Michigan Baseball and Me, Why I Became a Fan. Share Your Story...
I was fortunate enough to be able to go to all three games this past weekend against UCLA, thanks poster/friend Hermosa Dad Bod for getting us tickets. Michigan’s amazing run is quite special, and has a little extra meaning for me.
I couldn’t help but think of my uncle John that played baseball for Michigan in the late 1970’s. He played for a year or two but then his grades in Computer Science were slipping so he made the decision to quit baseball to focus on his schoolwork. He graduated from Michigan then passed away shortly thereafter of cancer at the age of 24, I was 7.
He’s always been MY hero, not some professional athlete that I’ll never meet/know. He’s the reason that I so badly wanted to go to Michigan to follow in his footsteps, and the reason that I have been a mentor in a local cancer charity for over a decade now. So being able to experience this team’s success this past weekend was a bit sentimental for me. Having the team come over to sing the victors with their families and a few of us fans was a priceless moment and tugged at my heart strings just a bit.
Here is a picture of my late grandfather and my uncle. He was my grandfather’s only son and he was so proud of him. Unfortunately when my uncle died a big piece of my grandfather died as well, he was just never the same after that. I have this picture framed in my living room for all to see, these were the best days of their lives….
And here we are together just before he got sick. He always liked to make me laugh.
Everyone becomes a fan of a University/team for various reasons. Everyone has a story, and in this crazy world sometimes those stories aren’t told often enough. Please feel free to share your story as well, I would love to hear it.
Now let’s go on to Omaha and win this thing, Go Blue!
Wow, I can't touch that with any story. I hope they win it all just for you.
I'm just a fan though my niece did attend UM about 10 years ago. She's a nurse now.
Sorry I don't have a story like that. Hard to top that picture of your grandpa and your uncle. It's a little dusty in here now.
I mean -- you just preemptively destroyed any possible story anyone else could tell. Wow.
Seriously. How the hell is the rest of the thread supposed to compete with that?
Dick move, OP.
Thanks for sharing that story.
I became a fan because of my dad. I remember growing up he always had Michigan games on. He took me to my first game vs Purude back in 2001. I was only 10 at the time, but i'll never forget walking into the Big House for the first time. It wasn't long after that he took a job out of state (2005) and we no longer got to watch or go to game together. By the time he moved back in 2012 he had gotten quite a few injuries at his job that severely limited his mobility. I was still in the service at the time so we still weren't able to watch or go to games together until 2016. Now we only go to one away game a year because Ann Arbor and the seating there is a little too much for him to handle. To me there is nothing better in the world than watching college football in the fall with him. I make the drive every Saturday to his house to watch the game with him. I will continue to do this as long as we're both alive.
I went to UM's baseball camp from 1985-1990. Great memories. In 1986, I got sick in the dorms and I went and spent the morning resting in Bud Middaugh's office on his couch. He then took me out for lunch before going back to the camp for the afternoon session.
I, too, attended Michigan baseball camp for about three summers, during the same time frame (84-88). It was a great experience, all around, and definitely set up my coaching as an adult. I still remember the footwork that we were taught, at all the bases. And taking hundreds of grounders during open sessions. Nothing builds confidence like a nice infield, free of bad hops.
I didn't have the money to stay in the dorms, so I commuted. It was actually a nice deal, because there were few commuters (compared to those staying in SQuad), so I occasionally got to eat lunch in the locker room with Coach Middaugh and the coaches/players. I also got to tour the athletic weight room at the time, and recall meeting Mike Gillette and Vinnie DeFelice, both of whom were very cool to a young baseball camper.
The players and coaches were great. I don't remember many of the players, with the exception of Dan (?) Dishman (CORRECTION: Disher), who was apparently a chariot on the bases. One of the coaches I remember was Tom "TK" Kavanaugh, who was very cool; I ran into him several years ago, as he was working at a local department store.
At some point during the week, there would be a special guest visitor. Hal Newhouser, Bill Freehan, and Alan Trammell come to mind; I recall Tram making fun of Frank Tanana's "funky" curveballs. Possibly Dan Petry, too.
