Funderburk back with Twins, 'overwhelmed' by support from fans

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Twins pitcher Kody Funderburk returned from the paternity list Friday and rejoined his teammates at Tropicana Field, four days after the birth of his daughter, Murphy Jo.

What will Funderburk tell his daughter one day about the birth experience?

“That’s easy … How much of a badass her mom is being able to go through what she is going through,’’ Funderburk said.

Funderburk’s wife, Alicia, is battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was diagnosed in testing during her early pregnancy. She had been undergoing chemotherapy and those treatments will soon resume.

“She ended up having a C-section and just seeing that blew my mind,’’ Funderburk said. “She was making jokes in the middle of it. She’s as tough as it comes. I’m always going to tell Murphy Jo how cool her mom is.’’

Funderburk, who missed the Twins’ three-game series against the Mets in New York, said “it felt weird’’ to watch the games on television and not be part of the team. At the same time, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else than by his wife’s side.

“It was tough leaving [my wife and daughter] and I’ll always cherish the moment of being there with them, but I have a job to do here and I want to be there for my teammates, too,’’ Funderburk said. “My wife is continually sending me photos and updates. I’ll see them again Sunday and I can’t wait for that.’’

Funderburk said he and his wife have been “overwhelmed’’ by the outpouring of positive messages from Twins fans since they revealed the family’s ongoing health battle.

“The kind messages and words of encouragement show us there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,’’ Funderburk said. “That is getting us through this and it has made it more bearable to deal with what’s going on.’’

Twins manager Derek Shelton said everyone in the organization was glad to see Funderburk’s return.

“Kody and Alicia are so excited that their baby is here and our thoughts have been with them the entire time,’’ Shelton said. “I think their strength is rooted in their family and their relationships. During Spring Training, I was telling him, ‘I don’t want to be asking you constantly about it and being a nuisance.’ But he said, ‘I appreciate people who are invested in us and how they care about us.’

“The first thing I thought of [after the birth] was them as a married couple, being a father and being a mother. Baseball is secondary to that. We are a family here and we want to support them and take care of them however we can.’’