William Joseph Cunnane (born April 24, 1974) is a former

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

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 ...

. He graduated from

Clarkstown High School North Clarkstown High School North is a high school located in New City, New York, United States, educating students in grades 9 through 12. It is one of two high schools in the Clarkstown Central School District (CCSD). Since 2006, North has offer ...

in New City, New York in 1992, where he played baseball and ran cross country. He is 6'2" and he weighs 175 pounds.

Career

Florida Marlins

Originally signed by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1992, Cunnane spent four seasons mostly as a starter in the minors before making his major league debut. Perhaps his best season was 1994 with the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

when he went 11–3 with a 1.43

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 139 innings pitched.

San Diego Padres

On December 9, 1996, Cunnane was selected by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in the Rule 5 Draft. He made his big league debut on April 3, 1997, against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

at the age of 23. He pitched two innings that game, surrendering two hits, two walks, and no

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s. The rest of his rookie season was average-in 54 games, he had an ERA of 5.81. Between 1998 and 2000, Cunnane made frequent trips between the majors and minors.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 20, 2000, Cunnane was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as the player to be named later in the December 1 trade that sent Santiago Perez and Chad Green to San Diego and Brandon Kolb to Milwaukee. He played in 31 games for Milwaukee in 2001, pitching to a 5.40 ERA over 52.0 innings pitched. He elected free agency on October 8, 2001.

Chicago Cubs

On December 14, 2001, Cunnane signed with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. In 2002 for Chicago, he pitched in 16 games, giving up 16 runs over 26.1 innings pitched and had a 5.47 ERA for the year. He also spent some time with the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

. He elected free agency on December 21, 2002. On January 3, 2003, he resigned with the Cubs organization. After playing in 12 games for Iowa, Cunnane was released on May 12, 2003.

Atlanta Braves

On July 1, 2003, Cunnane signed with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. He pitched to a 2.70 ERA over 20 games for Atlanta and appeared in the 2003 MLB playoffs playing in two games in a 3-2 Division Series loss to the

. In 2004, he gave up 10 runs over 12.1 innings for the Braves and was sent down to the Triple-A Richmond Braves, where he would finish the season. He elected free agency on October 4, 2004. Overall, his major league record is 13–12 with a 5.26 ERA, and 234

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 274 innings pitched.

Second stint with Chicago Cubs

On February 16, 2005, Cunnane signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. After pitching to a 6.32 ERA over 24 games for Iowa, Cunnane was released on June 18, 2005.

Houston Astros

On June 26, 2005, Cunnane signed a minor league deal with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. He finished the year with the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, pitching to a 3.45 ERA over 27 games. He elected free agency on October 15, 2005.

Bridgeport Bluefish

Cunnane signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2006 season. He pitched 12 innings of 3 run ball for Bridgeport in 2006.

St. Louis Cardinals

On May 10, 2006, Cunnane was sold to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

organization. He pitch in 6 games in 2006 with the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

, carrying a 6.92 ERA before his release on June 26, 2006.

Newark Bears

In 2008, he played for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

of the independent Atlantic League, with whom he again played in 2010.

Second stint with Bridgeport

In 2011, he played for the

. He pitched to a 2.82 ERA over 28 games before becoming a free agent at seasons end.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunnane, Will 1974 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Milwaukee Brewers players Chicago Cubs players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from New York (state) People from Suffern, New York Sportspeople from Rockland County, New York Gulf Coast Marlins players Kane County Cougars players Portland Sea Dogs players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Richmond Braves players Round Rock Express players Memphis Redbirds players Newark Bears players Bridgeport Bluefish players Rockland Fighting Hawks baseball players