Join Gunner Leger, the ex-Ragin' Cajuns pitcher, as he explores the significant influence of his father's guidance in his early years, recounts his playing days at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, reflects on his bond with former head coach Tony Robichaux, and contemplates the serendipitous nature of life. Today, Gunner holds the position of Pitching Coach for the Ragin' Cajuns baseball team.
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Join Gunner Leger, the ex-Ragin' Cajuns pitcher, as he explores the significant influence of his father's guidance in his early years, recounts his playing days at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, reflects on his bond with former head coach Tony Robichaux, and contemplates the serendipitous nature of life. Today, Gunner holds the position of Pitching Coach for the Ragin' Cajuns baseball team.
Want to hear more? Check out previous episodes, subscribe & leave a review.
APPLE PODCASTS: https://apple.co/32M5E2T
SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/32AyXFq
Connect with Collin:
TWITTER: / collinkushner
INSTAGRAM: / collinkushner
FACEBOOK: / collnkushner
LINKEDIN: / collin-ku. .
PERSONAL WEBSITE: https://linktr.ee/collinkushner
EMAIL: ckushner1@gmail.com
You feel hurt, but you're not pitching hurt. I was on the 10 yard line looking in to , you know, everything that I kind of envisioned all the way back to being 12 years old with kind of how the next few years of my life played out and what happened to Coach Robe . If I don't get hurt, I'm probably not there. And just those next few years look a little different and, you know, my relationship with him probably looks a little different. And to be honest with you , I know that maybe I'm sitting here today as the pitching coach .
Collin Kushner:Welcome back, everybody, to another exciting episode of the Hayward You Go podcast. I'm your host, Colin Kushner. And we got my bro B-R-E-A-U-X, joining us on the pod. It's former Rage and Cajuns pitcher. Gunner j Gunner. What's going on, brother? Long time. No, see .
Gunner Leger:How's it going, Colin ? It's been a while , man. It's , uh, we were , we were joking the other day. I was talking to , uh, Jay Walker and I was telling him I was , I was going on the podcast and he was like, oh, boom sauce , boom sauce . I was like , yep , that's the guy.
Collin Kushner:Oh , that's too good, brother. It's been way too long and I'm so excited to catch up. Uh, you have an incredible story and , um, I'm excited to dive in and, and start from the very beginning and, and weave our way to where we are now. Growing up as a kid in southwest Louisiana, what was it about baseball that made you gravitate toward it?
Gunner Leger:My dad was a , is an ex-professional baseball player. Played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for some time. Um, and then after that played for , uh, the Meese Cowboys down the road. Um , played football there , um, for a little while. So it's , uh, I guess in the blood man, it was just part of life, you know, that was normal for me was it was , uh, whatever season it was, that's what we were doing, you know? Um, and it wasn't, it was normal for me to, to be out on the practice field, like I said, football and baseball, especially at a young age. Um, and so I just fell in love with it.
Collin Kushner:Can you kind of talk about your dad's influence? I mean, what was it like having somebody, like you said, he, he played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, played college football as well, like, it must have been helpful to have somebody who's playing at the highest level, you know, kind of help you and guide you on your own journey.
Gunner Leger:The one thing I I'll give him is, is the things that he didn't know and maybe that he wouldn't , uh, the expert at. He always found somebody, you know, that was , um, and always put me in a great position to have success. And, and I was really lucky to be coached by some of the, the best coaches around , um, in my career. Took me all over the place as well. But , um, I mean , my dad, my dad was, you know, was my hero growing up and still is , you know, and taught me everything I knew, taught me, you know, made me , made me the man I am today is a big , he's a big part it . Um , and so being able to lean on him, especially, you know, through some of the ups and downs later in my career and, and just helping me progress and, and learn how to, how to handle those things and , um, you know, almost kind of treat it, treat it like a job, which, you know, when you get into college and obviously in a pro ball, that's kind of what it is a little bit, you know? Um, so just, you know, like he would always tell me just, you know, if you want to be a pro, you gotta act like a pro, walk like a pro, talk like a pro. So , um, just learning how to do things the right way.
Collin Kushner:Yeah. It's so awesome that you had, you know , uh, that type of influence to, to kind of help you because there , there are so many, I don't know, there are so many different, like avenues and , and ways you can go and, and so much external noise. If you had to pick like one lesson that you think he instilled in you at , at a young age that you've been able to take off the baseball diamond, what would that be?
Gunner Leger:I guess the first one that comes to mind is, you know, if you're gonna do it, do it the right way. Um, and that just, just really with anything, you know, if you're gonna attack something or , um, you're trying to work towards a goal, or even if it's something as simple as picking your locker up or cleaning, you know, cleaning your area or whatever it may be. I can remember for whatever , for whatever reason, this, this , uh, instant pops in my head and we were living in Lake Charles. My dad was coaching at Magni, and I believe I was, I was pretty young in high school, and we used to have , uh, these bands set up in the backyard and this little, like verte , it was like a little workout area for me , um, that I would do some, some training and some different stuff out there daily and got filled with leaves , just got a little dirty. So he's like, Hey, you know, basically clean it, sweep it. And so I just got done with the workout. I wanted nothing to do with that at all. So I kind , I grabbed the broom and I just, I'm like, just kind of moving it around, you know , um, you know, put the broom up, walked in the house and was like, you know, it's done. So he walks out there and needless to say, he wasn't very pleased. So , um, that wasn't, you know, many other instances growing up. Obviously it just something similar, but for whatever reason, that kind of popped in my head. Um, so like I said, I , I think it just goes back to being a pro about how you, how you go about just your day and , uh, even the little things, the details, just, you know, making sure that you're handling yourself the right way, handling other people the right way and all that stuff.
