Mike Zunica arguably is the most maligned baseball coach in the Southland, a lightning rod of criticism for opposing coaches, parents and administrators.

Critics don’t like the fact that Zunica can legally recruit kids from a 30-mile radius, which allows him to stretch his tentacles into their schools’ back yards and attract top talent. They don’t like the fact that he’s successful, boasting a career mark of 377-126 in 13 years, including three state-qualifying teams. They don’t like the fact that he can come across as cocky and that, at age 46, he can still comfortably fit into his college baseball jersey and pants.

Zunica may represent a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but one thing he is not is stupid. I’ll vouch for that.