With Joey Mundt, Beaver bullpen stays in the hunt

Joey Mundt has been a rock out of the bullpen for Oregon State during his sixth year with the program (courtesy Dominic Cusimano)

Updated 5/11/2024 9:27 AM

In a season in which much of Oregon State pitching has been an adventure, Joey Mundt has been a serene walk in the park.

The sixth-year senior has been a godsend in the bullpen for pitching coach Rich Dorman. Mundt is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA and .169 opposing batting average in 18 games and 23 innings heading into the No. 7-ranked Beavers’ final Pac-12 series with UCLA, starting Friday at Goss Stadium.

The 6-5 right-hander from Hughson, Calif. — a small town in farming country near Modesto — has allowed 12 hits, one home run and five earned runs, with nine walks and 24 strikeouts. Mundt gave up one hit, a walk and an earned run on March 9 in 2 1/3 innings vs. Cal State Northridge. Since then, he has yielded 10 hits and two earned runs in 14 appearances.

Not bad for a young man who missed two full seasons following Tommy John elbow surgery.

“I am happy I am healthy and back to competing with my guys,” Mundt said Wednesday. “I have been a Beaver for quite a while. I’m happy with where I am at and that I can help out the team with what I am doing. I am in a good spot.”

Dorman would agree with that.

“He has been great,” he said. “From the start of the year to now, he keeps getting better and finding his group. When Joe is on, he can roll through a lineup pretty quickly.

“Nearing the finish line is a powerful thing. His collegiate career has been a long one. He has poured a lot of time and effort into Oregon State. I know how important this is to him. Every time he goes out there to compete is special. We are lucky to have him as a big part of our bullpen.”

When Mundt first stepped onto campus as a freshman in 2018, the Beavers were coming off their third national championship. Pat Bailey was interim head coach. Nate Yeskie was pitching coach. Adley Rutschman was the catcher. Among the pitchers were Bryce Fehmel, Brandon Eisert, Grant Gambrell, Kevin Abel and Jake Pfennigs.

“I have been here for a long time,” Mundt said. “I was just telling some guys at breakfast this morning, it still feels like yesterday that I was a freshman coming in. The time has flown by. We referenced how fast this season has gone by right now. Our last home series is this weekend. It’s just bizarre.”

Is Mundt trying to soak up the moments?

“Absolutely,” he said. “I am trying to take it all in, I really am. I know how fast it goes. I am definitely taking it in as it comes.”

Mundt turns 25 next month. Some of his teammates are 18 and 19. Does he get kidded about his age?

“About every day,” he said with a laugh. “I get ‘Grandpa,’ I get ‘Papa Joe.’ They call me ‘Uncle’ sometimes because my oldest brother has a daughter now. I get ‘Double Uncle.’ ”

Older brother Johnny Mundt is a major reason why Mundt wound up at Oregon State. Johnny was a standout tight end at Oregon who has played seven NFL seasons and is currently with the Minnesota Vikings. Joey committed to OSU after his freshman year of high school, but he could have gone the other way.

“I wanted to stay on the West Coast,” Joey said. “I was thinking about going to Oregon. I wanted to do what my brother did. Johnny was familiar with Oregon State’s dominant baseball program. He sat me down and went, ‘Dude, if you’re not coming here to play football, Oregon State is the baseball school.’ That really made my decision for me.”

No regrets, Joey said.

“I love it here, and the relationships I have made along the way,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with my decision.”

As a freshman at OSU, Mundt joined a bullpen that featured Jake Mulholland, Mitchell Verburg, Nathan Burns, Dylan Pearce, Christian Chamberlain and Pfennigs. Mundt saw action in eight games, sporting a 1.93 ERA on a team that went 36-20 overall and 21-8 in Pac-12 play but was eliminated in the Corvallis Regional.

“Coming into that season, we were ranked as the No. 1 pitching staff in the nation,” Mundt said. “I was fresh out of high school. I really did not think I was going to pitch that year. I got some innings and I was happy to be able to learn from some of the best. I still remember some of the stuff those guys would tell me. I apply it to what I do today.”

Mundt got to work with Rutschman, who would be the National Player of the Year and the No. 1 draft choice in the Major League Baseball draft that season.

“Being that young, you don’t get to appreciate how good that guy was,” Mundt said. “I didn’t recognize it in that moment as much as I do now. Rutsch was such a team guy, you didn’t think about who he was in that moment. He was awesome. I am really happy I had the opportunity to play with that guy.”

Mundt pitched in five games in a Covid-shortened 2020 season, then went 2-2 with a 4.70 in 23 appearances in the 2021 campaign. The season ended in calamitous fashion for Joey, however. In his third appearance in four days at the Fort Worth Regional, Mundt entered in the seventh inning with Oregon State leading Dallas Baptist 5-2. A win would have thrust the Beavers into a Super Regional berth. The first pitch he threw resulted in a go-ahead grand slam. He hit the next two batters and his day was done. The Patriots went on to an 8-5 victory, and the Beavers’ season was done.

