How Kauffmann Has Set the Tone During Michigan's Postseason Run
6/14/2019 11:40:00 AM | Baseball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
OMAHA, Neb. -- Karl Kauffmann sets the tone.
The University of Michigan's gritty right-hander pitched 8.2 innings in a 6-0 win over Creighton in the opener of the Corvallis (Oregon) Regional, and then took a shutout into the ninth inning of the NCAA Super Regional opener at No. 1-ranked UCLA before coming out after 8.1 innings in a 3-2 victory.
His numbers after two starts in the NCAA Tournament: 17 innings, two earned runs (1.06 earned-run average) on 10 hits with 15 strikeouts and four walks. His idol, Nolan Ryan, who sent him an autographed baseball and photo when he was a young boy, would definitely be proud of the postseason run Kauffmann's has put together.
Kauffmann gets the ball again in the first game of the College World Series on Saturday afternoon (June 15) against No. 8-ranked Texas Tech at TD Ameritrade Park.
"I wasn't thinking of setting the tone personally," said Kauffmann, the No. 77 overall pick of the Colorado Rockies in the MLB Draft on June 3. "It was just going out there to compete and putting us in a position to win. But there was something where we seemed to knock them on their heels a little bit in that first game.
"I mean, it's always big to win the first one. I think every series where we won the Friday game, we did pretty well that weekend."
Kauffmann credited rotation-mate Tommy Henry for setting the tone for the UCLA series by beating them March 8, and said he just tried to follow up on what Henry did. Kauffmann definitely succeeded, and then Henry wrapped up the series last weekend by winning game three with a masterful outing.
Facing the power-hitting Red Raiders in the opener of the CWS is a different animal. It's not a series opener, but instead the beginning of a double-elimination tournament involving eight top teams -- including No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, 2018 national runner-up Arkansas, Florida State, Mississippi State, Auburn and Louisville.
Michigan (46-20) will play its second game Sunday against either the winner or loser of the other Friday game that will pit the Razorbacks against the Seminoles.
Texas Tech (44-18) features a batting order with the first four hitters all at 51-plus RBI and batting over .300.
No. 3 hitter and shortstop Josh Jung (.342, 14 homers, 56 RBI) was the eighth overall pick in the MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, and cleanup hitter and first baseman Cameron Warren (.354, 17 homers, 76 RBI) joins him in sporting on-base and slugging percentages exceeding 1.100. Warren went in the 22nd round to the Cincinnati Reds.
Kauffmann (10-6, 2.59 ERA) didn't fare well in a March 22 game at Texas Tech. He surrendered six runs (five earned) in five innings, and allowed nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
"They kicked our butts," Kauffmann said of getting swept in the three-game series in Lubbock. "We had a lot of unforced errors last time and I left some pitches up that they made me pay for. But we're looking forward to another chance at them, and want to go back and execute better than we did earlier in the year.
"Jung's the big name in their lineup, but they all go up there ready to hit and it's an aggressive lineup. They like to do some damage, and I'm just going to have to minimize their opportunities, not make too many mistakes and put them away when I get a chance to."
There is a precedent for Kauffmann bouncing back from a rare bad game. He allowed nine runs (five earned) on 11 hits over 5.1 innings in a 10-4 loss at Ohio State, but allowed only two runs on three hits over eight innings against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament.
Kauffmann has gone at least eight innings in three consecutive starts, and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of them. While he didn't want to make a big deal out of setting the tone, Wolverine right fielder Jordan Brewer said Kauffmann's ability to do that is impactful.
"That's big," said Brewer, the Big Ten's Player of the Year. "When we trust Karl Kauffmann as much as we do, we're cruisin'. He's cruisin' and you trust him. You just give him the ball and he's going to pitch his butt off. I have as much trust in him as anyone else."
Kauffmann, a junior from Bloomfield Hills (Michigan) Brother Rice, loves the challenge pitching presents.
"It's kind of that mindset where you've got the ball, and it's kind of like being a goalie in hockey," said Kauffmann. "You really can't win the game by putting up runs or scoring goals, but you could be the reason you lose a game. I kind of like that pressure, being responsible and having the ball in a big game.
"It's just fun. I like being out there and being alone. It's just different."
Kauffmann started pitching before he was in kindergarten.
"I've been pitching ever since I could remember," he said, "I had my dad (Ray) getting down to catch, and I'd starting ripping balls at him. He actually pulled up a funny video of him catching me. My mom (Denise) says I was about 5 in the video. The balls were going all over the place."
But with good velocity?
"Yeah," Kauffmann said with a chuckle. "I could throw a bit."
His top memory after the Michigan win over UCLA that put them in Omaha was a come-full-circle moment.
"Seeing my parents after the game, that was surreal," said Kauffmann. "They both had that look on their faces. My mom was crying, and my dad was just pure joy, just pure raw emotion. Crazy -- just craziness. They would talk to me when I was growing up: ';Do you want to play in Omaha? Do you want to go to Michigan and play?'
