Central Michigan University Athletics
Former Chippewas Helping Tigers to Best Record in Baseball
8/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Detroit Tigers sport the best record in Major League Baseball this season and several recent Central Michigan University graduates, along with some current students, are playing key behind-the-scenes roles in the team’s success.
CMUCHIPPEWAS.com recently traveled to Comerica Park and found hints of Maroon and Gold in several different departments.
Following are capsules on bullpen catcher Scott Pickens, baseball video operations director Jeremy Kelch, along with video assistant Andy Bjornstad and intern Adam Kafka, ticket sales account executive Dan Griesbaum Jr., athletic trainer Doug Teter and intern Joe Ewald, park operations intern Brandon Weingartz, and promotions intern Kelli Naber.
Scott Pickens
Bullpen Catcher
First Season
| The Detroit Tigers boast arguably the top pitching staff in Major League Baseball this season and former CMU catcher Scott Pickens has a front row seat right behind the plate. “This is a dream job,” Pickens said. “I pretty much get to live the life of a big league player, but the hardest part is knowing I won’t ever get in a game. This is the first year since I was four years old that I’ve worn a uniform but haven’t had a chance to play.” |
“I told him I was talking with another team about the possibility of being its bullpen catcher and Dan told me the Tigers had an opening,” Pickens said. “I was called in for a tryout with the Tigers and it came down to me and a former catcher from Western Michigan. We both had to throw batting practice and I had been doing it for a few years as an assistant coach so I think that’s why I got the job.”
Pickens graduated in 2004 with a degree in education and his career goal is to get into coaching.
“I’m getting the chance to go the park every day and learn from these guys,” Pickens said. “I’ve learned a lot from Vance Wilson. He points things out to me in different situations and uses the games as a great teaching tool. This experience will help me in my coaching career.”
While pitchers are often known for their shenanigans in the pen, Pickens says it’s mostly business away from the dugout.
“The pitchers are keeping a close eye on the hitters the first time through the lineup,” he explained. “In the fifth inning guys will start stretching and usually somebody will start warming up and getting ready to go in.”
His first game in the bullpen was quite an experience.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Pickens said. “Opening day was a thrill with a jet fly by and the feeling of wearing a jersey and knowing people in the stands were watching.”
In addition to the amenities of the big league lifestyle, such as the historic ball parks and first class travel, Pickens says one of his top perks is being on the receiving end of one of Joel Zumaya or Justin Verlander's 100 mile-per-hour fireballs.
“Being on the receiving end of a 101 mile-per-hour fastball definitely keeps me on my toes and ready,” Pickens said. “Not everybody can say they’ve caught a pitch that fast.”
Jeremy Kelch
Baseball Video Operations
Fifth Season
Andy Bjornstad
Baseball Video Operations Assistant
Adam Kafka
Baseball Video Operations Intern
| Winning teams will credit much of their success to game preparation. The Detroit Tigers’ game preparation starts with Jeremy Kelch and the baseball video operations department which is made up of three Chippewas. Kelch, a 2001 sport studies graduate and North Branch native, is in his fifth season as the director of baseball video operations. Assistant Andy Bjornstad is also a CMU grad while intern Adam Kafka is currently a senior.The trio is in charge of breaking down Tigers’ games pitch-by-pitch using XOS Technologies' SportsPro editing system. In addition to their games, the video ops guys use nine TiVo systems to record opponent games for scouting breakdowns. During the game, each pitch is captured and coded with the count, pitch type, location of pitch and batter result. |
“We were the first baseball team to go from VHS to DVD back in 2001 and staying on top of technology is really important.”
So is FedEx.
While the Tigers are on the road, Kelch is the only member of the department that travels. He relies on Bjornstead and Kafka to break down tape back in Detroit and overnight DVDs to the team hotel on the road.
The most difficult aspect of the job is the fact that the crew rarely gets a day off. With MLB games going on seven days a week, when the team has a rare day off, there’s still the upcoming opponents’ film to break down.
Kelch got his start in behind-the-scenes work at CMU, serving as a football manager for four seasons and a basketball manager for three. His top moment at CMU was the 2000 football upset victory over Western Michigan, a team that was receiving votes in the national polls.
“I loved being involved with the CMU teams and taking pride in that,” Kelch said.
Kelch’s ultimate goal would be to get into the front office of a MLB team.
Dan Griesbaum Jr.
Ticketing
Third Season
For Dan Griesbaum, the summer of 2006 has been nothing short of a dream come true.
An account executive for the Tigers, Griesbaum’s primary responsibilities include selling group tickets and Comerica Park suites. One would assume that the team’s on-field success this season would make that job easy. Griesbaum does not necessarily agree.
“It's easier in the sense that we have a better product to sell on the field, but we can't keep up with the demand right now,” Griesbaum said. “The ring on my phone is just constant.”
Part of the balancing act for Griesbaum, a Grosse Pointe native, is welcoming new clients while not alienating those who have long-established business partnerships with the club. Only so many fans can get into Comerica Park every night, and part of Griesbaum’s responsibility is determining who will be in that select group on a given night.
“We have to treat the growing expectations around here with extra care,” Griesbaum said. “There's more pressure now because this is an opportunity that most of our customers have been waiting for for years, and we have to show respect to them now more than ever.”
Still, the added pressure on, and expectations of, everyone associated with the best team in baseball do not outweigh the obvious benefit of being a part of the Detroit Tigers organization in 2006.
