Gunderson cleans up at MJBL awards

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This article was published 15/01/2024 (485 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If there was any doubt Cody Gunderson was on the right path in his baseball career, that was put to rest this summer.

The St Malo catcher won three awards for his season with the Carillon Sultans in the Manitoba Junior Baseball League (MJBL), taking home the Jack Thompson award given to the rookie of the year, the Len Gzebb award for top defender and the Vic Bozyk batting champion award.

He was also named as an all-star for both catcher and designated hitter. Gunderson posted a 0.473 batting average and led the league in doubles in 2023.

While the batting title is easy to see evidence for, Gunderson’s defensive ability is about intimidation. Baserunners were not eager to test Gunderson’s arm, as the catcher only saw a couple steal attempts throughout the season, along with strong play stopping potential wild pitches.

“I only had two guys steal on me this year in the MJBL,” Gunderson said, while laughing and admitting he gets a little antsy looking to make plays when no one runs on him.

“You want to work on your throws and stuff like that, but no one wants to steal.”

Despite Carillon faltering in the MJBL playoffs, Gunderson was still able to nab a spot at the 2023 national championships, walking away with a gold medal after the Elmwood Giants picked him up as a fill-in player.

“I came in with confidence,” Gunderson said of his MJBL season.

“I had a pretty good season out in Kansas for college… I just tried to enjoy playing baseball again with my old buddies. Playing relaxed and with confidence with my old buddies helped me have a good season.”

Gunderson had a good 2023 all around, performing strongly with the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons in the spring season. He finished second on the team in batting average and slugging percentage as a freshman, knocking in 10 home runs and was named to the all-league team.

Fellow Manitoban Ethan Giesbrecht (Altona) also plays for Hutchinson.

“I felt more comfortable this year, as I know what to expect,” Gunderson said on his 2023 fall season.

“I definitely had a lot more confidence, but also a lot more pressure because I had a pretty good freshman season last year. People look to me to be more productive and when you’re not producing coaches look at you and kind of kick you in the butt.”

Hutchinson is a junior college, with two year programs meaning the spring 2024 season will be Gunderson’s last year with the team. He has already made his choice for next year, deciding to play for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Gunderson said he had to choose between Grand Canyon University and Charlotte.

“They were both very good schools, and it just came down to money and coaching and stuff like that,” he said.

“It definitely was not an easy decision, but I think the decision I made is the right decision.”

Gunderson said his goal is to make it to the professional ranks one day.

“You’ve got to keep stacking good days, and keeping those bad days limited,” he said on his path to the pros.

“The better days you have, the more you’ll get noticed.”

Gunderson said he wasn’t sure if he’ll return to play for the Sultans in 2024, noting the coaching staff at Charlotte is flexible.

“It all depends on how many games I play this year (in spring), and how my body feels,” he said.

“There could be a possibility that I’m back this summer to play for the Sultans again.”

In other awards, pitcher/infielder Rylan Penner came up just short, finishing second in most valuable player voting, and just missing out on both the utility and right-handed-pitcher all-star spots. Rick Penner finished second in top manager voting, with Austin Friesen finishing second for the league’s sportsmanship award.

The league’s top batter is given the Vic Bozyk award, named for Vita’s Victor Bozyk. Bozyk was a strong pitcher for the Vita Cubs, before moving to managing, winning championships in the junior ranks.

The rookie of the year award is named for Jack Thompson. Thompson served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles in the Second World War before returning to Manitoba and the baseball community. While his accomplishments as a manager, executive and scout (for both the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers) were worthy on their own, Thompson became known as “the voice of baseball in Winnipeg,” as he began announcing minor, junior and provincial tournaments using his own public address system.

The top defender in the MJBL is given the Len Gzebb award. Gzebb was a top player for the Elmwood Giants junior team from 1946-1950, being named a league all-star three times in that span. After aging out of junior, Gzebb turned to coaching, where he excelled as well.