Proud of this Team
Honestly, I’d didn’t think we’d get this far yet here they are.
I may not be too much of a baseball fan/watcher but I can honestly say that I’m proud of Coach Bakich and his team that he put together.
Who knows exactly when the next time we’ll be back but I know that we’re in good hands.
Go Blue!!
May Michigan baseball continue to prosper.
A great run, and hopefully the beginning of a run of success.
Great season. Fantastic effort, fantastic team. Congratulations Michigan Baseball. Very proud of the way they played and the run they went on, especially defeating # 1 seed UCLA at Jackie Robinson stadium. Go Blue ! Congratulations to Vanderbilt as well. Go Blue !
Baseball is going to take the brunt of a lot of Michigan fandom frustration which they don't deserve. Crazy run to get there. Crushing to lose after getting up 1-0, but still amazing for them
Another crushing national title loss is agonizing none the less. One day we'll break through in a big sport...I think
great season. great kids, representing a great university. go blue, proud of you.
^^^this
Excited to see these guys make it here, happy for their success, and can't wait to see the next step by the players and program. Very easy to feel proud for these guys, good group.
Great year. This program deserves to play in front of sellout crowds going forward (especially given the limited home schedule).
Congrats to Vandy!! They are a powerhouse. At times we looked like the moment got to us but this was a fun ride. I look forward to the next few seasons.
They were great. Can't take anything away from them. They were the better team and we couldn't keep the momentum going long enough to steal it all
Great season, fellas. Thanks for the fun ride.
Hell of a run guys. I know it hurts but everyone is proud of you
Michigan played their balls off for a long time to get to this evening. Vandy is a freaking good team, really good pitching across the board, and they certainly deserved to win.
I would say M has it in them to take a series from Vanderbilt, but everything would have to go right (like that lower corner of the zone pitch Kaufman tried to hit forever but couldn't get). It didn't this time, but this was still a monumental achievement for Michigan. Hats off to coach backich and those kids.
Yeah it would've had to go perfectly. Maybe if you could get a redo you throw everything you have at them in game 2 and try to escape, but that just as easily could've backfired. Vandy is good
Bless You Boys Part II.
Great run and the personal stories were compelling and made me and other folks love this team.
It's funny - other than some late runs by the Tigers, I've always not been a big fan of baseball.
This team changed that.
Go Blue.
Henry for President. (*no politics).
Go Blue!!
If we're being honest, the fact that they even took one from Vanderbilt is impressive. That team is just way more talented than Michigan.
Great run and a lot to be proud of.
Great run, watched more baseball in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years. Much appreciated in the dead period.
Hell, my wife watched more baseball in the past 4 weeks than since our son played ball in high school several years ago, and that's saying a lot!
Thanks, Omaha
Congrats to this team! Hell of a year
Sucks to be the bridesmaid but they should be proud. Congrats
God damn, first we shit the bed in football, then basketball, now baseball. We can't finish anything off.
Losing to a much better team isn't "shitting the bed." Michigan punched above their weight the entire tournament.
I swear I don't understand why people who obviously just want to hate-watch a school spend their time posting here.
It's especially disgusting when their user name is one of the biggest "effort players" ever to wear Maize & Blue. Hammerstein broke his ass on the field for UM - so using his name while shitting on the school is a particularly no-class thing to do.
I've known Mike for 39 years. Friends with his brother Mark too. I'm not as close with Matt or John-Paul. In other words, I will do whatever the hell I want you big baby.
if that is/was true, and they saw what crud you post here, they'd smack you silly. and if it is true, then post like it.
Perhaps they should stop over-achieving and making title games as underdogs? If they had lost to UCLA like they were supposed to would you still be here complaining?
I feel like we’re the University of 2nd Place.
Wouldn't that require actually first finishing in 2nd place in something?
Amen. (Though I bet Bakich has us back sooner than we think.)
They faced a mountain of challenges, and nearly climbed to the top. So many things have to happen to win a national championship: bloop singles (and buzzer beaters) have to fall, you have to overcome your "inferior" roster and/or injuries, you need to have or have to beat the hot pitcher (or goalie). Heart, togetherness, toughness, and leadership all matter, too, and this team had all of it.
Being Leaders and Best doesn't mean going undefeated and winning every event, but rising above regardless. They've proved their worth as such. Thanks, gents.
What a fun ride!!!
Love M baseball
Soooo fun!
