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Michigan Wolverines baseball

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Michigan Wolverines
2024 Michigan Wolverines baseball team
Founded1866; 158 years ago (1866)
UniversityUniversity of Michigan
Athletic directorWarde Manuel
Head coachTracy Smith (2nd season)
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
LocationAnn Arbor, Michigan
Home stadiumRay Fisher Stadium
(Capacity: 4,000)
NicknameWolverines
ColorsMaize and blue[1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
1953, 1962
College World Series runner-up
2019
College World Series appearances
1953, 1962, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 2019
NCAA regional champions
1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 2007, 2019
NCAA Tournament appearances
1953, 1961, 1962, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022
Conference tournament champions
1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2022
Regular season conference champions
1899, 1901, 1905, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1936, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008

The Michigan Wolverines baseball team represents the University of Michigan in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Michigan athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Ray Fisher Stadium.

The Wolverines have made the College World Series eight times, winning two national championships in 1953 and 1962. Michigan is the third winningest program in NCAA Division I baseball history, trailing only Fordham and Texas.[2] The team is currently coached by Tracy Smith, who replaced Erik Bakich who left Michigan to coach at Clemson.

1875 Michigan baseball team
1882 Michigan baseball team with Moses Fleetwood Walker.
1886 Michigan baseball team
1899 team – Michigan's first conference champions
1912 team – coached by Branch Rickey.
1914 team – starring George Sisler.
Michigan's 1953 NCAA national championship team.

Championships

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NCAA College World Series National Championships

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Season Record Head coach
1953 21–9 Ray Fisher
1962 31–13 Don Lund

Conference Championships

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Season Conference Record Head coach
1899 Big Ten 5–2 H.T. Clarke
1901 Big Ten 8–2 Frank Sexton
1905 Big Ten 9–3 L.W. McAllister
1918 Big Ten 9–1 Carl Lundgren
1919 Big Ten 9–0 Carl Lundgren
1920 Big Ten 9–1 Carl Lundgren
1923 Big Ten 10–0 Ray Fisher
1924 Big Ten 8–2 Ray Fisher
1926 Big Ten 9–2 Ray Fisher
1928 Big Ten 11–1 Ray Fisher
1929 Big Ten 7–2 Ray Fisher
1936 Big Ten 9–1 Ray Fisher
1941 Big Ten 10–2 Ray Fisher
1942 Big Ten 10–2 Ray Fisher
1944 Big Ten 8–0 Ray Fisher
1945 Big Ten 8–0 Ray Fisher
1948 Big Ten 10–2 Ray Fisher
1949 Big Ten 8–4 Ray Fisher
1950 Big Ten 9–3 Ray Fisher
1952 Big Ten 8–4 Ray Fisher
1953 Big Ten 10–3 Ray Fisher
1961 Big Ten 10–2 Don Lund
1975 Big Ten 13–3 Moby Benedict
1976 Big Ten 9–4 Moby Benedict
1978 Big Ten 13–3 Moby Benedict
1980 Big Ten 14–2 Bud Middaugh
1981 Big Ten 10–4 Bud Middaugh
1983 Big Ten 13–2 Bud Middaugh
1984 Big Ten 11–5 Bud Middaugh
1986 Big Ten 13–3 Bud Middaugh
1987 Big Ten 13–3 Bud Middaugh
1997 Big Ten 17–9 Geoff Zahn
2006 Big Ten 23–9 Rich Maloney
2007 Big Ten 21–7 Rich Maloney
2008 Big Ten 26–5 Rich Maloney

Conference Tournament championships

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Year Conference Tournament Location Head coach
1981 Big Ten Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Bud Middaugh
1983 Big Ten Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Bud Middaugh
1984 Big Ten Siebert Field, Minneapolis, MN Bud Middaugh
1986 Big Ten Siebert Field, Minneapolis, MN Bud Middaugh
1987 Big Ten Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Bud Middaugh
1999 Big Ten Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, OH Geoff Zahn
2006 Big Ten Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Rich Maloney
2008 Big Ten Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Rich Maloney
2015 Big Ten Target Field, Minneapolis, MN Erik Bakich
2022 Big Ten Charles Schwab Field Omaha, Omaha, NE Erik Bakich

Stadium

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The Wolverines play their home games in Ray Fisher Stadium. The stadium is named after Ray Fisher, who is the winningest coach in Michigan baseball history, with 636 victories and also the 1953 College World Series championship.

In 2008, alum and owner of the New York Mets MLB franchise, Fred Wilpon donated $9 million for the renovation of Fisher Stadium and Alumni Field. It is now known as the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex, but more commonly known as the Wilpon Baseball Complex.

Name Years
Ferry Field 1923–1966
Ray Fisher Stadium 1967–2007
Ray Fisher Stadium at Wilpon Baseball Complex 2008–present

Head coaches

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Coach Years Seasons Record Pct
Peter Conway 1891–1892 2 22–9–1 .703
Frank Sexton 1896, 1901–1908 3 38–22 .633
Charles F. Watkins 1897–1898, 1900 3 16–17 .485
Henry T. Clarke 1898–1899 2 14–5 .737
R.C. "Skel" Roach 1903 1 12–5 .706
Jerome Utley 1904 1 10–5 .667
Lew "Sport" McAllister 1905–1906, 1908–1909 4 58–17–1 .770
Bobby Lowe 1907 1 11–4–1 .719
Branch Rickey 1910–1913 4 68–32–4 .673
Carl Lundgren 1914–1920 7 93–43–6 .676
Ray Fisher 1921–1958 38 636–295–8 .682
Don Lund 1959–1962 4 80–53–3 .599
Moby Benedict 1963–1979 18 367–252–5 .592
Bud Middaugh 1980–1989 10 465–146–1 .761
Bill Freehan 1990–1995 6 166–167–1 .499
Geoff Zahn 1996–2001 6 163–169–2 .491
Chris Harrison 2002 1 21–32 .396
Rich Maloney 2003–2012 10 341–244 .583
Erik Bakich 2013–2022 10 328–216 .603
Tracy Smith 2023–present 2 60–56 .517

Year-by-year results

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This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Wolverines.