"I don't think it'll really set in until after the season when I get a chance to look back or I come back in the fall. I'm just trying to live it out and soak it all in and keep playing."
His father graduated from Michigan and planted the seed.
Kauffmann's idol, Nolan Ryan, mixes it up with Robin Ventura in 1993. (Dallas Morning News photo)
"It's been a heck of a journey since I got here," said Kauffmann. "We're finally getting to the point of doing what I talked about when I came here. Coach (Erik) Bakich made some promises to me in high school and kept them. Everything's lived up to what I hoped, and I wouldn't trade coming here for the world."
What schools were in the running for him?
"Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and I was kind of talking to Florida State," said Kauffmann. "I made up my mind pretty early, though."
Once Kauffmann gets his mind set on something, he sticks with it. Ryan was retired before he was born, but he stuck with him rather than switch to a current hurler.
There was something about Ryan -- who won 324 games and is the game's all-time strikeout leader with 5,714 -- that attracted young Karl.
"Growing up I was a big Nolan Ryan fan," he said. "I saw videos of him, read books and had some good family friends who knew him. He actually sent me a ball and picture of him signed when I was 10 years old.
"I liked that he throws really hard. There was the Robin Ventura fight and he's out there pitching with blood on his uniform and coming out his nose. He threw seven no-hitters and is just a fun guy to watch, an ultimate competitor who just went out there and did it."
The late Lew Matlin, the father of Ray's best friend (University of Hawaii athletic director David Matlin), arranged for Ryan to send Karl a letter and the autographs. Matlin was a longtime major league public relations man and spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers.
"I went to Lew's funeral (in 2017) and he was one of my biggest fans," said Kauffmann. "He was always checking up on me. That was pretty special."
Kauffmann has a good fastball, but doesn't blow hitters away a la Ryan. He commands that pitch, though, and it works into his slider, sinker and changeup repertoire.
That sinker-slider combo has been a difference-maker.
Scott Pickler, the longtime manager of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the highly-competitive Cape Cod League, got him throwing it.
"After my freshman year," said Kauffmann, "I went out to the Cape Cod League to play summer ball. They said you're never going to pitch if you just keep throwing (what I have). So, I started with the one-seam fastball and just started gripping the slider off of it. I've been working on it ever since, and that's basically what I throw now."
He has complete trust in catcher Joe Donovan blocking any sinkers in the dirt.
"Joe's improved so much since he came here," said Kauffmann. "He's had a great year. He's works his butt off, is super nice and super fun, and makes things light. He dances back there and sings songs. Sometimes I want to kick him (laughter), but he's awesome back there."
Kauffmann (center) credits catcher Donovan (right) and pitching coach Fetter (far right) for helping him succeed at Michigan
Michigan pitching coach Chris Fetter has made a significant impact, too.
Fetter returned to his alma mater for the 2018 season after pitching in the minor leagues and becoming the minor-league pitching coordinator and scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a star on the 2007 Wolverines who reached the NCAA Super Regional round under Coach Rich Maloney. Fetter also spent one year as the pitching coach for Maloney at Ball State.
"The knowledge he brings to the game and development-wise has been big for me – especially after my freshman year," said Kauffmann, who had a 2.03 ERA his first year but pitched only 13.1 innings. "Coming into my sophomore year, he made everything fresh again. He brought in so many different things and helped my passion for baseball grow from the day he got here.
"It helps that he's really relatable. He was here 10 years ago, that's something, been there and done that. He has that experience in working with the Dodgers. You know he's looking out for the best for you, and is always onto the next thing, you tend to get better."
Kauffmann could be in the minor leagues soon. He was taken three picks after Henry went to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and had a connection to the Rockies in Michigan infielder Matthew Schmidt.
"It was just pure excitement," Kauffmann said of hearing he'd been picked by Colorado. "I didn't really think I was going to get picked on the first day. People were saying I would go a little later. But I'm going to a great organization, and Matt Schmidt's dad is one of the head scouts of the Rockies.
"They said, 'Just finish up the season, and we'll worry about everything when it's over.' I haven't even looked to that lately."
The Rockies must be feeling even better about their pick after watching Kauffmann dominate a UCLA lineup that featured seven draft picks, including their first-rounder, Michael Toglia, whose two-run single in the ninth produced the only Bruin runs against Kauffmann.
One thing Kauffmann has that nobody can teach is an ornery streak. He has exemplary manners away from the field, but the competitor comes out when he's pitching.
"I know my mom doesn't really like to talk to me before games," said Kauffmann. "I'm not the nicest person in the world then, but it's something that helps me. I just try and stay away from everybody."
He was asked to describe the place he goes mentally when pitching.
"It's very clear," said Kauffmann. "Everything's kind of slowed down and it's ultimate compete mode turned up, me versus you, and it's getting the edge. It's not like crazy. I'm not talking to the ball or anything, but I have to be in control, not hearing much and being pretty focused."
It's his time to set the tone.
