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The Oregon State baseball program is known for its homegrown roster. Eddie said that while the players made their decisions independently, once they signed on they were determined to show the country that the Pacific Northwest in general, and Oregon in particular, knows something about playing baseball.
And show ‘em they did.
Eddie’s freshman year at Oregon State was magical. The team earned the right to go to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. No OSU team had done so since 1952. Eddie pitched in the first game, but the Beavers’ time had not come. They were eliminated from the double elimination tournament in consecutive games. Kevin Gunderson, a pitcher who shares Parkrose roots, promised the team would return the following year.
Return they did. They once again began the tournament with a loss but scratched their way through the losers’ bracket to play in a championship series against undefeated North Carolina. The Beavers put themselves in the hole by losing the first game to the Tar Heels, but they put together a 2-0 win in the second game of the series. With a 3-2 victory the next day, the Beavers won their first-ever national championship in baseball. Five Beavers were named to the all-tournament team.
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| Eddie Kunz, Parkrose High and Oregon State standout, credits his successes to friends and family. Here he poses with his biggest fans. His nephew, Bradley Kunz is in the front, followed clockwise by his mom Sue, family friend Terra Martin, brother Ray Jr., sister Keri, family friend Jeremy Stinnett, dad Ray Sr., and girlfriend Kalena Bell. |
| Photo submitted by Raymond Kunz Sr. |
“We were loved the first year by everyone in Nebraska,” Eddie recalled. “When we came back that next year, everybody was wearing orange. There are six or seven or eight of us that don’t know the feeling of not going to Omaha. It’s a great experience to have.”
Ray remembers watching the College World Series on television with Eddie. “Back when Eddie was 10 years old, I told him one day I’d like to go watch it,” he said. “All of a sudden he got me there. It always happens on Father’s Day weekend. [After the first year,] I asked how he was going to top that for a Father’s Day gift. He told me they would win the whole thing the next year.”
As great as Eddie’s experience at Oregon State has been, he now has a new, exciting challenge ahead of him. The New York Mets made Eddie their first pick in the major league draft, number 42 overall. When asked how it felt to be selected in the first round, he exclaimed, “I definitely freaked out. I was watching on TV and online during breaks in the television coverage. The Mets had called me in the morning to ask a few questions. When the Mets had the next pick, all of a sudden I looked at the name and I saw Edward Kunz, I said, ‘Oh wait. That’s me,’ and I jumped up and ran outside yelling and screaming.”
Ray Sr., who drives for Lucky Limousine and Towncar Service, was conducting a wine tour when he got the news. Sue was at her desk at Leonard Adams Insurance. Both say they are very excited to be Mets parents, but Keri probably said it best with, “I always knew he would make it far, and I’m just glad I got to be a part of it. I am very, very proud of my brother.”
Eddie signed a contract within days of this interview. Sue said he “got what he wanted.” Although she demurred when asked details of his contract, she did say his agreement with the team is for a minimum of seven years and his starting single A player salary is $1,100 per month. According to the Associated Press, his signing bonus was a reported $720,000. This should help stretch that monthly stipend a bit.
He will likely spend the summer playing for the Brooklyn Cyclone on Coney Island in Queens, New York. Because he opted to turn pro before finishing school, Eddie plans to pick up courses during the winter months to complete a degree in health management. Someday he would like to be a hospital administrator, but for now he will play baseball, the game he was born — and raised — to play.
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