Football then Basketball/Hockey and now Softball AND Baseball!!!!
Gots a full year baby!!!
SOOO PROUD of these guys!
What does next years team and recruiting look like?
They have some good pieces next year. I am by no means a baseball expert or evaluator of talent, so I can't give you a scouting report, just a general overview based on rankings and stats.
They most likely lose Kauffmann and Henry from the starting rotation. Criswell is back and we will get Ben Dragani back from injury (he was a freshman all american as a starter). We then have to find a third weekend starter from the group that includes Page, Angelo Smith, Walker Cleveland, Steven Hajjar (a borderline top 100 recruit who also got hurt before he even got to campus), and recruits Colin Czajkowski (would have been top 15-20 pick in draft if not for bonus demands) and Jacob Denner (8.5/10 from perfect game as a recruit). So I'm sure we can find another good pitcher out of that mix. Plus some of the recruits that are listed as position players might very well be considered pitchers by the coaching staff. Willie Weiss was ranked as a 3B instead of a pitcher.
The bullpen is basically all back. Weisenburger was drafted in the 20th round, so only way he comes back is if the A's don't want him anymore. I don't think draft and follow exists anymore like it used to. But everyone you saw pitch in the post season outside of him will be back. Plus some freshman that redshirted, don't know if any of them are good or not. We go into the season with a Closer in Weiss that hopefully can work on his control. Three lefties in Angel Smith, Benjamin Keizer, and Walker Cleveland. And two righties in Isaiah Page and Blake Beers (didn't pitch in the postseason but did during the regular quite a bit). Thats a pretty good mix already and there are the redshirts and incoming freshman.
We will lose Jordan Brewer to the draft. We also lose Ako Thomas, Blake Nelson, Jimmy Kerr, and Miles Lewis to graduation. We return Jordan Nwogu, Jack Blomgren, Joe Donovan, Jesse Franklin, and Christian Bullock. Nwogu is an outfielder, so we have a full set of outfielders. We have to replace the entire infield but the shortstop. Obviously Riley Bertram will be taking the job at either 2nd or 3rd. Danny Zimmerman was a top 250 recruit to perfect game and was out this season with an injury it seems, he only pitched his freshman year. He might be in the mix at 1st or stay just a pitcher. We also have Dominic Clementi back, who was 1st team all big ten as a sophmore before falling off a cliff this year. He's an outfielder, but might be able to change positions or let Nwogu stay at DH. Cather is set with Donovan. We also have depth with Harrison Salter. Casey Buckley was a decently rated recruit and played a little this year. I don't now if he has positional flexibility to go to 3rd or 1st. I'm sure we could find a 1st baseman out of that group of Buckley, Clementi, Salter, and Zimmerman. That leaves whatever position Bertram doesn't take. Only midfielder on the roster really is Jack Van Remortel, a 3B who played a little this year as freshman. So either he develops or a recruit takes that last job.
The draft took one recruit away from us and maybe two. Marcus Smith was taken in the 3rd round by the A's, so he gone. Dylan Castaneda was taken in the 30th by the Phillies. A little high to be a flyer, but not a sure thing to sign. Both were rated as outfielders by the services but I think Castaneda was taken by the Phillies as a pitcher. So we'll see with him. Other than that, we still have some talent coming in. Damone Hale is an outfielder from California and is a 10/10 from perfect game. I am not a member of perfect game, baseball america, or prep baseball report, so I can't see actual ranking. Perfect game gives a grade but that's it. They also don't grade everyone, including guys I know are good like Marcus Smith. He has to be a 10 as well to be 3rd round pick, but they didn't grade him. Jimmy Obertop is a 9.5 as a 1B/C and Antonio Flores is an 8.5 as a 3B. The rest of the position players in the class don't have a grade. That list also doesn't take into account junior college recruits like Brewer, so there could be someone that I just don't now about.
TL/DR is that we have some top end guys coming back in Nwogu and Criswell. We have another possible top end guy in Franklin (he had a down year after a great freshman year). The pitching staff has the guys to be just as good this year as last and we should be able to replace our holes. Future looks bright.
Good stuff. Thanks.
We keep getting second in every sport because the first one we are winning is the big one.
Agree,so very proud of how hard they fought and how well they have done.
Also happy to have such a good Michigan man in charge and leading these men forward.
I have no doubt he is helping to mold them into the best young men they can be .
Go Blue !
Agreed. Go blue!