Collin Kushner:You know, it's so interesting that you bring up kind of those, those smaller details and those, those smaller, like finer points of, of your sport or earn life, because those are the ones that we, we tend to overlook to get to the, the bigger carrot. Or we , we just don't want to do like, sweeping up the leaves, or in my case as a hockey player, you know, was hanging up all my gear, you know, af after practice and my dad, like, I would leave it in the bag and be like, dude, what are you doing? Like, you gotta air that, you gotta air that stuff out. So number one, your mom doesn't kill you. Um, <laugh> and, and number two, like mold and , and all the other stuff. So I love that that was his message to you at such a young age. And it's, it's cool how, how we can, we can see it now, like we see it now as adults and when we're younger it's like, what, what the hell? Like, how is this, I don't know about you, but like my mindset was like, how is hanging up my gear gonna get me to playing in the NHL? Like, how are those little things? And that's, that's the crazy part, is that stuff does accumulate to get you to those levels that you want to , that you ultimately want to get to.
Gunner Leger:There's no question about it. I mean, there was, there was a couple times I feel like every , uh, teenager, you get to that age where it's like, you don't wanna hear what dad has to say, you know, this really doesn't matter what he is talking about or how important it may be. Um, and, you know, somebody else could tell you the exact same thing and you would listen to that person but not listen to dad. Um, and so there was, you know, there was a couple years where, you know, he moved me into, you know, moved me from travel teams and, and kind of put me in a, challenged me basically maybe put me in a worse situation or , um, you know, challenged me to something as simple as like switch hitting . Like I was naturally a right-handed hitter, but I was a left-handed thrower, and which is not really good in baseball. Um, and so I, I had like switch hit and messed around with it for a long time. And finally , uh, we grew up, I played with the same guys for a long time, so we were, we were a pretty good little travel team. Um, so he took me off that team and put me on a team that, you know, wasn't quite as good. Um, it was basically like, you're, you're switch hitting and I'm forcing you. And I think I got it like two or three hits in the first tournament, and I'm pretty sure I didn't get a hit for like two months. I struck out like 50 or 60 times <laugh>. It was just like , um, but it was, it was stuff like that where he, you know, he challenged me and put me in situations and, you know, maybe I, it wasn't , uh, even when I wasn't successful, there was always a lesson, you know, and there was something, and just kind of to your point, it's like, why am I doing all this? This is, you know, let me hit right-handed and hit doubles and homers. Um, but you know, you see it, you years down the road, you're like, okay, I get it. You know? I understand. So, but at the time it wasn't , uh, wasn't fun, I'll tell you that.
Collin Kushner:What was it that come outta Barb High School where you're like, I want to go play for the University of Louisiana?
Gunner Leger:To be honest, man, I was, I wasn't really highly recruited until I was much older in my high school career , uh, headed into my junior year. Um, and to be honest with you , I, I had , uh, I had thrown a coach robes colored plate that he has, like, we still use it. Um, and always went to his pitching camps. I mean, from the time I was, I was probably 10, and then my grandfather, my grandfather had , uh, season tickets and what is now Section A, it wasn't back then. Um, but, so now I grew up watching Hunter Moody , um, and watching those guys, and that was kind of the first college baseball I ever watched. And at the time when I was coming out , UL was , uh, obviously doing really well. Coach Des had had just come back . Um , and so, you know, that 20 13, 20 14 or 2012 to 2014 time period , um, when I kind of started getting recruited a little bit, you know, there on the up and up and , um, got invited to a camp and had a good day , uh, got lucky enough to get an offer and it was, it was a no brainer , um, once they offered me. Um, so it's , uh, it was, it was an easy , um, transition, the coach Rob system and all that stuff when I got here, just 'cause I, I grew up on it, you know, grew up with it and grew up around him. And man , I can remember coming to camps and Justin and Austin Rob show are my coaches, you know, <laugh>. So , um, it's pretty cool the whole history of it.
Collin Kushner:That's awesome, dude. Like, that's, that's incredible that you were going to his camps like, like as a kid. Like I think that's like the, I think that's such like a cool connectivity point. It's almost like you were holding the vision at a very, very, very young age. Whether you knew it or you or you didn't when you signed on to , to play for UL and, and it was, it was gonna happen. What did it mean to come back home to Lafayette? Because you're a Lafayette kid and I know for, for your dad's, you know, as , as a football coach. I know you guys moved all over the state. Um, you played high school ball in Lake Charles and then you had the opportunity to, to literally come home.
Gunner Leger:I wanted to be close. Um, my grandparent, I mean, my whole family's from here, obviously we grew up in Lake Charles because my dad was coaching at Magni , but , um, you know, both sets of grandparents made every game. Um, and then obviously my last two years I believe here, my dad came back here and coached here. Um , so it was , it was interesting and I say interesting. It was just unique and cool , um, for me to go to practice and walk across the street and go into his office in the football building. So it was cool, man, it's a unique story and , um, to be able to represent the city and, and play at that place that I grew up, you know, going to camps in and play for coach robe and just the whole thing was, you know, it changed my life.
Collin Kushner:Very serendipitous dude. Like very like serendipitous, like, kind of like the, the entire journey. Um, in 2017 you were named the Sunbelt Conference pitcher of the year, compiling a 10 and two overall record with a 1.97 ERA gunner. What was it, MINDBODY and Soul that elevated your game to that level?