Year Coach Record Notes
2020 Erik Bakich 8–7 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Erik Bakich 27–19 NCAA Regional
2022 Erik Bakich 34–28 NCAA Regional
2023 Tracy Smith 28–28
2024 Tracy Smith 32–28

Michigan in the NCAA tournament

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Year Record Pct Notes
1953 4–1 .800 College World Series (Champions)
1961 2–2 .500 NCAA District 4 Regional
1962 8–2 .800 College World Series (Champions)
1975 3–2 .600 NCAA Mideast Regional
1976 3–1 .750 NCAA Mideast Regional
1977 2–2 .500 NCAA Midwest Regional
1978 4–2 .667 College World Series (5th Place)
1980 4–2 .667 College World Series (5th Place)
1981 4–3 .571 College World Series (7th Place)
1983 5–2 .714 College World Series (3rd Place)
1984 3–2 .600 College World Series (7th Place)
1985 3–2 .600 NCAA South I Regional
1986 0–2 .000 NCAA Mideast Regional
1987 1–2 .333 NCAA Northeast Regional
1988 2–2 .500 NCAA Central Regional
1989 3–2 .600 NCAA West II Regional
1999 2–2 .500 NCAA South Bend Regional
2005 1–2 .333 NCAA Atlanta Regional
2006 1–2 .333 NCAA Atlanta Regional
2007 3–3 .500 NCAA Corvallis Super Regional
2008 1–2 .333 NCAA Ann Arbor Regional
2015 2–2 .500 NCAA Louisville Regional
2017 0–2 .000 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional
2019 9–4 .692 College World Series (Runner-up)
2021 0–2 .000 NCAA South Bend Regional
2022 2–2 .500 NCAA Louisville Regional
TOTALS
72–54 .574 2 National Championships, 8 CWS Appearances

First Team All-Americans

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Player Position Year(s) Selectors
Bruce Haynam Shortstop 1953 ABCA
Don Eaddy Third Base 1955 ABCA
Ken Tippery Second Base 1957 ABCA
Bill Freehan Catcher 1961 ABCA
Jim Burton Pitcher 1971 SN
Steve Howe Pitcher 1979 SN
Rick Leach Outfield 1979 SN
Jim Paciorek Outfield 1982 ABCA, BA
Chris Sabo Third Base 1983 BA, SN
Barry Larkin Shortstop 1984, 1985 ABCA, BA, SN
Mike Watters Outfield 1985 BA
Casey Close Outfield 1986 ABCA, BA
Jim Abbott Pitcher 1988 SN
Carmen Benedetti Designated Hitter 2015 NCBWA
Jake Cronenworth Utility 2015 ABCA
Source:"Baseball Record Book" (PDF). mgoblue.com. Retrieved 2021-03-02.

ABCA: American Baseball Coaches Association BA: Baseball America CB: Collegiate Baseball NCBWA: National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association SN: Sporting News Denotes consensus All-American

Individual honors

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Retired numbers

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Michigan has retired six uniform numbers to date. Below is the detailed list:[3]

Retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retired
1 Moby Benedict SS 1953–56 1979
11 Bill Freehan C 1959–61 1977
16 Barry Larkin SS 1983–85 2010
31 Jim Abbott P 1986–88 2009
33 Don Lund OF 1943–45 1999
44 Ray Fisher Coach 1 1921–58 2000

1 Never played for the Wolverines. He coached Michigan with a record 636 wins and led the team to 15 Big Ten championships apart from winning the 1953 College World Series.

National Awards

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Golden Spikes Award Winner

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Baseball America College Player of the Year

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NCBWA National Coach of the Year

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Conference Awards

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Big Ten Player of the Year

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Big Ten Pitcher of the Year

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Big Ten Freshman of the Year

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  • Scott Weaver (1993)
  • Jason Alcaraz (1996)
  • Jake Bivens (2015)

Big Ten Coach of the Year

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Big Ten Batting Title

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University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

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The following 35 Michigan Wolverines baseball players and coaches (listed in order of induction) have been inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor:

Wolverines in the MLB

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[6]

Barry Larkin
= Selected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
= Major League Baseball All-Star Game participant

Note: Charlie Gehringer, Derek Jeter, and Ted Simmons are Baseball Hall of Fame inductees who were enrolled at Michigan, but never played for the baseball team.

Source: Baseball Reference

First-Round MLB Draft Picks

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Pick Player Team Position Year
13 Rick Leach Detroit Tigers OF 1979
16 Steve Howe Los Angeles Dodgers LHP 1979
25 Steve Perry Los Angeles Dodgers RHP 1979
14 Rich Stoll Montreal Expos RHP 1983
4 Barry Larkin Cincinnati Reds SS 1985
8 Jim Abbott California Angels LHP 1988
28 David Parrish New York Yankees C 2000

See also

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References

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Media related to Michigan Wolverines baseball at Wikimedia Commons