Will Cunnane

William Joseph Cunnane

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Clarkstown High School North
• Debut April 3, 1997
• Final Game May 7, 2004
• Born April 24, 1974 in Suffern, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Will Cunnane was signed by the Florida Marlins as an undrafted amateur free agent on August 31, 1992. He had earlier graduated from Clarkstown High School North in New City, NY, where he played baseball and ran cross country. However, he went undrafted. He made his professional debut in 1993 with the rookie-level GCL Marlins, starting 9 games and appearing in 7 out of the bullpen. He had a 3-3 record with a 2.70 ERA and 2 saves.

Cunnane broke out as a prospect in 1994 with the single-A Kane County Cougars. He began the season as a middle reliever and ended up the league's ERA champion (1.43) following a promotion to the starting rotation. Will finished the season 11-3 and completed 5 of the 16 games he started with 4 shutouts. He was named the Midwest League's #8 prospect by Baseball America following the season.

Cunnane spent the next two seasons, 1995 and 1996, in the AA Eastern League in the Portland Sea Dogs' starting rotation. Combined, he won 19, lost 14, and had an ERA of 3.72 in those two seasons. He was picked up by the San Diego Padres following the 1996 season in the 1996 Rule V Draft.

Will made his Major League debut on April 3, 1997, pitching 1 2/3 innings in relief against the New York Mets, allowing two hits and two walks. He appeared in 54 games for the Padres that year, starting 8. He finished 6-3 with an 5.81 ERA. Cunnane spent 1998 to 2000 between the Padres and their AAA affiliate, the Las Vegas Stars, starting and pitching in relief. He threw 170 innings in AAA and 72 innings in the bigs during that strech.

He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on December 20, 2000 with Brandon Kolb for Chad Green and Santiago Perez. After pitching for the Brewers in 2001 and the Chicago Cubs in 2002, Will had his best stretch in the major s for the Atlanta Braves in 2003. called up towards the end of the season, he got into 20 games, going 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 3 saves and a 20 to 6 K/W ratio in 20 innings. He got his only taste of postseason action that year as he pitched twice in the NLDS against the Cubs. In 2004, he was back with the Braves to start the year, but he gave up 10 runs on 18 hits in 12 1/3 innings and was sent doiwn to the minors, having made his last major league appearance on May 4th.

Cunnane spent the 2006 with the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish and the St. Louis Cardinals AAA affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.

In 2008, he was the pitching coach for the Newark Bears.

The Sports Network Summary

• Assets: "The hard-throwing right-hander has been an effective strikeout pitcher. He works his heater up and down over the plate and has his most success when batters chase it high in the strike zone."
• Flaws: "Consistency and control. When hitters sit on his high heat, Cunnane has trouble battling back."
• Career Potential: "Borderline big-league reliever." [1]

More information

• Spent 5 professional seasons with Antonio Alfonseca - longer than any other teammate.
• He was a fairly successful batter, posting an average as high as .357 (in 1997, when he went 5 for 14 with one triple). Overall, his batting average was .200 and he had a .964 fielding percentage.
• At last check, Cunnane lived in West Nyack, NY.
• Statistically, the most similar pitcher to Cunnane was Sun-Woo Kim, who was a contemporary
• He wore the following uniform numbers: 39 (1997-1999), 33 (2000-2001), 49 (2002), 26 (2003-2004)

Quotes about Cunnane

• "We've gone against him for years. I've always liked him. I've always thought he was a good competitor." - Tony LaRussa