Gunner Leger:I don't know that it was anything in particular. You know, I , I had , was was lucky enough to get put into a role when I was young in college , um, just 'cause everybody had left after that 2014 team. So I came in in 15 and, you know, there was a lot of spots open and a lot of innings to be had. And so , um, had a couple good starts, worked my way into the weekend and, and, and got lucky and stuck, you know, and , and just shrunk some good starts together. And I think more than anything, I mean, coach Rob's system and , and how he taught us and coached us and what we were trying to be good at is from a pitchability standpoint and controlling the game and sequencing hitters and different things , that was kind of already, I guess that's what I grew up doing, just 'cause I had to, I I never really threw very hard, never had the best stuff. So it's kind of like I had to trick you for six or seven innings, you know, and, and Coach Row only made that, you know, I I always say gave me a PhD in that, you know, he , he gave me a PhD in, in Pitchability and pitching. So , um, I think that, like I said, that transition was easy for me. So I think he trusted me just because I was comfortable in that system and I, I could , uh, execute what he wanted and, you know, got some opportunities and, and rolled with it. And I think head into my junior year more than anything, I think it was just, I had already had over 200 innings under my belt , um, just 'cause of those opportunities. And I, it was, the game just became real slow for me just 'cause I, we had been through it and my freshman year we, you know, made a regional and played at Alex Box , and then my sophomore year we hosted a regional, and so we had been in some big environments. Um, and so I think it was just more of a comfortability thing that kind of led to maybe that jump.
Collin Kushner:When you think about the art of pitching and, and you talked about how the game just kind of slowed down for you, like what does that, can you kind of take us into that? Like what does that feel like from your perspective when you're on the mound and, and everything just slows down? Like what does that look like? What does that feel like?
Gunner Leger:Uh, I think for, at least for me , um, I kind of had like a , I don't wanna say an alter ego, I feel like that's kind of cheesy, but you know, when it , when the, when you got between the lines, it was, to me it like almost had to be life or death. And that's kind of like how I had to handle or at least carry myself. Um , which may be extreme for a lot of people, but , uh, that's kind of where I had to get to. And when I felt like I was locked in and the game was moving slow, you know, you just, you really don't, you don't hear anything else, just you and the catcher. It's really like kind of tunnel vision, if you will . Um, and like I said, I think for, for me, why , how it really slowed down was just my ability to, my ability to read hitters and just, and again, a lot of this was taught to us by Coach Robe and I mean, you're , we're looking at things from, you know, distance between their feet in a box, you know, where their hands are at, kind of where their weight's going and their takes and in their swings, where their barrel angle is through their swing. Um, just all kind of like little details, fine details. And like I said, I think I just had so many reps and situations doing it , um, that I think it just started to become a little easier for me and just come natural to me. And so I just felt like I was always like one or two pitches ahead,
Collin Kushner:Honestly, dude, it , it's almost like the ultimate act of mindfulness. Like when you're, if you're, when you're playing a sport and you're that and you're that dialed in, it's like the rest of the world doesn't exist. And I know you said you kind of treated it as like a , a life , like life or death like situation, but in some ways you almost have to get to that state of mind in order to, 'cause you're not, you're not thinking, you're just, you're , you're , to me, me, you're not, you're not thinking that anymore at that point.
Gunner Leger:No , it's almost just like a , you just trying to like flow through it, you know? Um, which I guess sounds like a little hippie in seventies, but you know, I always tell our guys like, it's, it's, it's all energy in reality. Um, especially baseball, like it's momentum and energy and so it's, how can I control my energy and my momentum and control the momentum and energy of the game? And, and so if I'm tense and tight and anxious and whatever and not prepared, that gets tough. You know, something's gonna block that energy and block that chain and my pitches aren't gonna be as crisp and you know, that dugout's gonna get a little energy and, you know, maybe they grab the momentum in at least the two or three runs in an inning. Whereas if, you know, if we can learn how to kind of harness it and bottle it and control it, and you know, like I tell 'em , you know, we're putting coins in the piggy bank, don't go grab coins every pitch, you know, like, do what you need to execute the pitch and when you need, you know, 92, 93, 94 , then go grab it. Um, so just kind of trying to teach him, I guess, the flow of the game. And again, that's, that's coach Roe man. Like he, I feel like naturally I was kind of good at that just 'cause I had to be my whole life. And so you kind of trial and error , uh, life or death, you know, it's, it's , uh, if you want to get out to be out there , you figure it out. Um, and then Coach Roe , like I said, just took it to another level for me,
Collin Kushner:From my perspective. And, and you could obviously correct me if I'm wrong, I, I feel like it was, it was meant to be that you and Coach Roe worked, worked, worked together and , and , and played together. I think, I think there was something about it when I was in Lafayette, like covering, covering the Cajuns and there's like something I feel now chatting with you that just kind of brings up, you know, when I was, you know, covering you guys on a daily basis, I just, I don't know, man, it was just like, it was meant , it was meant to be in some crazy way, dude,
Gunner Leger:No doubt. No, we , uh, we saw things very similar. Every, you know, the way he communicated I understood. And so , uh, it just, it just worked, man. Like I said, I got lucky and we got, we got close and so there was a trust and respect there and he allowed me to, to kind of kind of like just let me go, like spread my wings a little bit. Um, which I think really, like I said, I think my junior year that's kind of what really happened was I'd had so many innings and so many reps and been in so many big situations that, you know, he kind of like just said, Hey, do your thing, you know, and I mean, I, after my freshman year, Nick Thurman called all of our games then and Coach Rob had input. Um, but my sophomore and and junior year really from that point on, I called every game that I threw. Um, and I , he, I don't even know if he ever called one pitch really <laugh> in any of those . But , but um, so just letting me, you know, letting me do my thing and maybe, you know, not trying to micromanage me. Um, which I think as a coach, it's , it's almost natural to wanna like, you know, do this, do this, do this. That's one thing he was really, really good at. You knew , you know, he put you in situations to win . He taught you and he kind of helped you, especially in the fall. And then he just kind of let you go, man,