Bunch of friggin’ overachievers. Well done and a great example set.
It was a great run. Can honestly say I felt bad for the kids on this team. For some reason the whole “franchise” gets invested in football but for me, I felt bad for each and every one of these kids.
Great run for M & M Baseball. Congrats on an unbelievable season and Go Blue!
This run made me much more excited and interested in Michigan baseball going forward. I don't expect this will keep happening going forward but in excited to see the possibility that it might.
Thanks for an entertaining run boys.
Amazing fun to watch this great team, thanks to Bakich and the rest of the staff, and these young players!
Great run! Thank you young men for your hard work and dedication to your team and your school! It was truly fun to watch! You have set a high bar for the future.
Thank you coaches for everything you do. Your hard work and preparation are obvious. I am looking for this to be a beginning. Recruiting looks to be in great shape. There’s still plenty of young guys for this to be a base for consistent winning.
It is very impressive for a northern team to get to the CWS. Super impressive to get to the finals. Shows great work ethic, love of the game, and love for teammates. Congratulations Michigan Baseball. Go Blue!
Against all odds we are elite.
Football - the SEC bagmen pay for best 4 and 5 star players. We do not.
Basketball - Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU etc etc pay agents via boosters for the elite players. We do not
Baseball - now learning schools like Vandy punk admissions to get elite players in. We do not b
What the fuck? High Integrity in college sports seems to be a losers proposition.
Proud of this team, what a ride.
Go Blue
Posted this in the game thread, but it really goes in this one:
It's frustrating to lose on the biggest stage, but it's better than not being there at all, and we should celebrate the teams that overachieved just to get to that stage. Just like I celebrate the USMNT that advanced from the Group of Death in 2014 and lost in extra time to Belgium in the round of 16, or the 2002 team that went to the quarterfinals, or the 2010 team that won its group. Or the last two of my Cleveland Indians teams that reached the World Series, only to lose in extra innings of Game 7 each time. The gut punch of losing hurts, but we celebrate the journey.
Some of my all-time favorite sports moments come from those teams. The Trey Burke and Jordan Poole Shots. The Rajai Davis home run off Aroldis Chapman, and the Sandy Alomar home run off Mariano Rivera. The Landon Donovan goal against Algeria, and the Julian Green goal against Belgium. Hell, I remember refreshing an ESPN page 12 years ago and seeing, disbelievingly, that Alan Oaks had just hit a walkoff HR to beat David Price in the regional final in 2007 to send Michigan to its first-ever super regional. The magical 2010 run for the 7-seed hockey team to the CCHA championship and a surprise berth in the NCAA tournament, and Carl Hagelin's Senior Night tying goal late in regulation against Western Michigan in 2011, followed by his game winner at the end of overtime, that sparked what had been a tournament bubble team at that point all the way to the championship game, and Shawn Hunwick surviving an absolute siege against North Dakota, with 40 saves to UND's 18, holding them scoreless in the semifinals despite four UND power plays, to pull out a stunning 2-0 victory.
At the end of the day, none of those teams won the big prize, but I can remember where I was for every damn one of them, just like I'll remember the happy exhaustion following the late nights watching Michigan knock off first Creighton and then UCLA, and watching Tommy Henry befuddle FSU and Vanderbilt, and the giddiness of the crushing of Texas Tech.
In the game thread, some ass said that nobody would remember this team if they didn't win tonight. I don't know how that person can be a sports fan. This was a magical, improbable, almost inconceivable run, and it will be long remembered by true Michigan fans.
It was a run through the NCAA tournament that they will never forget. Me either. Great run! Go Blue!
I did get sick when I saw Frames Janklin cheering from the stands for the Vandy Boys yesterday.
Sometimes you play your hearts out but face a team that's better and Vandy looked like a Triple-A team out there. No shame in that. Great run, great effort. Proud to be a Wolverine.
This team made me a Michigan baseball fan. I went from only watching when BTN had games on, which is like one game, to keeping track of how they are doing.
I am tired of being the bridesmaid these last 10+ years of Michigan sports.
it is safe to assume we will have a huge uptick and will be the BIG champs.
Duplicate post. Apologies.
Congrats to Eric Bakich and the entire team for taking Michigan to a place few thought we could be at the start of the season. It portends good things for the future. Now, if we can get back again in the future hopefully we will have the pieces in place and the fortitude to overcome our spell of losing one game short of the grand prize.