Just before the 2022 season began, Mundt suffered an elbow injury. He underwent Tommy John surgery on March 23, 2022. “Bad timing,” he said. “It’s a 12-to-14-month recovery.”

The immediate goal was to recover and rehab the elbow. The hope was to get back at some point in the 2023 season.

The recovery process “was very difficult,” Mundt said. “The strength was always there. I was always feeling good. But coming back from Tommy John, you have to re-learn how to throw and get the timing down. I felt really good at one point, but then there was a month period where my timing was off and I didn’t trust my elbow. I was feeding myself bad (mental) stuff after that. Combine that with trying to rush into the middle of a season — it was tough, it really was. It took me 14 to 15 months to finally feel back to who I was.”

Did Mundt ever consider quitting?

“I knew I was never going to give up baseball, but there was doubt about whether I would ever be back to help this team succeed,” he said. “There was a brief time there when I was unsure of my own abilities. It took time — that’s all it was.”

Late in the 2023 season, Mundt was throwing full bore. There was consideration given to pitching him in the postseason. Dorman brought him along to Baton Rouge Regional. Mundt sat in the stands and watched his teammates lose twice to LSU and end their season.

“I knew how badly he wants it and how hard it works,” Dorman said. “I wanted him at last year’s Regional to get him ready for this year’s Regional.

“I was hopeful the development would keep coming and he would get his feel back so he would be in position to help us. It didn’t happen. I know it’s paying off now.”

Said Mundt: “By the end of last season, I was finally to the point where I felt confident with my stuff. I was trusting my elbow with the up and down (motion). We decided if it came down to it in the right situation, we were going to (use him on the mound). But it never came up. It was a roll of the dice. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. We thankfully saved that year of eligibility.”

Mundt worked out during the fall and early winter months, trimming about 10 pounds and gaining strength.

“I went from 230 with not as much muscle to 220, slim and strong,” he said. “I am very happy with the shape I’m in right now.”

Still, he hadn’t pitched for two years. Did Dorman ever wonder if Mundt would make it back?

“I am sure a lot of people did,” he said. “There is one person it mattered to the most, and that’s Joe. There were some low points there, but I believed in him a lot.”

Part of Mundt’s desire came from the way the 2021 season ended.

“I didn’t want that to be it for me,” he said. “I wanted an opportunity to go to Omaha with this team. We have the squad to do it. That was a burning thought in my head all the time. I am hoping that will be the last part of my Oregon State career.”

Mundt has been a stabilizing force in a Beaver bullpen that has had its chaotic moments this season. His ERA is second only to closer Bridger Holmes’ 1.46. His fastball is back to where it once was, maybe a little better, topping out at 93 mph.

“But I haven’t been using my fastball a lot,” Mundt said. “I don’t think I have thrown it two times in a row all year. I have been a big slider guy. That’s my pitch right now. I try to go out there and fill up the zone. I’m trying not to give out any free bases.”

“He has a great slider,” Dorman said. “I would say he is using it at a 70 percent clip. But his fastball is coming, too. He’s going to start utilizing his heater more.”

Mundt has been a steadying influence on a bullpen stocked with young arms.

“That’s especially true now as we’re getting down the stretch,” Dorman said. “Joe is a great kid, a great young man, a great personality. He is happy-go-lucky, but there is also the warrior/business guy in there. That’s the guy our freshmen need to see. They understand that you can be both. Being both is OK.”

Mundt said he has drawn a lot from working with Dorman the past four years.

“I love Dor,” he said. “He does a great job at having relationships with the players. You know that guy cares. He wants what’s best for all of us. He’s an awesome pitching coach.”

Mundt said he has a single goal for the rest of the season.

“Get this team to Omaha any way possible,” he said. “We want to win the national championship. Any time my name is called, I want to get out there and do my job. That’s all I can do. We have a good squad this year. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Mundt graduated in the winter of ’23 in new media communications. For the past year, he has taken classes “that pique my interest.” He’d like a shot at playing pro ball. After that, coaching might be an option.

“I want to pursue baseball as long as I can,” he said. “I don’t want to give that up. After that, I’ll play it by ear. But I can’t imagine being away from the game.”

Mundt said he has learned a lot of life lessons through his six-year journey in Corvallis.

“Coming back from Tommy John, I had so much doubt in myself,” he said. “At a lot of points along the way. When you’re not competing for the team, you forget who you are. I had to stay who I am, always confident no matter the situation. If later on down the road I’m not where I want to be pitching-wise, I know now that I can do it. It’s always there.”

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