Collin Kushner:That's trust dude. It's, it's trust. I don't know, I don't know if this is like similar at all, but like, I remember like growing up as a kid, like my, my mom was always the one who like worried and wanted to make sure that, you know, I was, I was put in positions to succeed. My dad was the kind of guy where like, Hey dude, like, you're gonna fall on your face sometimes and you need to learn how to pick yourself up. And I remember like, when it came time to go to to college, my mom was like, oh, I don't know if he's ready and I dunno if he's ready. And my dad was like, little pulled me aside and be like, you're, you're ready. Like, you're gonna fall on your face, you're gonna mess up, you're gonna make mistakes. And you like, you're, you gotta pick yourself up. You gotta figure out how to do that. Like now and today and, and looking, looking back on it, like I, I get emotional sometimes 'cause it was, it was trust man. It was like the ultimate sense of like, belief in you, even though in, in my particular case, I didn't necessarily believe I could do it. But like, it's, it's interesting to look back at those, those figures in your life, parental figures or, or a coach, you know, and they , and they have that belief in you like, Hey Gunner, go do your thing, man. Like, go do your thing. And you're like, okay, <laugh>,
Gunner Leger:I grew up as the son of a coach. Um, and like I tell my guys, especially in college and obviously in pro ball gets even worse, but, you know, there's, there's house payments that depend on you at the end of the day. Like it's a , it is , you know, this is more, this is not high school baseball anymore, you know, and, and Coach S's livelihood or my livelihood depends on you making good decisions and handling yourself the right way and doing those things. So for Coach Robe to just kind of like, you know, let the shackles off and just say, Hey, you know, take the, you know, just take the ropes off and say go, you know, you got it. Take the training wheels and, and sit and just let, let you go. And he did that for a lot of us. It wasn't just me. Um, I think it speaks to who he is, you know, as a man. And, and I think we all know that if you have any , any , uh, any idea of who he is .
Collin Kushner:I kind of wanna circle back to that 2017 season because you were, you were crushing it on the mound, but then the, the injury started to kind of pile up a little bit. Um, you needed surgery to repair a partial UCL tear in your throwing arm, and then there was a cyst in your left femur , um, that also happened to be around the time where the Miami Marlins drafted you in the 26th round of the , uh, MLB draft . So like gunner, like you're, you're realizing like you need to have surgery and then you're getting drafted. Like take us back to that moment. Like what, like what's going on like in your mind?
Gunner Leger:So the , uh, I guess I'll start with the cys . The CYS actually was something that we found in high school. Um, it was actually the reason I didn't play my high school year of my senior season of football. Um, so just to make a long story short, found it, I was practicing, we were doing , uh, we were summer workouts, some running routes and doing baseball stuff and just kind of overload on work and was having like some sharp pain in my leg. Long story short, we go get a a X-ray and we find this looks like a tennis ball in the middle of my femur. Um, and so obviously they say tumor and every, you know, that leads you down a whole nother rabbit hole. Um, end up finding out that, you know, it's a benign bone cyst, femurs still healthy, basically just like, hey, it's, it's a little more maybe compromised than the normal femur, but it's the strongest bone in the body. Like, it's fine, you know, if you are, at that point I was committed to play baseball ul and it was like, if you, if baseball is what you want to do, it may, you know, may be smart to not play football. And so decided to not do that. Um, but really that was just like kind of, Hey, watch it, you know, if it's, there's no pain, if you're asymptomatic, you should be fine. And then usually those benign bone cysts run their, their life cycle is, you know, a handful of years and usually they actually rupture and calcify. Um, so you can think of it like a bone breaking in a way from the inside out. And so when they rupture the fluid drains and then they just, it just calcified like a broken bone would , it almost heals itself. Um, so that's kind of what we thought it would do. Um, so we just kind of watched it, watched it when we got to my junior year. Um, all the front offices wanted updated images , um, for the draft, so got updated images towards the end of the year , um, right before the draft and it had doubled in size. Um, it would basically had taken over my whole femur. And so , um, you know, obviously that was a little bit of a shock. And , uh, and then, you know, also I had been dealing with the arm thing basically all year. Um, I actually think I, looking back on it now, I'm pretty sure I heard it in our last spring scrimmage before the season started. And , um, you know, just kind of velocity was fine for the most part and, you know, at the beginning of the year and I felt like I could command my pitches and obviously was, you know, got off to a great start and was having a great year and just almost kind of like pushed it away, didn't even want to think about it in a way and just dealt with it. Um, some weeks were okay, some weeks were really bad, but just kind of managed it. Um, later in the season had a start where I got a little extended and threw a good amount of pitches and that was like probably a week or two before the conference tournament, and then went into the conference tournament and was warming up to face Georgia Southern. And I looked at Daniel Freeman at the time. I mean , I , I was like, I'm not good, like , something's not right . Um , and I , at that point I kind of knew and we were already, we were 15 minutes from first pitch and I walked in and looked at our trainer, Brian, and was just like, look , uh, get a heating pad, gimme some Advil, gimme something, I'm gonna gut this thing out, but something's not right. And , uh, sat , I think I was throwing like 80, 82 that game , um, or 78 to 82 . Like I was just flipping 'em up there. Like I said, tricking 'em . I , I got lucky and tricked them for seven or eight innings. Um, I think it was seven and, you know, gave us a chance to win. But after that start, you know, just continued to, just got worse, continued to get worse , um, kind of rumors started swirling and people were calling my high school coach, calling all kind of different people , um, crosscheckers in front offices trying to figure out if I had anything wrong. Um, and at that point I didn't have an MRI and so, you know, my answer was always no, you know, I'm having some form tightness, but I didn't really know. Uh , um, and then ended up, got into draft day and obviously with the leg and the arm , um, ended up sliding into kind of later in the top 10 rounds, which going