By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent 

Andy Simunic left his native Bloomington when he was nine years old, but at heart he’s still a Hoosier.  “I live in Tennessee now,” Simunic said, “but I consider Bloomington home, and it'll always be my home.  I'm very proud of being from Indiana, and I make that very clear to people.  I'm always a Hoosier. 

“On IU basketball game days,” he continued, “I wear candy-stripe pants.  My wife won't let me wear them out of the house.  I've got the Big Ten Network, and I don’t miss a game.  I listen to Don Fischer.  I have him on the radio while I watch the game.”   

When he started in left field for the Gwinnett Braves against the Indianapolis Indians in a June 15 International League contest at Victory Field, it marked the first time Simunic had played a game on his native soil since 2004.  That was the year that he left Indiana with his mother, Charyl, to live in Collierville, Tenn., a suburb of Memphis.  

“I moved on my ninth birthday,” said (pronounced SIM-in-nick).  “It was August 7, 1994.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  My parents had divorced, and my mom remarried, so we moved to Tennessee.  My dad and his wife were here, and my mom's parents were still in Bloomington, so I spent all my holidays up here.  When baseball season was over, I'd come here and spend five or six weeks in Bloomington.  I'd say ninety percent of my family on my mom's side lives in Bloomington – cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents.” 

Bloomington is also home to Ron Simunic, Andy’s father, as well as Andy’s half-brother, Zach.  “He's a high school junior going into his senior year,” said Andy.  “He plays first base for Bloomington South, so he's trying to follow in my footsteps.” 

Andy took his first steps on a diamond when he was a toddler.  “I knew from day one I wanted to play baseball,” he said.  “My dad coached the junior varsity team at Bloomington South, so I was always on the field.  They say at two-and-and-a-half or three years old, I was swinging and running the bases.  

“I believe I was four when I played my first game.  It was a coach-pitch game in Smithville Little League, just south of Bloomington.  My dad was coaching, and they let me have a uniform and I'd go out there and play.” 

Catching was Simunic’s first love.  “My mom made sure I had catcher's gear,” he said, “and I was blocking balls and all kinds of crazy stuff at four or five years old.”  

Eventually, Andy shifted to shortstop.  When he joined a youth league team in Tennessee, the shortstop post belonged to Zach Cozart.  Andy soon became best friends with Zach, who went on to play for Ole Miss and later for the Cincinnati Reds.  “So from 10 years old on,” Simunic explained, “he was the shortstop and I moved to second base.”  

At Collierville High School, Simunic spent more time on the hardwood than on the ball field.  “I played three years of varsity basketball,” he said.  “I wanted whatever look the IU basketball team had.  I had the short haircut.  I had the shorter shorts than everybody else, kind of like when Bob (Knight) was in charge.  If I'd been in Indiana, I probably wouldn't have been able to play high school basketball.  But it was something I really loved, I worked hard at it, and I enjoyed doing it.” 

During his first two high school years, Simunic failed to make the baseball squad.  “Sophomore year, the coach got fired halfway through the season,” he said.  “The interim coach was my basketball coach, and I said, 'Hey, can I work out with the team?  Can I do anything?'”  The coach offered to let Andy practice with the varsity in return for serving as team scorekeeper.  

Simunic agreed and, after workouts, would stay at the field.  He coaxed Zach Cozart into sticking around, too.  “I'd have to bribe him to throw me balls or whatever,” said Andy.  “But he was great.  Zach always encouraged me, and told me to keep working if I wanted to play.” 

In his junior year, Simunic was promoted to bullpen catcher.  “I got a jersey,” he said, “and that meant the world to me.” 

Andy finally made the baseball squad in his last year at Collierville.  His break came between his junior and senior year, when the team’s best players joined a travel club.  “I got to play that summer with the high school team,” he said, “and they saw I could play a little bit.” 

Simunic wound up back behind the plate.  “Our catcher got hurt,” he explained,” so I ended up catching.  I caught almost all my senior year.” 

That autumn, Andy enrolled at Chattanooga State Community College and went out for baseball.  “I felt really overwhelmed,” he said.  “They had rankings at the end of the fall, and out of 28 players, I was ranked 26^th.” 

When Chattanooga State’s catcher suffered a broken nose during pre-game practice, Simunic once again donned a mask, chest protector and shin guards.  “I had to catch a doubleheader that day,” he said, “and for whatever reason, I hit unbelievable.  I wound up being the conference player of the week, and I maintained the catcher's job until he came back.” 

In his sophomore year, Simunic started at third base.  His hitting and base running led to offers from four-year schools like Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky and Arizona State.  He eventually decided on Tennessee.  “It was pretty neat to go from nobody knowing who I was, to have somebody actually want me,” he said.  

Expected to be a utility player for the Vols, Simunic’s gritty work ethic during the fall season paid dividends.  “Coach [Rod Delmonico] called me into the office and told me he appreciated how hard I worked,” Andy recalled.  “He told me, ‘You’re going to be my starting left fielder on opening day.'  It was pretty neat, especially after how far I’d come in two or three years.” 

Todd Raleigh replaced Delmonico after the 2007 season.  Several players opted to leave Tennessee, including the Vols’ starting second baseman.  Raleigh asked Simunic to take over the position.  “So that entire off-season, I worked on turning double plays, worked on my footwork, knowing where to be,” said Andy. 

