Baseball : Pitcher of the Year

For two years, Coach Tom Meusborn of Chatsworth High has lived a charmed life. Each time he sent out left-hander Mike Kunes to pitch, the odds were very good his team would win.

Whether the opponent was strong or weak, whether Kunes’ arm felt lively or not, Chatworth usually prospered.

Kunes’ two-year record of 25-3 was even better than the 23-4 record compiled by El Camino Real’s Randy Wolf, considered the best left-hander from the City Section in the 1990s.

This season, Kunes led Chatsworth to its first City Championship since 1990. He went 13-1 with a 2.69 earned run average, pitching a six inning complete game in the City final against Poly at Dodger Stadium.

“He’s a bulldog on the hill,” said Meusborn of Kunes, who is The Times’ Valley pitcher of the year.

Throwing strikes, mixing up his pitches, changing speeds, never losing his composure-those are the characteristics that make Kunes such an effective pitcher.

“Once you get ahead [of the hitter], it opens so many more options,” Kunes said.

Kunes struck out 91 in 83 1/3 innings, but he was most successful in producing ground-ball outs and fly balls.

He pitched in three of Chatsworth’s four City playoff victories. In a 17-7 victory over Poly in the final, he struggled with his control, walking a career-high eight, but he struck out 10 and was at his best in bases-loaded situations.

“He’s got tremendous poise,” Meusborn said.

Kunes batted .396 with five home runs and 23 runs batted in for Chatsworth (27-3), ranked eighth nationally by USA Today.

“He’s meant an awful lot for our program,” Meusborn said. “You can’t replace him with one person.”

“Every time Mike took the mound, we knew he’d give us his best effort.”

Kunes embraced the philosophy that his toughest tests came when men reached base.

“It’s not how you pitch before guys get on base,” Meusborn said. “It’s how you pitch after they get on base.”

Again and again, Kunes frustrated teams with his ability to escape jams.

He has signed with UCLA.

“I recruited him for all the intangibles,” Coach Gary Adams of UCLA said.

Meusborn is not looking forward to life without Kunes.

“It will be difficult,” he said.