Kevin Lee Munson (born January 3, 1989) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Before beginning his professional career, Munson attended

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

James Madison Dukes The James Madison Dukes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's second president. The Dukes play as me ...

. He was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, and selected by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

from the Diamondbacks in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft.

Career

Amateur

Munson attended Cave Spring High School in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

. He then enrolled at

, where he played

for the

James Madison Dukes baseball Founded in 1970, the James Madison baseball program played at Long Field at Mauck Stadium through the end of the 2009 season. In 2010 they opened play at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park, the school's new baseball and softball complex. The "Di ...

team. Munson played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

in 2009, was named a league all-star, and helped lead Bourne to the league title. After the 2010 season, he was named the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

of the year and a third team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n by ''

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

''.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The

selected Munson in the fourth round of the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

, with the 121st selection. He signed with the Diamondbacks, receiving a $243,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. After the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Diamondbacks sent him to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

. By 2013, he reached Triple–A, the highest level of minor league baseball, where he pitched for the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

Mike Parrott Michael Everett Arch Parrott (born December 6, 1954), nicknamed "Bird," is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Parrott graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School in Camarillo, California in 1973. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in th ...

, Reno's

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

, said Munson is "a good candidate to tsome time be called up to the big leagues next year.". On December 12, 2013, Munson was selected by the

with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 draft. According to the rules, Munson had to make the Phillies'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster and remain with the team for the entire season, or the Phillies will have to offer Munson back to the Diamondbacks. After competing for a spot in the Phillies' bullpen during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, he was returned to the Diamondbacks on March 18, 2014. Munson pitched for Reno in 2014, compiling a 4–3

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with a 2.60

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. After the season, the Diamondbacks added Munson to their 40-man roster to protect him from the next Rule 5 draft. Munson pitched in 36 games split between the rookie–level

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields ...

, Double–A

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

, and Triple–A Reno. The majority of his work came in Reno, where he posted a 4.45 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 2 saves in innings of work. On August 31, 2015, Munson was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

after

Phil Gosselin Philip David Gosselin (nicknamed "Barrels", and "The Goose"; born October 3, 1988), is an American former professional baseball utility infielder. The Atlanta Braves selected Gosselin in the fifth round of the 2010 MLB draft; he made his MLB deb ...

was activated from the injured list. He elected free agency following the season on October 13.

Seattle Mariners

He signed a minor league deal with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on July 1, 2016. He elected free agency on November 7, 2016.

Lancaster Barnstormers

On March 28, 2017, Munson signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He became a free agent after the 2017 season. Signed with the Tigres Del Licey, in the winter of 2017. Had a 3.12 ERA with 11K in 8.2 innings pitched. On February 19, 2018, Munson re-signed with the

. He became a free agent following the season.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On May 8, 2019, Munson signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the

. He became a free agent following the season.

Seattle Mariners (second stint)

On January 7, 2020, Munson signed a minor league deal with the

. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On January 5, 2021, Munson re-signed with the Mariners organization on a minor league contract. On April 15, 2021, Munson was released by the Mariners.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munson, Kevin 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Roanoke, Virginia Baseball players from Virginia Baseball pitchers James Madison Dukes baseball players Bourne Braves players South Bend Silver Hawks players Visalia Rawhide players Mobile BayBears players Salt River Rafters players Reno Aces players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Leones del Escogido players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Lancaster Barnstormers players Tacoma Rainiers players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players