“My favorite part of this job is that, at 5 p.m., at the end of the work day, I'm at Comerica Park and I get to watch the best team in baseball,” Griesbaum said. “I'm just enjoying being part of one of the best seasons in the history of Detroit baseball. Being a former player, I love being able to stay close to the game. Not many people get to do that.”
Griesbaum’s experiences at CMU made him a perfect fit for his current role. A business major, Griesbaum was a two-year letterman with the baseball program and a senior on the Chippewas’ 2004 Mid-American Conference championship club. He also spent two summers working as an intern in the Tigers’ front office.
“Being a part of the baseball team really prepared me for this position,” he said. “Hard work and long hours don't really affect me because I'm used to that way of life. And, a lot of the same concepts apply here. My habit of goal-setting came from baseball. I was part of a MAC championship team as a senior, and that quest taught us all a lot about the importance of setting goals and striving to reach them. That translates to the business world.”
Doug Teter
Athletic Trainer
First Season
Joe Ewald
Athletic Training Intern
Many baseball players toil in the minor leagues for several years before getting their shot at the “bigs.”
The same is true for 1992 sports medicine graduate Doug Teter.
After spending 13 years in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system, Teter finally got the call up as the team’s third athletic trainer this season. The highlight of his career was being in the dugout for the home opener.
“When you spent 13 years trying to get to the big leagues and then you finally do, there’s no better feeling in the world,” he said.
Teter had spent the last eight years in Lakeland, Fla. as the medical coordinator for the Tigers’ entire minor league system after brief stints with three of the organization’s farm teams. The assignment included a lot of rehab work that took advantage of the warm Florida weather.
Now, he is one of three athletic trainers working to keep a healthy team on the field. He does a lot of the daily maintenance work, including some in the weight room with the strength coach.
While CMU has a highly respected sports medicine program, that’s not what drew the Constantine native to Mount Pleasant.
“One of my first jobs on campus was with equipment manager Dan Bookey,” Teter said. “When I was working with the football team, I saw what the athletic trainers did and I thought it might be interesting.
“I feel the CMU program was an excellent teaching program and I owe a lot to Ron Sendre. He was very personable and taught me to me how to conduct myself in different situations. Everything was an educational experience with him.”
Another Chippewa helping in the training room is intern Joe Ewald, a senior from Whitmore Lake.
Brandon Weingartz
Park Operations Intern
For the past two summers, Imlay City senior Brandon Weingartz ran around CMU’s campus working Chippewa Sports Camps. This summer, he’s handling a variety of tasks as Park Operations Intern for the Tigers.
Brandon’s main role has been working in the front office but he’s also spent time on the grounds and maintenance crews doing everything from raking the field to scheduling repairs to paying bills.
“I’m doing the same things here that I’ve been doing for years at Central, but here everything is blown up 200 percent,” Weingartz said.
There’s nothing typical about his roles or the hours he works. He usually gets in around 9 a.m. and stays midway through the game.
“Once the first pitch is thrown, our department hits cruise control and most of my work is done,” he said. “We are actually more busy when the team is on the road because we are trying to get all of our repairs and stadium work done.”
When he arrives at the field, Weingartz doesn’t always know what the day will hold.
“One day I got to work and was told to go shag balls for one of our fantasy batting practice sessions,” he said. “I also got to take batting practice one day and that was a highlight.”
Kelli Naber
Promotions Intern
A Major League Baseball game cannot start without the singing of the national anthem and the throwing of the first pitch. But who ensures these two events run smoothly at Comerica Park?
Enter CMU’s Kelli Naber.
An intern in the Tigers’ promotions department, Naber handles the logistics for the national anthem, the first pitch and many of the in-game giveaways.
“I meet the anthem singer at the stadium, make sure they get down to where they need to be on the field, and escort them to the microphone,” she said. “I also do basically the same thing with whoever is throwing out the first pitch.”
Naber, a native of Holland, Mich., finished her classes in May, and her current position with the Tigers fulfills the internship requirement for her degree. A sport management major with a minor in marketing, Naber gained experience for her current role working in the athletics marketing office as a student at CMU. While the internship with the Tigers has provided invaluable experience for her, it is a job that she nearly gave up on before it even began.
“I was involved in SMA at Central and through that attended a career fair at the Palace,” she explained. “I waited in line for almost an hour just to hand my resum to one of the Tigers' HR people. I actually almost got out of line a couple of times and didn't think I had a realistic chance of getting a job here. I did a series of phone interviews and in-person interviews and got the job.”
Now, Naber will continue to work with the club through the end of the season, whenever that may be. With the best record in baseball, the Tigers are a near lock to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1987.
“The best part is the people I've met,” Naber said. “We interact with everyone in the organization. I never understood how much went into nine guys going out on the field and playing baseball. Right now I'm just having so much fun.”
Jake Gabrielson
Community Affairs Intern
Senior Jake Gabrielson is helping make dreams come true this season for many Tiger fans. As community affairs intern, the Troy senior helps arrange special events, including charitable player appearances and special pregame group visits to Comerica Park.
“We work to get the players out in the community,” Gabrielson said. “I’ve enjoyed seeing people’s faces when they get a chance to step on the Comerica Park field or meet their favorite player.”
The marketing and logisistics major always wanted to work in baseball and he sees the internship as a great educational experience.
“CMU has prepared me for my internship,” he said. “I chose CMU because the atmosphere and the one-on-one attention. The opportunity to be a part of Leadership Safari was another big reason.”
