Baseball America Names Getz Preseason All-American
1/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. -- University of Michigan junior Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) was named to Baseball America's preseason All-America squad as the third-team second baseman for 2005. The announcement was made today (Thursday, Jan. 6).
| | Getz |
Getz set a Big Ten record with 53 hits in the 32-game conference schedule and had hits in 30 of the 32 league games and finished Big Ten play with an 18-game hitting streak. He is Michigan's top returning hitter and his 87 hits in 2004 marked the fifth best season hit total in Wolverine history.
Getz led the Wolverines in runs (52), at bats (239), hits (87) and total bases (116) a year ago while sharing the team lead in doubles (17) and triples (3). He was second on the team in stolen bases (15) and shared second on the team with 44 RBI. He had three game-winning RBI as a sophomore and all were on the road in Big Ten play, at Iowa, Purdue and Indiana. Michigan was 11-7 away from home while playing a conference-record 18 road games and placed third with a 19-13 league mark. Michigan was 34-26 in overall action in 2004.
On defense Getz led the Wolverines in assists (172) and participated in 42 of Michigan's Big Ten-leading total of 63 double plays.
In summer action Getz hit .293 (34 for-116) for the Chatham A's and was the starting second baseman for the East Division in the Cape Cod League all-star game. Baseball America considered Getz the top newcomer in the Big Ten a year ago and listed him as the best defensive second baseman in the conference following his transfer to Michigan from Wake Forest before the 2004 season.
Getz is Michigan's first preseason All-America since the 2002 season when Brock Koman was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's (NCBWA) preseason All-America squad as the third-team third baseman. The last Wolverine to earn All-America postseason honors was catcher Jake Fox, a third-team selection by Baseball America in 2003.
The last Wolverines to earn first-team All-American honors were LHP Jim Abbott by The Sporting News in 1988 and OF Casey Close, Baseball America's College Player of the Year, in 1986 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball with the American Baseball Coaches Association team.
Michigan opens the 2005 season vs. Illinois-Chicago on Friday, Feb. 25 (7 p.m.) in Port St. Lucie, Fla., while the home opener is against Oakland University on Friday, March 25 (3:05 p.m.). The first night game at Fisher Stadium is slated for Friday, April 22 (6:35 p.m.), when Michigan hosts Ohio State in the first game of a four-game Big Ten series.
Baseball America Preseason All-America Team
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
