1. Early Life and Background
Joseph Gunkel's early life and background were rooted in Florida, where he was born and grew up, before his path led him into professional baseball.
1.1. Birth and Upbringing
Joseph Dillon Gunkel was born on December 30, 1991, in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Before committing full-time to his professional baseball career, Gunkel supplemented his income during the baseball offseason by working as a substitute teacher at a high school in New Jersey. This past experience earned him the nickname "Teacher Gunkel" later in his career, as he was known for offering advice and guidance to his teammates. His minor league salary was around 15.00 K USD, which at the time was approximately 1.62 M JPY, prompting him to work as a temporary teacher, a connection facilitated by his wife, who is a math teacher.
2. Professional Career
Joseph Gunkel's professional baseball career began in 2013, taking him through various Major League Baseball minor league affiliates before he transitioned to Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, and later returned to the American minor league system. Over seven years in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), he played for a total of 15 different teams.
2.1. Minor League Baseball Career (MLB Affiliates)
Gunkel spent seven years in the Minor League Baseball system, playing for a variety of MLB affiliates, demonstrating his pitching prowess and progression through different levels of professional baseball in the United States.
2.1.1. Boston Red Sox (2013-2015)
Gunkel began his professional career after being selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. He officially signed with the organization on June 19, 2013. Initially, he was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox to start his journey in professional baseball. On July 6, he was promoted to the Lowell Spinners. For the 2014 season, Gunkel started with the Greenville Drive and was later assigned to the Salem Red Sox. In May 2015, he advanced from Salem to play for the Portland Sea Dogs.
2.1.2. Baltimore Orioles (2015-2017)
On June 3, 2015, Gunkel was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Alejandro De Aza. During his time with the Double-A Bowie Baysox, he made 17 starts, recording an 8-4 win-loss record and a 2.59 ERA with 69 strikeouts over 104 and one-third innings pitched. In the 2016 season, Gunkel split his time between the Bowie Baysox and the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Across 28 starts that year, he accumulated an 8-14 record and a 4.02 ERA, striking out 109 batters over 161 innings. To protect him from the Rule 5 draft, the Orioles added Gunkel to their 40-man roster on November 18, 2016. However, on April 7, 2017, he was designated for assignment by the Orioles following the acquisition of Miguel Castro.
2.1.3. Los Angeles Dodgers (2017)
Following his designation for assignment by the Orioles, Gunkel was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 10, 2017, in exchange for a player to be named later. He was subsequently assigned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers. His tenure with the Dodgers organization was brief; after appearing in only three Triple-A games, where he pitched to a 4.00 ERA and allowed 5 runs in 9 innings, Gunkel was again designated for assignment on April 25, 2017.
2.1.4. Miami Marlins (2017-2019)
On April 27, 2017, Gunkel was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins. Two days later, he was assigned to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. On May 10, Gunkel was designated for assignment for the third time in 2017. He went unclaimed this time and was sent outright to the Jumbo Shrimp on May 12. He spent the remainder of the 2017 season with the Jumbo Shrimp and the New Orleans Baby Cakes. Gunkel was assigned to the Baby Cakes to start the 2018 season and remained with them for the entire year, pitching to a 3.03 ERA and allowing 23 runs on 63 hits in 22 appearances.
In the 2019 season, Gunkel continued to play for the New Orleans Baby Cakes. He also made two scoreless appearances for the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads. In 21 games, including 15 starts, for the Baby Cakes, he compiled an 8-2 record and a 3.20 ERA, with 61 strikeouts over 87 and two-thirds innings pitched. Gunkel elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2019.
2.2. Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Career
After a lengthy tenure in Minor League Baseball, Joseph Gunkel embarked on a new phase of his professional career by moving to Japan to play in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which is the highest level of baseball in Japan.
2.2.1. Hanshin Tigers (2020-2022)
On December 15, 2019, Gunkel signed a one-year contract with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. His estimated annual salary was 500.00 K USD, which was approximately 55.00 M JPY. He was assigned the jersey number 49.
In 2020, Gunkel was included in the Tigers' opening rotation. He made his NPB debut as a starter on June 24 against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He pitched 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, and was the losing pitcher, leading to his demotion to the farm team. Upon his demotion, he transitioned to a reliever role. After being called back up to the first team, he recorded 11 holds as a middle reliever, and towards the end of the season, he was also used as a starter again. He finished his rookie campaign with 28 appearances, a 2-4 record, and a 3.18 ERA, with 39 strikeouts over 56 and two-thirds innings pitched. Following the season, the Tigers announced his return on a one-year contract, with an estimated salary of 750.00 K USD, approximately 78.80 M JPY.
In 2021, Gunkel once again secured a spot in the opening rotation as a starter. He earned his first win as a starter on March 28 in the third game of the opening series against the Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium. He consistently delivered stable performances, achieving an undefeated six-game winning streak by June 24 against the Chunichi Dragons at Vantelin Dome Nagoya. Although his streak was broken on July 14 against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, his six consecutive wins marked the third-longest opening winning streak by a foreign player in club history, trailing only Gene Bacque's nine wins in 1964 and Trey Moore's seven wins in 2003. On September 26, he pitched well against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome, allowing only one run over 6 innings to earn a win, which meant he had recorded victories against all five other teams in the Central League, excluding his own club. After the season, he re-signed with the Tigers on a one-year deal, with an estimated salary of 1.50 M USD, or approximately 170.00 M JPY. He showed particular dominance against the Chunichi Dragons, recording 3 wins and 0 losses with a remarkable 0.46 ERA against them.