in just thought it would , was gonna be more maybe, or at least I had my mindset more on like three to six. And so , um, just ended up, had a couple negotiations with a couple teams, Dodgers, some other teams. And then , um, after I got, after that second day, basically just told , um, told my agents called Coach Rob and was just like, I'm coming back, you know? Um, and, and then obviously decided to go get the MRI , and then once I got the MRI figured out I had to have surgery on that. And then I was basically like, you know, let's knock this leg out while we're at it. You know, I'm obviously gonna miss the year Dr. Marco in the , uh, in the office after our, maybe second or third visit is me and my mom in there. And he's like, I've never had a case like yours. Like, I've never had a situation where a male at your age and cyst grows or doubles in size. And so there wasn't really like a surgery, there wasn't anything really we could do necessarily or that had been done, if you will . Um, and so I , I'm literally, I'm like googling stuff over the course of like two or three months where these visits are spread out. And I told 'em , I'm like, look, I know you're not supposed to Google, you know what you got wrong with you, but I googled it and I'm just gonna throw this out there, but like, can we just put a rod in it? Like, can we just drive a rod in it? Like it was a fracture or something. And he's sitting there and he is looking at me and he is like, that's actually not a bad idea. And so literally that's how we decided what we were gonna do. And I went into surgery like two weeks later and I I, my whole left femur, I got a metal rod from hip to knee. And so it's been good ever since
Collin Kushner:Dr. Je <laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. I dunno about that. <laugh> , I dunno about that. Oh man, that's ins , that's insane, dude. I mean that's like a , like, you might like your mind, like how does your mind not race a million miles an hour when you're, you're going back and forth and then the doctor Google thing. I like, I I know that's like one of , that's like one of the worst things we could do, but it's so tempting, like when you want to know something obviously and you're waiting, you you want to have some, some semblance of peace or an answer. Yeah,
Gunner Leger:Well, I mean he's even, like I said, he is , he is , uh, he's one of the leaders in the space and I mean, he's looking at me like kind of scratching his head and so I think we were all just kind of like, we gonna have to figure something out and it's gonna almost kind of be like a one of one deal . And so he was all in for it and I was like, let's give it a shot. And so it just, it worked out. Um, but yeah, that whole, that year, man, that year was, that year was crazy. Um, just the ups and downs emotionally and just the tough thing was just dealing with, like I said, kind of pushing it off almost knowing something was wrong with your, you know, with my arm. And , um, you just push it off and push it off. 'cause you know, you , you work your whole life to get really to that point personally , um, and kind of achieve that goal of, of going into pro ball and getting drafted and doing all that stuff. And you know, like I said, I was lucky, lucky enough at that point to, to be put in and, and put myself in some situations to have success and be in front of the right people. And I kind of checked all the boxes, you know, and then was having a really good junior year, which obviously is important as well. Um, so it was a , it was a rollercoaster, no doubt about it.
Collin Kushner:Would you say that part of the driving force of, of pushing things off and , and cont and continuing just to play through the injuries was maybe the fear of , of not being able to return to form?
Gunner Leger:Um, a little bit. Uh, I think it, it honestly made it tougher for me 'cause I was pitching the best I had ever had in my life, really, you know? Um, and so it's like you feel hurt, but you're not pitching hurt. Um, and then like I said, you're, you know, I was, I was on the 10 yard line looking in to , you know, everything that I, you know, kind of envisioned , um, all the way back to being 12 years old. And so, and I think just dealing with that, you know, obviously hindsight's 2020, I wish I've just spoke up, you know, but , uh, you live and you learn. And honestly, I , I think with kind of how the next few years of my life played out and what happened to Coach Robe and, and just if, if I don't get hurt, I'm probably not there. And just those next few years look a little different and, you know, my relationship with him probably looks a little different. And to be honest with you, I don't, I don't know that, I don't know that maybe I'm sitting here today as the pitching coach, if, if that goes a little different. So I think everything happens for a reason. And I think , um, really that injury in that year was kind of the, the start of like a four or five year , just a little bit of a rollercoaster ride where you kind of, you find yourself and you, you learn to deal with things. And, you know, coach Robe really was the first big loss I've ever had in my life that someone that I was, I was really close with and , and personal, personal to . Um, I still have both sets of grandparents, obviously both my parents and , um, you know, had, my best friend's mother had passed when I was in high school, so that was a big loss. But outside of that, like, coach Rob was like another dad to me , um, especially after those, you know, those two years I spent with him after my junior year. So , um, really that from 2017 to probably to Covid, you know, when I got released. Um, it's just a lot of ups and downs, you know, so you kind of figure yourself out , uh, pretty quick.
Collin Kushner:Yeah, man, I, you know, I got chills when you kind of talked about like, the trajectory of your life. Like without the injuries, you're , you probably never returned to UL and you, you move on with your career and you kind of talked about having, having that extra time, you know, with , with coach robe and, and all that. And, and obviously like in the moment it's super, it's super hard to see that, obviously the hindsight is always, always 2020. But it is interesting Gunner, how like we all like hold the vision and we want it to, to kind of look a certain way. Like I go, I'm gonna go do this for a couple years and then I'm gonna go here. I mean, I had that as a TV anchor. I'll be in Lafayette for two years, then I'm gonna move up to a bigger city, then I'm , it's just you keep reaching higher and higher. And I , there's no , there's nothing wrong with that, but I think , um, I , I could say on my end too, like when it didn't work out after Lafayette with the , the TV career, you know, I, I had to reevaluate my entire life. And I gotta tell you, man, like without all that happening, you know, I'm not back home close to family, you know, I never meet my fiance. Uh , I'm not in my niece's, you know, my niece's lives, you know , so you just kind of think about, you kind of think about like that, that ripple and that change and , um, I don't know, man, there's no concrete answer. I just got chills when, when you said that, you know, just, it just kind of, it, it puts things into perspective.
