the Sun Devils’ program for the last five seasons and currently serves as its director of baseball operations.

“(Brendan) hated me,” Cunningham said. “He wouldn’t talk to me for a couple of months before their coaches finally told him that it was OK and that it happens often.”

After signing with the Pirates, Cunningham made an immediate impact by hitting .318 with 11 doubles, five homers, 22 RBI and 20 runs scored in 43 games for the Bradenton-based Gulf Coast League Pirates in the summer of 2008. However, the 6-foot-1, 197-pound second baseman’s 2009 season was derailed by a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Having overcome the injury, Cunningham faced another hurdle last year in his first full season of professional baseball. The enthusiasm to make up for lost time and the daily grind eventually had a negative effect on his performance with the South Atlantic League’s West Virginia Power.

Cunningham batted .282 before the league’s all-star break, but his body was screaming for a break. He hit just .236 over the second half of the season and finished with a .258 batting average that included 37 doubles, seven triples and 12 home runs.

“For me, it’s about not trying to overdo it,” Cunningham said. “There are a lot of guys who want to get as many swings as possible and as many groundballs. You get worn out pretty quick, and your body breaks down. It’s just being smart with how I do things and making sure that I do it right every time.”

The exuberance to do the little things was instilled into Cunningham by his father, Mike. An Army veteran and former minor-leaguer in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, Mike Cunningham was always there to drive his boys to and from practice and hit them ground balls.

When it came to coaching Brendan and Jarek’s teams, their father never overstepped his bounds or second-guessed their coaches. This enabled Jarek to strike up a long-lasting relationship with Steve Webb, who coached him from fourth through eighth grade.

In his first season at the Class-A Advanced level with the Bradenton Marauders, Cunningham still talks baseball with his father and Webb. Rather than offering advice on the game’s fundamentals and specifics to Jarek, Mike Cunningham and Webb try to help him manage the success and failures that can stem from a 140-game season.

There has been more success than failure for Cunningham through the Marauders’ first 25 games of the 2011 campaign. He brought his average to .276 with a 2-for-4 performance, which included his minor-league best 18th extra-base hit of the season, in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the host Palm Beach Cardinals.

“I trained on my own for most of the offseason,” Cunningham said. “I did a lot of running. A lot more running than I ever did before. Just a lot of lifting to get my body as strong as I can because I know it’s going to break down. As long as you have a lot built up, you’re not going to lose much.”

The ability to be a consistent everyday option for manager Carlos Garcia has attributed to Cunningham’s early start. He is also learning to hit his pitch earlier in the count to avoid a repeat of last year’s 158 strikeouts, which ranked sixth among all South Atlantic League hitters.

Cunningham feels the last two seasons have helped in his maturation process as a ballplayer and a person. His trials have also reinforced one of the values passed down to him by his mother, Barbara.

“My mom comes out to the games and she sees kids coming up to us for autographs,” Cunningham said. “She’s a middle-school teacher, so she knows how kids look up to us. The one thing she always wanted me to be was generous to all the kids and take my time out for them.”