Incidentally, that was also around the time that Hutch arrived at U-M, and the softball camps were happening at the softball field (which wasn't yet renovated, and just a podunk field). I vaguely remember young Hutch giving me some advice on baserunning/sliding, and thinking she was pretty cool.
I went on to attend various games in HS. Recall Greg McMurtry playing his second sport at U-M, but he was a much better wide receiver than baseball player. Also, Mike Matheny being a solid catcher, who would later go on to be a solid MLB manager.
It's unfortunate that the baseball team doesn't enjoy much fan support. It's a tough ask, playing mostly in March and April. Having all the students leave town in early May doesn't help. But I'm glad to see them getting the attention, now.
Awesome. I also remember TK the best. He taught outfield and he ingrained the 3 things you should always know at all times while playing the outfield.
1. How many outs?
2. Where are the base runners?
3. What am I going to do if the ball is hit to me?
Yup, he worked at Jacobsons in the men's suit department. My friend and I saw him there about 20 years after the camps and repeated these 3 things. He was happy and a little embarrassed. It was great.
I still have a pic with Trammel and Hal Newhouser. His elbow was so screwed up from pitching.
UM Baseball Camp alum as well as a pre-teen. 83-84. My goal was to play SS for UM in college.
UM sadly didn't recruit me for baseball in HS so I played one year D3, built good stats, then transferred in to attempt to walk-on.
The tryouts went great. Took IF in the fieldhouse, BP in cages, and pitched in the bull pen. The tryouts whittled down to me and one other kid at the end.
As we were standing by the 3rd base dugout packing up gear, Bill Freehan came up, put a hand on my shoulder and said, "[Jack Hammer] I'm afraid you're just not quite Michigan Material." So they kept the other guy on the team and sent me packing. I have no idea if he stuck on the team or not.
Although my dream of playing SS for UM didn't materialize still had a good time pursuing it, have a sweet story to tell about Bill Freehan, and received the consolation prize of earning a couple UM degrees.
And, of course, I now watch UM baseball with a lot of enthusiasm and a little bitterness of what could have been if I was only a little more talented.
We sent our son to Michigan’s baseball camp four years ago after his freshman year of high school. He traveled alone and managed to navigate a layover at ATL on his own as a 15 yo! He had a great week and pitched the final inning of the inter-squad scrimmage. BB, K, K, and pop fly to save the win. I got the play-by-play via text from his grandpa.
Michigan had won the B1G tournament that year and went to a regional. We’ve been hooked ever since. He just finished his freshman year in Ann Arbor, and I wish he had tried to walk-on, but spending the past couple weekends watching the games with him back home is just fine by me!
Disclaimer: this story can't even come close to touching OP's. Just wow.
My parents drilled into me from a super young age that I was expected to attend U-M. They were not Michigan fans, just strict Asian parents with super high expectations. As a 10 year old on a random Saturday in 2005, I was channel surfing and came to ABC which was showing the 4th quarter of the Michigan-Penn State game and I decided to watch--this was the first Michigan football game I had ever watched. When Mario Manningham caught that TD pass with the clock at triple zeros, I jumped up in excitement and I was hooked. I was fortunate enough to later attend U-M. Counting down the days until the opener! Go Blue!!
"Touchdown Manningham, Michigan Wins!!"
One of the best endings ever and because my FIL loves Penn State. Every now and then I'll watch that clip on youtube.
Loved reading the story of the origin of your fandom. The origin of my own is trite and nothing special in comparison.
Fuck cancer.
Thanks for sharing!
Damn, man. Seriously misty-eyed here. Thanks for sharing that. Go Blue.
Great story. Cancer sucks. 24... that is really sad.
My story is very basic: I'm a fan because it is MICHIGAN. It is US. I am Michigan. YOU guys are all Michigan.
I am not Kaiser Soze.
I started paying attention to Michigan baseball after meeting former kicker Mike Gillette, he was playing minor league baseball for the Lakeland tigers, gave me a signed bat and chatted with us. I was a small kid but I started paying attention to UM baseball after that day. I also happened to be watching BP and an old guy started chatting with me and my brother, introduced himself....Duke Snider....so that was a pretty awesome on vacation random minor league game for me. Luckily I knew who he was as he was a senior citizen then. But yeah, Mike Gillette gave us a go blue and I started looking into UM baseball. I'm happy it's on now, back then they were never onand I followed through online and the wolverine newsletter from California.