As a senior in 2008, Simunic batted .333 and topped the Southeastern Conference with 29 stolen bases.  “And I was drafted (by Houston in the 17^th round) as a second baseman,” he said, “so it was kind of neat the way that worked out.”    

Simunic began his climb through the minors that summer with Tri-City of the short-season New York-Penn League.  By 2013 he was playing for the Astros’ top farm club, Oklahoma City of the Pacific Coast League.  He entered the season with a career .277 average and a reputation as a versatile player who took turns at every position except catcher.  “They could put me at third or second, or right or left, wherever they needed me,” he said.  “I take a lot of pride in that role.”

The 6-foot, 180-pound Simunic even pitched an inning in 2011 for Lancaster of the high-A California League.  He took the mound again on July 14, 2013 for Oklahoma City, this time with calamitous results.

“I think we played 15 innings the night before, so our bullpen was short,” Andy said.  “We were getting blown out that day, and they came to me and said, ‘Do you think you can throw an inning?’  Of course, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Absolutely!’”

Simunic pitched a scoreless eighth inning and went back out in the ninth.  “I started feeling some discomfort and tried to pitch through it,” he said.  “I finally had to bring the trainer out, because I couldn’t throw the ball 60 feet.  It was a stabbing pain.”

The diagnosis was a torn ulnar collateral ligament that required season-ending Tommy John surgery.  After getting the news from the Astros head trainer, Simunic called his wife and then his agent. “I told them, ‘I think this is it.  I think I’m done.  I don’t see myself going through with the whole rehab process.’”

Andy remembers getting choked up when he broke the news to his mother.  “And then I called my dad,” he said.  “When I told him, I lost it, because baseball’s kind of our thing.  That was tough.”

After just 44 games, Simunic’s season was over.  He didn’t play again until this spring.  “I’m glad I went through the surgery,” he said.  “Now, I don’t take one day for granted out here.”

A pink scar below Simunic’s right elbow is a reminder of the operation, which is almost always associated with pitchers.  “People see it and say, ‘Did you have Tommy John?’” said Andy.  “And I’ll say ‘Yeah,’  And they’ll say, ‘Did you used to pitch?’   And I’ll say ‘No.’  And I’ll tell them the story, and they don’t believe it, because it was such a freak injury.

“Now I can laugh about it, but at the time I was very upset and very sad about the way things unfolded.  At the same time, I know everything happens for a reason.  Like I said, I’m very thankful to be back on the field.”  

Siminuc was batting .263 (25-for-95) in 30 games for Oklahoma City this year when the Astros released him on June 1.  He wasn’t out of work long.  Five days later he signed a minor league contract with Atlanta Braves and reported to Gwinnett. 

After six-plus seasons in the Houston chain, joining a new organization was a strange experience.  “The most overwhelming thing is just walking in and not knowing anybody,” said Andy. 

Throuhgout Simunic’s career, his trademarks have been his sense of humor and his clubhouse antics.  “I have a good time at what I’m doing,” he said.  “With the (Astros) organization, I was kind of the clown.  I always tried to keep the locker room light, and always tried to get people laughing.”

Andy was also renowned for his dance moves, even if they’ll never earn him an invitation to Dancing With the Stars.  “In the Houston organization, if we won a game, they’d turn on the music and more or less expect it.  So I would bust a move or two, and do the worst performance you’ve ever seen.”  

Ten days after joining Gwinnett, Simunic had yet to perform for his new teammates.  “I don’t think they’re quite ready to see that side of me,” he explained.

According to Simunic, his wife Shawn wants no part of his dance moves.  “She’ll turn her head or get as far away from me as possible,” he said.  She doesn’t want her name associated with it.” 

Shawn operates Legacy Dance, a Nashville studio with around 200 students and six competitive travel teams.  “I’m just the janitor,” admitted Andy.  “I sit up front and entertain the moms and dads.  It’s been pretty neat, because I knew nothing about dance.  It’s been fun to watch the girls develop into good dancers, and to see how my wife impacts them.  They look up to her so much.”  

Andy said Shawn – who is expecting their first child this summer – has supported him throughout the ups and downs of his career.  “My wife’s been a blessing to me,” he said.  “She’s behind me one hundred percent, and that means a lot.” 

Simunic isn’t sure if the arm injury cost him a promotion to the major leagues.  “To be honest, I don’t know,” he said.  “It’s one of those things where I believe I had a great opportunity last year.  I was playing well, and there was a lot of movement in the Astros organization last at the big league level.  But it’s hard to say.

“For a while, I had regrets of what could have been and what might have been.  But there’s a bigger plan in place, and what happened, happened for a reason.  And now my job is to get myself in the best position to try and make it happen here.”

If he wasn’t in baseball, Simunic said he’d like to be in law enforcement.  “Other than the major leagues, my dream job was to be an Indiana state trooper,” he said.  “A guy who helped raise me, J.D. Maxwell, was a state trooper in Bloomington.  I absolutely idolized him.  I’d polish his boots and polish his gun belt.  He impacted my life more than anyone, outside of my family.” 

For the time being, Simunic will continue to play baseball and pursue his big-league dreams.  “In what other profession do you go to breakfast with your co-workers, go to lunch with your co-workers, shower with your co-workers, spend the night with your co-workers?” he said. 

“It’s a very unique lifestyle.  It’s great to meet people from all over the world.  There’s guys from California, New York, Puerto Rico, the Dominican, Asia, everywhere.  People you wouldn’t normally get to know, and that’s pretty neat.”