The Dawgs’ bark could be heard all the way in the Twin Cities on Monday.
Kody Funderburk, an Okotoks Dawgs two-way star during the 2017 season, made a dream debut with the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 28 as a middle reliever with two shutout innings, retiring six in order, striking out three and earning the victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
“The biggest thing with my debut is I didn’t want to come in scared or nervous to make a mistake,” said Funderburk, in an interview with Bally Sports North. “I wanted to come in confident and pitch my game that I know that I can play and I think I executed it.
“When I got into the game, with the first batter I had some nerves and jitters, but once I was able to settle in and make a play, pitchcom gets you locked back into the catcher and it’s just like playing baseball again.”
Funderburk is the fourth Dawgs alumnus to play in the MLB, and third pitcher to do so, joining the trailblazing Jim Henderson along with current Tampa Bay Rays hurler Andrew Kittredge and Cincinnati Reds middle infielder Alejo Lopez.
The 6-foot-4 southpaw got word he would be called up from the Twins’ AAA affiliate in St. Paul earlier in the day, getting the news while en route to the fair and getting a nod from Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to be ready to come out of the bullpen.
“I don’t think I had enough time to be nervous,” he said. “It was just focus on my game and execute.
“Coming over, I knew we were playing these guys, a division opponent, these are big games. Being able to come in, execute and help get a win, that’s big.”
The Mesa, Arizona native has steadily climbed the Twins' organizational charts since being drafted in 2018, first reaching the AAA level earlier this season where he posted four wins and a 2.60 ERA with 75 strikeouts over 52 innings.
“It was super impressive,” added his teammate Royce Lewis. “He looked cool, calm and collected, give it up for Fundy.”
Western Canadian Baseball League fans will remember Funderburk’s impact in all phases of the game as a star first baseman and pitcher first with the Edmonton Prospects in 2016 and with the Dawgs the following summer.
In Okotoks, Funderburk was the team MVP in 2017, set the Dawgs’ single-season home run record with 15 round trippers, along with 54 RBI and a .335 batting average. On the bump, he pitched nine scoreless innings.
Now in the big leagues, Funderburk can expect to pitch in pressure cooker situations for the AL Central-leading Twins down the stretch. Minnesota leads Cleveland by five for top spot with less than 30 games remaining in the regular season.
“The game doesn’t change, I still want to come in confident and pitch to my abilities the best that I can,” he added. “Nothing much changes, it’s still baseball and execution.
“I just want to fill in for what this team has already done this year and slide in and whatever role the team needs, I just want to help win and carry us into the playoffs.”