Jim Abbott...
Nuff said.
Did you get a photo with Grandpa Kerr? ;)
As you know from our other shared community, uncw, the past few months have been rough. The timing of Michigan's visit was simply a miracle for me. To be able to walk to the stadium and be part of something so familiar yet so exciting made for one of the most fun weekends of my life.
Obviously I've been a Michigan fan all my life, but I will always remember the 2019 baseball team as a special milestone for me.
Ha, I did not. But it was very cool to meet several of the families including all the Kerr's, so special for all of them.
Here was the best part. I sat right behind a few guys that I assumed were players' fathers all three games. One guy in particular was very very nervous, much like the rest of us, to get those last six outs Sunday night. Right after the final out I walked over to him shook his hand and said, "I don't know who you are, but congratulations". He responded, "my son just closed out the game!!". His hand was trembling then he started to weep. And that's when I really thought about uncle and grandpa, this could have been them.
All of us could use a pick me up like that from time to time. I'm glad that weekend series was just what you needed brother.
Can't touch that beautiful story, man.
I grew up in central Indiana. Hoosier country. I became a fan when my parents were hoping/trying to get me to love IU basketball. Unfortunately for them, I fell in love with watching Glen Rice when I was 5 years old. I was diehard Michigan basketball from then on. Wore 41 in basketball, football, and baseball growing up. The Fab Five made my basketball fandom grow to even higher levels. Des and Tyrone cemented my football fandom after I was already hooked on UM basketball.
It was always my dream to go to Michigan. I was accepted, but cried when I realized there was no way I could afford to take the loans to cover out of state tuition, room and board, and any personal expense a job couldn't take care of. It was the first time I cried since my girlfriend was killed by a car pinning her to a tree in her driveway when we were 13. In a weird way, the exorbitant cost to attend Michigan helped my emotions open up for the first time in 5 years. My relationships with friends have been super strong ever since.
There's no beating that story so I'll just say that my Dad took me to my first Michigan football game when I was 7. I fell in love with the place that day and eventually wound up a member of the Class of 1993. Why am I a fan of Michigan Baseball? Because they wear the "M" and every other school is less.
Go Blue.
Bandwagon looked good. Rolled right in front of the Walmart I was at in East Lansing so I decided to jump on.
There were msu fans there that wanted on and tried, but they couldn't get in.
Long time lurker. As my name indicates my son was born and has spent quite a bit of time at CS Mott. I grew up a UofM football / basketball fan. It wasn’t until Coach Bakich visited my son in his room that we started to pay attention to the baseball team. Coach not only had my son sign his shirt in Sharpie, he later sent him a ball signed by the team, some shirts and other swag. Coach was incredibly personable and made a big impact on my son.
My kid spent much of his first grade year in the hospital, the many athletes that visit the floors and “watching” that year's spring football game from the corner windows of his floor (could just see the glow of the lights of the big house in 2014) are reasons why we support every team that wears the block M. 
Wow. Hope your son is doing well now!
Thanks - Everyday is a new adventure - Never know what tomorrow holds! He just wrapped up baseball and plays hockey multiple times a week (he would everyday if there was available ice). Anytime we get wrapped up on the day to day bs we reground ourselves on where he's been.
Thank you for sharing sir. That's a great story.
I was born at the University of Michigan hospital. My parents worked at the University and when I was a baby, you could see the Big House from our back porch. Often my "playtime" on weekends and afternoons consisted of running around the Diag, bouncing off college kids hurriedly walking to their next class etc. After my parents divorced (I was almost 2 years old) I moved around southwest Michigan quite a bit, a scenario that has played itself out over and over throughout the years. I've lived in 2 countries, on both coasts of the US, and on both sides of the Mason-Dixon.
I never attended Michigan. I played travel hockey year round and graduated high school with a 2.7 GPA. I could have attended Michigan for grad school, but I chose Cal instead. The program I was in (Molecular and Cell Biology) at Cal was ranked #1 in the country at the time, with a some Nobel prize winners in medicine as faculty (Randy Schekman in 2013, James Allison won this year and Jennifer Doudna will likely win it in a decade or so for CRISPR/cas9). I went to the #1 school instead of Michigan for my PhD.
