Jeffrey William Kunkel (born March 25, 1961[1]) is an American former shortstop in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.

The Rangers gave him the opportunity to win the starting shortstop position, but he was always thwarted by his hitting stats and obstacles such as Curtis Wilkerson, Scott Fletcher, Fred Manrique, Gary Green, and Jeff Huson.

Plagued with numerous potential career-ending injuries, Kunkel worked hard to rehabilitate himself to finish an 11-year professional baseball career with 5½ years in the major leagues.

He spent most of his time with the Oklahoma City 89ers of the Triple-A American Association and was recalled to the majors only due to other players being hurt or the rosters expanding in September.

In 1994, Kunkel joined the Detroit Tigers' AAA team, the Toledo Mud Hens, where he finished his professional baseball career hitting .249 with 11 hrs.