Aaron Cunningham played his first big league game Saturday for the Oakland A’s, collecting two hits (an opposite field double that almost cleared the wall on the fly in rightcenterfield & a 2 RBI single to center). Cunningham was originally drafted by the White Sox and traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Danny Richar, then shipped off to Oakland in the Dan Haren deal.
I saw Aaron play last fall in the Arizona Fall League. He was hard to overlook. He’s a hustling kid, who plays the game hard. Everybody was saying Cunningham really isn’t a tool guy, but he makes the most of his talent. I became an AC Fan!
Looking over his minor league stats I saw where he even pitched a little bit, with some success, a 3.16 ERA in 53 games over 71″ innings pitched. But AC really got the job done in 2008 with the bat, hitting .317, with 12 homers, 6 triples, 18 doubles, & twelve steals at AA Midland before being called up to AAA. Cunningham turned up his game a notch at Sacramento where his batting average soared to a robust .382, with five homers, five doubles, & four stolen bases, in just 20 games.
This kid reminds me of Shane Victorino, the way he plays the game. I’m looking forward to watching this exciting ballplayer, the way his career unfolds, even though he’s no longer a member of the White Sox, I wish AC nothing but the best!