Intro

Anderson: 00:00-00:07

With the recent news that this is going to be the last baseball team in San Francisco State history, is there an extra level of pressure on you guys?

Cunningham: 00:07-00:24

It’s definitely heartbreaking for the younger guys. It’s just horrible. You put so much thought into where you’re going to end up out of school and all of that gets taken away from you. And it does put a lot of pressure.

Anderson: 00:31-00:49

Hello, Gators. Welcome to The Chomp podcast. I am Cameron Anderson and I’m joined by a very special guest — the man who leads the conference in total bases, second in home runs and RBIs, the center fielder for the San Francisco State baseball team, Michael Cunningham. Mike, thanks for joining me today.

Interview

Anderson: 00:50-01:02

So first off, take me back to high school. You graduated in 2021. Obviously, COVID hindered your junior and senior year. What was the recruiting process like, and why did you choose San Francisco State?

Cunningham: 01:03-01:24

The recruiting process was definitely interesting. It started my sophomore year when I was talking to the upperclassmen. They were telling me their process about how they would get film of them playing baseball and then they would post it on Twitter and other baseball hubs where coaches can recruit from there.

01:24-02:03

And it was difficult because coaches couldn’t come out to my games due to COVID and it ultimately led me to my decision to come here because I was limited with the offers that I had just because the Division I schools, they were very stingy with their scholarships. They oftentimes would just give you a preferred walk-on spot, which guarantees nothing. And Coach Schifano gave me the opportunity to come out here and he trusted me. And he proved to me that he wanted me enough. He offered me a scholarship and it led me here.

Anderson: 02:04-02:15

So you play sparingly your freshman year. Your sophomore year, you have a great season, you hit .300. Take me through that off season, from your sophomore year to your junior year.

Cunningham: 02:16-02:50

That was a difficult one coming off of a decent year my sophomore year. I really wanted to do something special my junior year. And it was a long season, I battled an injury my sophomore year as well. I hurt my shoulder, but that wasn’t too difficult to come back from. So in the off season, I was training and I was going really hard and I felt like a pop in my lower back and ultimately ended up being a fracture in my spine.

Anderson: 02:52-03:05

Coming back from an injury like that, not only physically with the rehab process, but psychologically. I’m just curious for the audience, what you had to go through, the adversity, perseverance, who was in your corner during those dark days of rehab?

Cunningham: 03:05-03:36

The process was long. I mean, it went from the start of August all the way until the start of June. It was almost an entire year of battling off-the-field problems with on-the-field problems. I mean, the biggest thing at the start was the doctor told me I couldn’t do anything, so I went from busy days of working out in the morning, then going to practice, then working out again at night to literally not being able to do anything.

03:37-04:07

So I would say the hardest part was just actually trusting what the doctor was saying. It started off being three months of absolutely no high-performance activity. And then it went all the way up to December. So, I mean, the timeline was rough and it was definitely difficult on me because I was trying to come back and play that season. But there came a point where I just had to say, you know what? If this isn’t what’s in the cards for me this year, then that’s fine.

Anderson: 04:08-04:29

So you decided to redshirt that season, so you still had an extra year of eligibility. Coming into this season, your first at bat of your collegiate career here with San Francisco State since your injury, where the stats count, you’re batting second and you hit a home run in your first at bat since your injury. Talk to me about that moment.

Cunningham: 04:30-04:55

That is just so many feelings going through my mind. I mean, we’ve played lots of games leading up to that, but god, there’s no feeling like hitting a home run, finally being back on the field and all of your hard work paying off, you know, months and months and months of just getting ready for a moment and, your preparation showing it’s a really good feeling. And I hope I can take that into the entire year.

Anderson: 04:57-5:25

Now in this season, you’re having a spectacular year hitting .350. Like I mentioned some of your stats earlier, you’re leading the team in RBIs. You and Murillo are both tied in home runs, most total bases in the conference. And you’re also playing great center field defensively. Although just two outfield assists, we could get that up… How did you approach this season coming off an injury? Did you expect this level of success for yourself? Is that always the standard for you?

Cunningham: 05:26-05:49

I hold myself to a very high standard, but then again, you have to be grateful that even though you put in the hard work, the results are coming. There’s so many factors to baseball. You could practice as hard as you want and you can get a great result in the game, but you might line out to the shortstop and then your batting average goes down. So, you know, it is what it is. 

