BRADENTON -- Jarek Cunningham was one of the original Bradenton Marauders.
Well, in a way.
The first Pirates Pep Rally hit Old Main Street in February 2010. While current and past Pittsburgh Pirates signed autographs, Cunningham, along with Tony Sanchez and then-Marauders manager P.J. Forbes, took the stage and modeled the Marauders uniforms, which were unveiled that night for the first time.
Had things gone differently, Cunningham may have been wearing a Marauders uniform less than two months later, too, when the Pirates’ high Single-A affiliate played their inaugural game at McKechnie Field.
But Cunningham’s career was put on hold when he needed reconstructive surgery after tearing ligaments in his left knee. He missed all of the 2009 season.
Cunningham is a Marauder now, however, and ready to resume a career that got off to a fine start during the summer of ’08.
“The time’s lost -- there’s no way you can get it back,” the 21-year-old said prior to the Marauders’ game with the Fort Myers Miracle on Friday. “You just try to make the biggest impression you can with the time you have left.”
After the Pirates picked him during the 18th round of the ’08 draft, Cunningham made an impression with the organization’s Gulf Coast League team in Bradenton, batting .318 in 43 games with 22 RBI.
But while running around some cones during a conditioning drill the following year, Cunningham cut, planted -- and wound up injuring the same knee he hurt in high school.
That time, he didn’t need surgery. This time, he did.
“You just know that it’s not going to be good, you know you’re going to miss some time,” he said. “That was the first thing that went through my head, just knowing I was not going to be able to play that season.”
He began hitting off a tee four months after the surgery, but didn’t get into a game until spring training 2010.
So when he played his first game last season with the Pirates low Single-A affiliate in West Virginia, Cunningham was elated.
“It was unreal,” said Cunningham, who batted .258 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in 121 games with the Power. “When you miss it and you come back, it’s like the biggest thrill ever because it’s a brand new game to you. It’s not like when you’re playing every day -- it gets kind of almost repetitive. And when you take that time off, the game means so much more to you.”
A second baseman, Cunningham entered Friday’s game leading the Florida State League in extra-base hits (seven) while pacing the Marauders with 19 total bases.
“That kid is a ballplayer, and a ballplayer bounces back from any type of adversity,” Marauders manager Carlos Garcia said. “And the way he plays the game, I have no doubt he will be a successful major-league player. There is no doubt in my mind.”
Infielders tend to do the same sort of running and cutting Cunningham did when he hurt himself in ’09, and second basemen have to learn how to turn a double play or cover the bag on a steal attempt with runners sliding into their legs.
There are moments when Cunningham is hesitant. Most of the time, however, he is able to shrug it off.
“For the most part, you just kind of play through it,” he said. “There is nothing you can do if something happens.”
Thus far, Cunningham seems to be doing fine.
“He’s a young kid with a lot of desire, a lot of energy,” Garcia said. “The way he goes about his business, the way he behaves, the way he does things -- he is a straight shot for me.”