Gunner Leger:Everybody obviously deals with diversity and struggle and, and different things, but , um, you know, you , you , looking back on it now, it's, at least for me personally, it's, I wouldn't have changed a thing, you know, and it was hard in the , in those times, but like I said, my, I wouldn't have changed the, the professional baseball career, whatever that would've maybe ended up being and the money or whatever, you know, whatever that was gonna be. Um, I think it's, it's led to me being here and it's led to kind of the , like I said, that five, that 2017 to 2021 time period. Um, and it's, you know, it changed my life to me . It's for the better, you know, and the adversity made me better. And, and so it's , uh, yeah, man, everybody's got their journey, you know, everybody's kind of gotta go through what they gotta go through , um, to be who they need to be and want to be , um, for the people in their lives. And, and you know, like I said, I didn't, I really didn't even realize it or know it , um, at that time. But , um, I mean, like I said, 2021, guess getting a little personal here, but even in the , towards the tail end of that , um, my mother got stage four cancer , um, like two weeks after I had gotten released. Um, so like I said, it was just a lot, you know, and , and early in that first couple years, you're like, why am I going through all this? You know, why me if you will, like, pour on me a little bit? Um, but you kind of , you learn how to manage that. And Coach Rob helped, helped me a lot with, with some of that personal stuff related to my career. And then, like I said, you kind of, you go through this journey to, to be the person you need to be for like, a much bigger situation than yourself. And like for me, that ended up being my mom. Um, and you never think it's gonna be, you know, you or your parents or your loved ones, but , um, yeah, man, it's a , life's a crazy thing. And so I think , uh, like I said, I'm glad it happened. I , to me personally. How's your mom doing, by the way? She's good. She's in remission. Um, she's in remission, so , um, yeah, man , she got, she got diagnosed with , uh, stage four non-Hodgkin's b-cell lymphoma. Um, this was, I believe in the midst of, of Covid . I had just gotten released , um, had signed with the Indians like a couple months prior, was in spring training, and then obviously Covid happened, world shuts down, and then baseball, obviously professional baseball had a big change there. Um, which honestly I think is for the better for professional baseball, you know, the, the draft shortens and there's not as many minor league teams and stuff like that. So I didn't have a spot at the time. I, I had gotten signed as a free agent and was competing for a spot , um, most likely on the higher roster. And they basically just kept everybody that was already on the team and was just like, you guys that were competing, we don't feel right that, you know, we give you spots and keep you , um, which I can understand. And so then obviously nobody knew that covid would, would do what it did for a year, two years, whatever it was. Um, and so, and then obviously, like I said, you know, two weeks after that happens and it's kind of , you're back to like, what in the world? Why me, you know, type deal. And then obviously your mom, your dad calls and your mom's got stage four cancer, and it's kind of like in a blink of an eye. It's like, none of this stuff matters, you know? Um, and so ended up, because I got released and because of all that , um, ended up moving back home. I was living in Nashville at the time and kind of alluding again to like, you know, you are where you need to be in the journey. If, if all that stuff doesn't happen. And, you know, my professional career doesn't happen the way it does and, and I don't get signed as a free agent, all this stuff. I ended up moving home and was, was able to actually travel with my mom. My mom got , um, treatment outside of the country. Um, and I actually, I lived with her for two months, and so she actually, she was pushing off , pushing off. She didn't want to go because of my dad's job, obviously. It was just tough for anybody to go with her. Like I said, it just, it worked out. I had, I had some time on my hands and I was like, let's go do this thing, you know? Um, and like I said, she's still in remission and that's a , again, wouldnt trade any of it for the world. There's no price tag you can put on that.