05:49-05:56

I’m very, very excited to be a part of this team. We’re special and I think we’re going to do something great this year. 

Anderson: 05:57-06:15

So talk to us a little bit about that. You, Murillo, Allred and some of the other guys have contributed to a potent offense. One of the best offenses that San Francisco State has had, especially with the pop. Where do you think that came from? Is there a different approach? Is it just guys working really hard in the off season? What is that about?

Cunningham: 06:16-06:52

I mean, from last year, it’s a very similar offense. I’m really the only new addition to the lineup. So I mean, those guys last year, they showed us that they can hit. Obviously, this year it’s definitely in full effect. Me, Murillo, Allred we’re normally the top three in the lineup. It’s interchangeable between us. So I mean, when I know it’s the bottom of the first inning and we go up in a home series, I know something special is going to happen.

Anderson: 06:53-07:12

And to boot, great pitching as well with the one-two of Shinn and Eichhorn so far this season, they’ve been really good as well. So what are the expectations for this season? Obviously, with the recent news this is going to be potentially the last baseball season in San Francisco State history. Is there an extra level of pressure on you guys? 

Cunningham: 07:13-07:40

It’s definitely heartbreaking. I mean, although I am a redshirt junior, I have one more year. My goals are to play at the Division I level and so on. But for the younger guys, it’s just, I mean, it’s horrible. Like you put so much thought into where you’re going to end up at a school and all that just gets taken away from you.

07:41-07:56

And it does put a lot of pressure because then you’re forced to perform, you’re forced to make these hard decisions, which ultimately you’re going to have to make anyways. But it’s just making your decision so much harder. And that’s not even the biggest part. It’s the culture that was brought here. 

07:57-08:22

It’s the alumni games where you can come back and see familiar faces that you haven’t seen in years, and then it’s just the connections that you make and it’s just no longer going to be here. So it definitely sucks. And it is very hard for me because I’m so close to so many people around here. But ultimately, the connections I made here, they were going to last regardless of the team.

Anderson: 08:23-08:41

You’ve been here since high school, so you haven’t had to hit the transfer portal. But assuming that that’s probably going to be the route for you if you want to continue playing and move on to a D1 level. Do you know a little bit about that process, what it looks like, maybe tell the audience what that sort of stress is?

Cunningham: 08:42-09:10

Yeah. So starting off with the transfer portal. It’s basically a hub where you put your name in, and then coaches can go through, see what school you come from, what position you play, stats about you, all that kind of sort of thing. And yes, I am going to be going into the transfer portal. It is not super stressful in the sense because we have a season ahead of ourselves.

09:10-09:33

I’m not too focused on what’s going on in the future. I’m trying to take care of business where it is now. Our coach actually says a great quote that I’ve been thinking a lot about. It’s to be where your feet are. So, I mean, you got to stay grounded. You have to be able to take care of what’s at hand. And if you do that, the future will take care of itself. 

Anderson: 09:33-09:49

Right, right. That’s a great mentality to have. Do you have any personal goals for the rest of the season? If not, any big achieving personal goals? What do you expect from this team, moving down as you guys are, a little over halfway through the season, for the final stretch?

Cunningham: 09:50-10:14

Yeah, I have lots of goals, actually. I think it’s important to have goals just to keep you level headed and remind you what you’re set out to do. Personal goals, I would like to bat above .350. And in terms of extra base hits, I would like to continue to keep doing what I’m doing. Double digits was my number, so I hope I can achieve that. 

Anderson: 10:14

You’re right there.

Cunningham: 10:15-10:41

Yeah. And in terms of the team, I think we’re going to be just fine. I mean, we’ve struggled and we’ve had great, great games. I mean, we’re right around the .500 mark, so I think that the sky’s our limit. We are as good as we can be. We’re just going to go out there and keep doing what we’re doing. And ultimately the goal is to win the conference and then go deep into regionals and then just play it off from there.

Outro

Anderson: 10:42-10:57

Well, that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you for joining me, and good luck the rest of the way. We’ll definitely be cheering you on. That’s Michael Cunningham. I’m Cameron Anderson, signing out from The Chomp podcast. Thank you all for tuning in and we’ll catch you next time.