The 2022 season began with Gunkel's first appearance on April 3 against the Giants, where he struggled, giving up a grand slam to Sho Nakata in the first inning and exiting after 4 innings with 4 earned runs. On June 2, against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he had a strong offensive outing, recording three hits, including a timely double, and earned a 6-1 victory as the winning pitcher. However, he experienced a slump during the summer months and did not make any first-team appearances after August. On October 28, the Hanshin Tigers announced that they would not renew his contract for the 2023 season, and he was officially placed on the free agent list on December 2.
2.2.2. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2023)
On December 20, 2022, Joseph Gunkel's signing with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball was announced. He was assigned the jersey number 27 and was expected to be a key part of their starting rotation. In the 2023 season, he made 5 appearances for the Hawks, recording an 0-1 record and a 5.82 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 17 innings pitched. His performance did not meet expectations, and on December 1, the Hawks announced that Gunkel would not be returning to the team, making him a free agent.
2.3. Return to Minor League Baseball (2024)
After his tenure in Japan, Joseph Gunkel returned to the American baseball system, signing a minor league contract with a Major League Baseball organization in 2024.
2.3.1. Minnesota Twins (2024)
On January 31, 2024, Gunkel signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. He made 9 appearances, including 7 starts, for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. During this period, he struggled, recording an 0-5 win-loss record and a 10.54 ERA with 11 strikeouts across 27 and one-third innings pitched. On May 27, Gunkel was released by the Twins organization.
3. Player Profile
Joseph Gunkel stands at 77 in (196 cm) tall and pitches with a sidearm delivery. His pitching repertoire includes a two-seam fastball, which can reach speeds of up to 94 mph (151 km/h), as well as a slider, splitter, and sinker. He is characterized as a groundball pitcher, whose strength lies in inducing groundouts. Gunkel is also known for his excellent control, boasting a career walk rate of 1.5 per nine innings in the minor leagues.
In his first year in Japan, Gunkel showed a tendency to struggle more against left-handed batters, with a batting average against him of .290 compared to .219 against right-handed batters. However, in his second year, he significantly improved this disparity, achieving similar batting averages against both left and right-handed hitters. His pitching form, which features a stable core, has been praised as "ideal" by baseball commentators such as Yoshihiro Nakata.
4. Personal Life
Joseph Gunkel is known by the nicknames "Gunk" and "Teacher Gunkel" (ガンケル先生Gankeru SenseiJapanese). The latter nickname stems from his experience as a substitute teacher during the baseball offseason, and also from his helpful demeanor, as he is known to offer dedicated advice to his teammates, including his pitcher colleague Yuta Iwasada on his slider. His wife is a math teacher. Gunkel announced the birth of his daughter on June 16, 2022, a birth he attended at a hospital in Kobe, Japan. His walk-up song for his at-bats was "Nobody's Home" by the band One Ok Rock.
5. Career Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | CG | SHO | W | L | SV | HLD | WPct | BF | IP | H | HR | BB | HBP | SO | BK | WP | R | ER | ERA | WHIP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Hanshin Tigers | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 | .333 | 232 | 56.2 | 54 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 20 | 3.18 | 1.18 |
| 2021 | Hanshin Tigers | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .750 | 465 | 113.0 | 99 | 10 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 37 | 2.95 | 1.09 |
| 2022 | Hanshin Tigers | 16 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 372 | 92.1 | 80 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 28 | 2.73 | 1.04 |
| 2023 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 80 | 17.0 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 5.82 | 1.53 |
| Total (4 years) | 69 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 11 | .552 | 1149 | 279.0 | 254 | 25 | 58 | 3 | 11 | 189 | 1 | 0 | 106 | 96 | 3.10 | 1.12 | |
- Statistics as of the end of the 2023 season.
| Year | Team | G | PO | A | E | DP | FPct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Hanshin Tigers | 28 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 |
| 2021 | Hanshin Tigers | 20 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 1 | .963 |
| 2022 | Hanshin Tigers | 16 | 4 | 22 | 6 | 3 | .813 |
| 2023 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Total | 69 | 16 | 56 | 7 | 7 | .911 | |
- Statistics as of the end of the 2023 season.
- Bold indicates a league high for that year.
5.1. First Records in NPB
Gunkel achieved several firsts during his career in Nippon Professional Baseball:
- First appearance and first start: June 24, 2020, against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Game 2) at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He pitched 4 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, and was the losing pitcher.
- First strikeout: June 24, 2020, against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Game 2) at Meiji Jingu Stadium, striking out Motohiro Shima looking in the second inning.
- First hold: July 31, 2020, against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars (Game 7) at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, pitching 1 scoreless inning as the third reliever in the eighth inning.
- First win: September 10, 2020, against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars (Game 15) at Yokohama Stadium, pitching 1 inning and allowing 3 runs as the fourth reliever in the sixth inning.
- First start win: March 28, 2021, against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Game 3) at Meiji Jingu Stadium, pitching 6 scoreless innings.
- First complete game win: June 12, 2022, against the Orix Buffaloes (Game 3) at Kyocera Dome Osaka, pitching 9 innings and allowing 1 run.
- First at-bat: June 24, 2020, against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Game 2) at Meiji Jingu Stadium, striking out swinging against Albert Suárez in the second inning.
- First hit: October 3, 2020, against the Yomiuri Giants (Game 18) at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, a double to left-center field off Seishu Hata in the third inning.
- First RBI: June 2, 2022, against the Saitama Seibu Lions (Game 3) at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, a timely double to center field off Tomoo Sumida in the fourth inning.
5.2. Jersey Numbers
- 49 (2020-2022) - with Hanshin Tigers
- 27 (2023) - with Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks