Chris Munnelly hired for High Point baseball
Chris Munnelly
Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2015 8:10 pm
Chris Munnelly hired for High Point baseball Jay Spivey/Winston-Salem Journal Winston-Salem Journal
Chris Munnelly said he always wanted to get into coaching at some level.
Munnelly, who is a Forsyth Country Day and North Carolina graduate, was recently named the Director of Player Development under Coach Craig Cozart on the High Point baseball team. After playing two pro seasons with the Houston Astros, he decided to get into coaching.
Coach Craig Cozart of High Point is happy that Munnelly is on the staff.
“I think he kind of evaluated where he was in life. He’s engaged to be married coming this December,” Cozart, who has been the coach for the Panthers for seven years, said by phone. “I think that he wanted to go ahead and start a career in something he knew he would have a long-term future in. That’s when he sent me his resume.”
Munnelly will be working closely with the staff in the High Point Human Biomechanics and Physiology Lab to implement programs in areas of research, preventative maintenance and performance enhancement. He will also be in charge of many of the daily functions of the Panthers’ baseball team.
“They didn’t see my stuff projecting at the big-league level,” Munnelly said by phone. “I undertstand. I signed a free-agent contract. It comes with the territory. I had limited opportunities, and ultimately, it’s a business like anything else. They had to do what they think is right. They’ve had a lot of success this season with what they’ve done.”
Munnelly, who graduated from North Carolina in 2013 before playing two years of minor-league baseball, said the opportunity to coach came a little quicker than he wanted. He wasn’t drafted out of North Carolina despite finishing his four-year career with a record of 17-7 and an earned-run average of 3.94. He had an even better senior year, finishing 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA.
The Astros signed him as a free agent during the summer of 2013. He started with the Astros affiliate in the Gulf Coast League and pitched in seven games and finished with a 2.35 ERA, seven strikeouts and three walks in 17 innings. He was then sent to Greeneville (Tenn.) of the Appalachian Rookie League later that summer. He played in 10 games and pitched 17 innings. He finished with a 0.53 ERA with 24 strikeouts and seven walks.
The Astros promoted him again to Tri-City in Troy, N.Y. of the Low-A New York-Penn League. He played in three games and pitched 41/3 innings with an ERA of 2.08 with six strikeouts and two walks. He stayed at Tri-City to start last year and pitched 15 games with 26 2/3 innings. He finished with a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 3.38 with 31 strikeouts and eight walks.
But Munnelly, who is listed at 6-2 and 200 pounds on baseball-reference.com, said it was a numbers game for him. And the numbers stacked up against him. He was released before spring training in 2014.
Munnelly said he could’ve kept pursuing his dream to play, but elected not to.
“It was a tough pill to swallow for a couple days,” he said. “I had some opportunities to play Independent ball, which is not affiliated with a major-league team. That’s not what I wanted to do. If I didn’t have an opportunity to play with a major-league organization I was just going to move on with my life and see what else was out there for me.”
Coach Mike Fox of North Carolina said Munnelly’s decision to leave minor-league baseball didn’t take him totally off-guard.
“I’m never surprised anymore about the minor leagues,” Fox said by phone. “It’s no rhyme or reason to it sometimes. I think Chris probably never wanted to be one of those career minor-leaguers. He’s always very smart, good student. I know he had plans after pro ball, so some guys go longer than others.”
Munnelly said his friend Bryant Gaines, who is a volunteer assistant at UNC, and Jesse Wierzbicki to coach this summer for Wilson in the wooden-bat Coastal Plains League. He chose to take the position of position of pitching coach for the Tobs.
“It was a great opportunity for me to get my feet wet in coaching and see if it was something I wanted to do, and to see if it was something I had a passion for,” Munnelly said. “That’s what I found out this summer. I came to Wilson to coach these guys. I found out that my heart was still in baseball, and that I really had a passion for coaching.”
Munnelly, 24, said he found out about the position at High Point from Chris Clare, who is a third baseman for the Tobs and plays for High Point during the regular season.
“I applied for it. I had some people in my corner – some coaches from my past that were good references for me,” Munnelly said. “I made some calls in my favor. Ultimately, I got an interview with them, and I guess the rest is history.”
Cozart said he is that Munnelly will be working with the players starting in the fall. He added that he will rely heavily on his knowledge of pitching.
“He just confirmed what I already knew about him as person – a guy that has tremendous morals, tremendous integrity, great work ethic, and of course a tremendous knowledge of the game of baseball,” Cozart said.
Fox said that Munnelly is in a perfect situation with his first coaching experience.
“You’ve gotta get started somehow, someway,” Fox said. “When you’re young and you don’t have a lot of experience – he’s coaching this summer in the Coastal Plains League – so it kind of gives him that first view of the other side of the fence, so to speak. I know Craig Cozart very well, and I think it’s a great starting point for Chris.”
Munnelly said that he realizes the opportunity he’s been given and hopes to build on a coaching career.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m humbled by the fact that I can be a part of it and that (Cozart) can look to me for advice. I just really look forward to helping them as much as I can.”
Chris Munnelly
Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2015 8:10 pm
Chris Munnelly hired for High Point baseball Jay Spivey/Winston-Salem Journal Winston-Salem Journal
Chris Munnelly said he always wanted to get into coaching at some level.
Munnelly, who is a Forsyth Country Day and North Carolina graduate, was recently named the Director of Player Development under Coach Craig Cozart on the High Point baseball team. After playing two pro seasons with the Houston Astros, he decided to get into coaching.
Coach Craig Cozart of High Point is happy that Munnelly is on the staff.
“I think he kind of evaluated where he was in life. He’s engaged to be married coming this December,” Cozart, who has been the coach for the Panthers for seven years, said by phone. “I think that he wanted to go ahead and start a career in something he knew he would have a long-term future in. That’s when he sent me his resume.”
Munnelly will be working closely with the staff in the High Point Human Biomechanics and Physiology Lab to implement programs in areas of research, preventative maintenance and performance enhancement. He will also be in charge of many of the daily functions of the Panthers’ baseball team.
“They didn’t see my stuff projecting at the big-league level,” Munnelly said by phone. “I undertstand. I signed a free-agent contract. It comes with the territory. I had limited opportunities, and ultimately, it’s a business like anything else. They had to do what they think is right. They’ve had a lot of success this season with what they’ve done.”
Munnelly, who graduated from North Carolina in 2013 before playing two years of minor-league baseball, said the opportunity to coach came a little quicker than he wanted. He wasn’t drafted out of North Carolina despite finishing his four-year career with a record of 17-7 and an earned-run average of 3.94. He had an even better senior year, finishing 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA.
The Astros signed him as a free agent during the summer of 2013. He started with the Astros affiliate in the Gulf Coast League and pitched in seven games and finished with a 2.35 ERA, seven strikeouts and three walks in 17 innings. He was then sent to Greeneville (Tenn.) of the Appalachian Rookie League later that summer. He played in 10 games and pitched 17 innings. He finished with a 0.53 ERA with 24 strikeouts and seven walks.
The Astros promoted him again to Tri-City in Troy, N.Y. of the Low-A New York-Penn League. He played in three games and pitched 41/3 innings with an ERA of 2.08 with six strikeouts and two walks. He stayed at Tri-City to start last year and pitched 15 games with 26 2/3 innings. He finished with a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 3.38 with 31 strikeouts and eight walks.
But Munnelly, who is listed at 6-2 and 200 pounds on baseball-reference.com, said it was a numbers game for him. And the numbers stacked up against him. He was released before spring training in 2014.
Munnelly said he could’ve kept pursuing his dream to play, but elected not to.
“It was a tough pill to swallow for a couple days,” he said. “I had some opportunities to play Independent ball, which is not affiliated with a major-league team. That’s not what I wanted to do. If I didn’t have an opportunity to play with a major-league organization I was just going to move on with my life and see what else was out there for me.”
Coach Mike Fox of North Carolina said Munnelly’s decision to leave minor-league baseball didn’t take him totally off-guard.
“I’m never surprised anymore about the minor leagues,” Fox said by phone. “It’s no rhyme or reason to it sometimes. I think Chris probably never wanted to be one of those career minor-leaguers. He’s always very smart, good student. I know he had plans after pro ball, so some guys go longer than others.”
Munnelly said his friend Bryant Gaines, who is a volunteer assistant at UNC, and Jesse Wierzbicki to coach this summer for Wilson in the wooden-bat Coastal Plains League. He chose to take the position of position of pitching coach for the Tobs.
“It was a great opportunity for me to get my feet wet in coaching and see if it was something I wanted to do, and to see if it was something I had a passion for,” Munnelly said. “That’s what I found out this summer. I came to Wilson to coach these guys. I found out that my heart was still in baseball, and that I really had a passion for coaching.”
Munnelly, 24, said he found out about the position at High Point from Chris Clare, who is a third baseman for the Tobs and plays for High Point during the regular season.
“I applied for it. I had some people in my corner – some coaches from my past that were good references for me,” Munnelly said. “I made some calls in my favor. Ultimately, I got an interview with them, and I guess the rest is history.”
Cozart said he is that Munnelly will be working with the players starting in the fall. He added that he will rely heavily on his knowledge of pitching.
“He just confirmed what I already knew about him as person – a guy that has tremendous morals, tremendous integrity, great work ethic, and of course a tremendous knowledge of the game of baseball,” Cozart said.
Fox said that Munnelly is in a perfect situation with his first coaching experience.
“You’ve gotta get started somehow, someway,” Fox said. “When you’re young and you don’t have a lot of experience – he’s coaching this summer in the Coastal Plains League – so it kind of gives him that first view of the other side of the fence, so to speak. I know Craig Cozart very well, and I think it’s a great starting point for Chris.”
Munnelly said that he realizes the opportunity he’s been given and hopes to build on a coaching career.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m humbled by the fact that I can be a part of it and that (Cozart) can look to me for advice. I just really look forward to helping them as much as I can.”