Collin Kushner:That's a beautiful thing, brother. I mean, there, that is like, I mean, <laugh>, my mind is just like, just thinking about like, like the timing and , and , and everything, man. I mean, that's like, I mean, being there for your mom and , and having the ability and the opportunity like to, to be like by her side, dude, I mean, there's, I mean, there's, there's nothing else. There's nothing else in the world, in the world that matters, you know? Um, that's, that's incredible. Dude. I'm, I'm so happy. Like, she's, she's in remission, dude, and, and you, and you had the opportunity to, to go abroad with her and to 'cause dude , that, that has to be like, that had to have been scary, you know? And , and from her perspective, like basing that, and then you're going abroad and you already have like, so many, so much unknown, you know, that , that's amazing that, that you're able to go with her gunner. Once your mom got into remission and you were able to kind of resume the next step in, in your life, like, did baseball, like pop up? Like, how was your relationship with, with baseball? Because at that time, I know you had said that you, you were let go by the Cleveland organization
Gunner Leger:Right before we decided to, to travel or that I was gonna go with her to get treatment, I was still kicking around the idea of, of staying in shape , um, and continue to play and try and get another opportunity. And the Indians , uh, the Indians, they told me, they were like, yeah, stay in shape, keep playing, you know, we'll, we'll sign you back when all this gets to normal. And like I said, obviously the Covid ran its course for, for I think, a way longer time than everybody expected. And so I just got to the point, man , where I was, I was about to turn 25, I believe. I had real , really no professional baseball experience. Um, obviously had injuries, had other things, and you know, just felt like it was time. I always promised myself I wouldn't just play to play. Um, and I felt like I was just playing just to say that I'm doing it. And , uh, never really felt like I returned to, I guess like my, my pre-surgery self in a way. Um, just struggled, you know, my arm. I really never felt the same, I guess is the , the easiest way to put it. But , um, yeah, I mean after once she, once she had treatment, we traveled , um, came back, I believe we were there for like two months and then came back , and then it was kind of like, you know, what's the next step in life? You know, and, and let's get a job. Let's figure out what you want to do type situation. And looked into all kind of stuff. And the one thing I didn't wanna do was , was jump into coaching from the, from the jump and just get right into that. 'cause I felt like that was not easy, but it would've been a much easier thing to just hop into . And really, sports was, sports has been my whole life. Um , my dad's been a coach, and so everything I ever did was sports. And so I wanted to take a crack at the business world and , uh, ended up stumbling into , uh, insurance sales and some different stuff like that. Looked into real estate, looked into some different things. And so I did, did , uh, insurance sales and, and , uh, commercial, commercial sales, which was, it was still insurance at that time, but just did sales for two years. Um, had a little travel team on the side that I started in that second year that I was , uh, I was running raging mounds here in Lafayette or raging Cages. Um, so doing some less , like staying in baseball, doing lessons, doing different things on the side, made some extra money and , uh, started this little travel team. And I loved it, man. It was like, it was a little 11-year-old team, and, and they were, you know, they were, they were, it's obviously 11 year olds, you know, sometimes like herding cats, a little bit <laugh> . But , uh, they were awesome, man. And, and we had such a blast, and me and my buddy coached 'em and, you know , uh, had a really good job at the time , um, with the white and insurance, who's now hub in Lafayette, and , uh, worked for some great people and just still wasn't happy for whatever reason. Um, or just it felt like I wasn't , um, wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing. And so, you know, through these really, these little 11 year olds and these kids, I'm like, man, I like, this is what I'm passionate about . This is what I love to do. I like to be outside. I like to coach 'em, I like to help 'em progress. And , and just everything that that went into coaching and I'm like, what am I, I'm just wasting my life away in this office. You know? It's like chasing money and chasing different things that really never, you know, weren't the most important things in my life. Um, and so I just made the jump. I, you know, the US baseball season came to an end and I basically called Coach Des and went into his office, was like, look, I don't, I'll coach for free. I don't even care. Like, I just, just let me be a part of the team. I'll do anything and, you know, I want to get into coaching. And it honestly started like, Hey, if there , you know, I was gonna look really anywhere in the country. If there was any opportunity somebody would give a chance if then , um, you know, some people moved around within the UL staff and really just got lucky. Back to timing, man. Like, it, it just, it happened. And , um, got hired on as the ANA in the analytics role , um, because Carter Montra had , had stepped away to go work for, for his dad. And then , um, a couple months later, coach Wells ended up stepping away , um, to pursue another career , um, in a different field. And then, you know, the whole deck shuffles again, got promoted to pitching. Coach Carter ends up coming back. And so it was , uh, it was crazy, man. Yeah. Yeah. I always tell people, like, I , I literally, I got promoted to pitching coach and I , I didn't even receive my first paycheck as, as the , as the analytics guy <laugh> . So I got lucky, man. Um, I got lucky. And Coach D has been great. And , um, like I said , right where I'm supposed to be.
Collin Kushner:What does it mean to you to come back to your alma mater to serve and help the next wave of raging Cajun pitchers?
Gunner Leger:Everything, man, this place is extremely personal to me. Um, just obviously 'cause I played here, but obviously with , uh, you know, my relationship with Coach Robe and , and the whole robes show family. Um, and then Coach Des recruited me here. Coach Des is the one that, that actually offered me before he left , um, which not very many people know. I probably shouldn't say this. Cajun Nation may be mad at me for saying this, but I actually was trying to go with Coach Des to Sam Houston. Like , I was like kicking around that idea , uh, 'cause I wanted to play both. I wanted to pitch and hit, and he recruited me and I'm like, I'm coming, I'm coming with you. And he's like, no, you're not. So, which thank God he told me no, but , um, but no man, it's awesome. It's , uh, obviously this place has taken , um, steps forward , um, with the stadium, the new turf. Um, you know, the, the football stadium is going up a new football, 90 million football stadium, I'm sorry, 70 million football stadium. And then, you know, we have renderings for, for a $10 million clubhouse and all kinds of stuff. So just to, to see it progress and, and be a part of it and help him move forward and , and , um, you know, I'm not Tony Rob show by any stretch of the imagination, but just continue his legacy and, and the things that he taught me and pass it on. Um, and again, the things that he taught me, you know, led to my career being what it was, and my career took me all over the place, and I got to learn from some of the best minds of baseball. Um, and I'm very fortunate for that. So just being able to pass that on, you know, and, and use my story and my experiences and the ups and the downs and the good decisions and the bad decisions to help these guys, you know, reach their goals.
Collin Kushner:That's unreal, dude. I mean, I , again, like I , I know you say like, you , you've kicked around the word lucky a lot, dude. I , I don't think, I don't think it's all luck, man. Like, I, I , I , I really, I really don't. I think, and, and again, just from, from from my own perspective, I think you, I think you put yourself in a lot of , in a lot of great positions. I mean, if you think about this, like your baseball career is coming to an end and you're deciding to pivot , I think the gut instinct is to jump, like you had talked about, like , like jump right into coaching or kind of jump right back into another role within the sport that you've dedicated your entire life to something comfortable. Yeah. But this, you took space, man, like you, you kind of allowed that space and like, look what that, look what that did. And like, I, I'm like a pretty like spiritual dude like these days, but I just, I don't know. I think about those like small decisions like that you're able to recalibrate, maybe kind of go through the grieving process and then boom, here we are, you know, after a couple years you, you put your name in the hat and then pitching coach, like, I , I don't, again, when I connect the dots in my head, I just don't see that as luck. I just, I just see that as, as you putting yourself in, in , in a really great position, whether you at the time or not.