I was born Blue, raised Blue, and remained Blue.
Also, Roll on you Bears.
BOX House was only about a block from Fisher Stadium, and, with little else to do in the spring/summer of 2008, aside from watching the Red Wings win the Cup, we started hosting keg tailgates before games. Even tried to bring a keg to the outfield grass beyond the fence once. Michigan won the Big Ten that season and a guy from my high school was on the team.
My dad is the reason. He started taking us to football games in the early 70’s. How could you not be impressioned by the Michigan traditions and Bo Schembechler and the Big House?
Dad also took us to baseball games so I grew up watching Leach and Howe and Jim Paciorek. Then it was Larkin and Sabo and Morris and Close. If we were lucky, Bo would attend games and we’d be able to talk to him and get his autograph.
I also able to attend Michigan baseball camp twice before my freshman year and before my senior year of high school. I was able to engage with Larkin and Sabo and Freehan and Leach and others during these camps. TK too. Bill Freehan gave the most excellent seminar to us campers that taught everything you could ever want to know about catching in an hour or less at my first camp. He put on the gear and worked up a sweat and it was amazing to watch and hear. It was at the beginning of camp so my dad also was able to sit in on his lecture before he left to go home. He was super impressed and so was I. I still apply what I learned that day into my own coaching.
So to answer the question... I’ve always been Michigan because of my dad. He would have enjoyed this season and he’d have been super proud of this team. RIP dad (2018), and thank you for helping me bleed maize and blue!
After reading thread I'll edit and delete the sarcasm, not the place (just had to do with recent success).
Very tough to top OP's story. Thanks, OP, for sharing.
Was a huge UM fan since I was a kid. My uncle was a booster (no, his first name wasn't Ed) way back when, and he'd take me and my cousins to football and basketball games. I knew from my first game at the Big House that I wanted to go to UM. Fast forward to my high school days; my dreams of playing football at UM were dashed with a knee injury my junior year, but I still could play baseball. Had an opportunity to get to UM to play baseball (this was during the Coach Zahn days), and the rest is history.
Obviously, ever since, I've been a UM baseball fan. This year has been amazing, and I can't wait for Saturday.
But again, OP, my story pales in comparison to yours. Thanks again for sharing.
loved reading about the stories, particularly OP and littlevictor_dad. blessings to you guys, and so glad your little victor is up and at 'em in some great sports.
I've been a baseball fan in general, mostly of the Detroit Tigers, ever since I was a little kid, thanks to my dear Grandpa (my dad couldn't care less about the Tigers). Grandpa ALWAYS had the Tigers game on in the background, whether he was in the house, the barn, the garage, the car, or at the summer cottage.
Baseball was my first love, as my first baseball memories go back to the 1963 and '64 Tigers and players such as Jerry Lumpe, Jake Wood, Frank Lary, Chico Fernandez, and Grand Rapids' very own Phil Regan (besides the better known Tigers from back then, such as Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Willie Horton, and Jim Bunning.
That said, I've probably only been to maybe a dozen Michigan Baseball games over the years, a few of them vs WMU in Kalamazoo, one @ND, the rest in Ann Arbor.
I've been going to an occasional Michigan Baseball game since back in the mid 70's. One of my friends who tailgates and attends most Michigan football home games with us is a former Michigan infielder. "O" played for and lettered for Michigan Baseball back in the mid 70's; he's now a Detroit-area lawyer.
Though I don't follow Michigan Baseball nearly as closely as Michigan Football, Basketball, and Hockey, I do try to catch every televised game possible on those few occasions that BTN pays attention.
This season has been something special. Let's end it with the Championship!
GO BLUE! 〽️〽️〽️
Great story -- I'm glad you have something positive to carry with you after your uncle's passing. My story is much less moving. My husband is a baseball guy, my kids play, I'm a Michigan fan, so roll those things together and Michigan baseball just gives us another M team to root for. I don't follow them closely, but I can tell there's a lot to like about this team and coach. I love the hugging at the beginning of the game. As far as team chemistry goes, it's a great way to connect.