Gunner Leger:Yeah . Yeah. No , I think it's , uh, looking back on it now and being in this position, I mean, I know, I know guys in the coaching profession in baseball world that, I mean, they, it took 'em four or five years to get to a role like this at a, at a, you know, a top 30 to 40 program consistently in the country , um, in a $20 million stadium. So, like I said, I know I'm very fortunate. Um, and it's, it is , man, it's a little crazy. It's, it's, it almost seems past the point of luck, you know, with, with just how it's all going down. Um, I guess lucky is, is the , the term I'm using, but it's , uh, it's pretty wild, man. So it's like I said, I , I definitely, the back to the kind of the space thing that you had mentioned, I think it's, it's , uh, kind of the, the three or four years that led up to that really allowed me to even be able to take that space kind of handling and dealing with the things that I dealt with prior to that. I don't know if that I would've taken the space, you know, because it was, it was my whole life. It was kind of like my identity in a way, and I didn't even know it, baseball, I'm saying. And so I probably would've just jumped into it had I not, you know, had to deal with some of the other things that I dealt with. And so, and again, coach Roe was a big part of me kind of managing that and dealing with that. And a lot of, you know, closed door meetings, just me and him in his office, me trying to figure out life, you know, basically. And , um, and so it's, it's crazy how it all, like I said, leads you, leads you, leads you right to the spot you need to be, you know? Um, and I think the space thing was a big thing, especially for me, you know, it's like, I, I appreciate it much more now probably than I know that I, than I would've if I would've just jumped into it because I think I would've enjoyed it and, you know, who knows what would've happened, but , um, the ability to kind of know the other side and be like, you know, how lucky you are to be doing this. You could be back in that office, you know, making cold calls and doing other things. So it's, it's , uh, it makes every day that much better.
Collin Kushner:If you could chat with, with Coach Robe today, what would you, what would you say to him?
Gunner Leger:Thank you. Thank you for everything. You know, I'm , I miss it . I miss him , man. I , I know a lot of people do. Um, I think that anybody that played for him , he would always do, we would do these Wisdom Wednesdays, and anybody that played for him , at least around when I was there , um, would know exactly what I'm talking about. He would, he would always have these, sometimes these crazy little packets and like these different things and, and he would use 'em and reference 'em . And it was, you know, life teaching points and just how to manage adversity and handle things, and kind of like what's on the other side of when you do graduate or when baseball is over, like, this is probably what's gonna happen. Or this may be what it looks like and this is, you know , these are the mistakes that a lot of people make and this is how to maybe not make those mistakes and things like that. And he would always tell us, you know, and I , I , this just resonates with me because it's, it was ended up being my experience. You know, he would always tell us things like, there's five people in this room, like their parents are gonna , you know, you're gonna get cancer or your parents are gonna get cancer, or like, stuff like that. And he would just reference things like that. And then, you know , he would always say it and he's like, I know none of you are listening to me 'cause you all think that it's never gonna be you. Right. But like, you know, take this, if you take anything, take this. And you would just say different things. And you know, you don't even realize that you're like, not that you're tuning them out 'cause you're locked in, but it's kind of like you are subconsciously like, that's not gonna happen to me. You know what I'm saying? Um, which I think is human nature a little bit. And so then sure enough, it's like one after another basically from the moment I graduated and he passed that summer and like, it was almost like he was up there putting it in front of me in a weird way. And it was everything that he had ever talked about. And it was like, I don't know if one, if, if I don't stay those extra two years and, and learn from him and him just help me through things and, and then the time that he invested in us as people, I don't know that really, I, I don't even know to be completely, honestly, I don't know if I'm here. I mean like got to a pretty dark space and a lot of what he taught us is a big part of why I , I think I was able to manage that or at least seek help, you know, or at least like, you know, go in the right direction. Um , because I had those, those little stepping stones, you know, which I think , um, is not normal for a coach to do that, you know? And so for me to be in this role and, and be in a similar opportunity, again, I know I'm much younger, but just using what I've been through , um, to help these guys, whether it be mental health, whether it be, you know , your mom's sick, your dad's sick, whatever it is , um, is, is I'm just, just, I'm lucky man. And I think I'm where I'm supposed to be. And again, I wouldn't trade any of that bad stuff. 'cause I think it's, I mean I , again, like just in my six months of coaching, I have been able to kind of help some people through those things and it , it would always makes me think of him. You know, it's just like, you know, maybe not that, that I'm the, the, the only person that could take this job or should be in this role, but I sometimes I'm like, I feel like you put me here, you know? Um, in a weird way. And so it's, it's, it's cool man. It's unique.
Collin Kushner:The impact you're gonna have, man, is is it is gonna extend , uh, like, well beyond the baseball diamond. I mean, it, it's gonna be within those white lines and it's gonna be on that mound gunner. But I mean, with all your knowledge and your life experiences and, and everything you, you've, you've accrued like from your dad, from your mom, from , I mean from coach robe and , and from your own personal experiences as well. Like, I mean, I mean, dude tho those players are, I hate to use the word, but they're, they're gonna be very lucky to have you man to , to have you in their corner.
Gunner Leger:I appreciate it,
Collin Kushner:Gunnar . Appreciate the time, bro.