Wolverines Explain What Makes Bakich the National Coach of the Year
6/16/2019 11:53:00 PM | Baseball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
OMAHA, Neb. -- Erik Bakich said exactly what you would expect from him when asked for his thoughts on winning the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Coach of the Year Award:
"My name's on the award, but it's not mine. It belongs to the team. Our players have taken the coaches on this magical ride, and we also have a tremendous group of outstanding coaches.
"This has been so much fun. This has been the most fun I've had in coaching. I humbly accept this award but do so on behalf of the team."
That "magical ride" for the University of Michigan included winning the Corvallis (Oregon) Regional and beating No. 1 UCLA in the NCAA Super Regional hosted by the Bruins last weekend, and it continued with Saturday's (June 15) 5-3 win over Texas Tech that has the Wolverines playing a College World Series winners bracket game Monday night against Florida State.
Michigan (47-20) has won its most games since 1989, and multiple games remain at TD Ameritrade Park.
Bakich went on to thank his wife, Jiffy, the wives of his coaches, administrators, support staff and the families of his players in accepting the national honor.
Nick Schnabel, his top assistant coach and classmate when they played at East Carolina, knows him best of anyone wearing the maize and blue. He realizes how humble Bakich is but also points out why he should take a bow.
"He's so deserving," said Schnabel. "What he puts into this program and these kids on a daily basis is unbelievable. He's so passionate about these kids, the University, and I'm just so happy he's been recognized. ... The guys would run through a brick wall for him. I know that.
"First and foremost, it's the investment he makes with his time -- planning things out, practices, team meetings, all of that stuff. Nothing's off the cuff, and there's a lot of thought put into it. Secondly, it's how he relates really well to the players and knows what buttons to push with each guy and when to do it."
MGoBlue.com spoke with everyone in Michigan's starting lineup and the top two starting pitchers in the CWS and asked: "Why, specifically, is Coach Bakich the national coach of the year?"
Their answers revealed an array of qualities and practices that make Bakich, 41, their special leader.
"He's an awesome coach who has a lot of faith in us," said second baseman Ako Thomas. "His style of coaching is good for you. He created a true family here. We all feel like we're a family, and that comes from his plan for us.
"He's worked his butt off and turned this program around once he got here. I'm really proud of him."
Shortstop Jack Blomgren said, "He deserves it, man. He has so much passion for us and this game of baseball. He's so knowledgeable and full of good stuff. I couldn't name a better coach. He's been awesome for us. He works hard every single day, and he does it for us and the University of Michigan."
Left fielder Christan Bullock added, "I mean, he deserves it. It's a great choice and no shock to us. He puts the time in and is a great player's coach. Off the field, he's a great guy, a great family man. He deserves it."
Bakich huddles his team after every game to go over what went well and what needs work. He praises the key contributors and then announces the player of the game who gets a royal blue T-shirt with the team mantras listed on the back in powder blue lettering:
IT PAYS TO BE A WINNER
THERE ARE NO LITTLE THINGS
CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES
WE GET WHAT WE EARN
BE A GOOD DUDE
PULL THE ROPE
OWNERSHIP
GROWTH
GOOD
5:01
The last item isn't the time of day, it's Bakich's way of reminding his players their goal is five championships in one year: Big Ten regular season (missed by a half game), Big Ten Tournament (reached semifinals), NCAA Regional, Super Regional and College World Series.
First baseman Jimmy Kerr "pulled the rope" with an imaginary motion after reaching third on his two-run triple in the CWS opener. It signified to those in the dugout that they're all pulling in the same direction.
He laughed when one of the "plays" listed on the rows of options attached to their belts was mentioned: "BE A DUDE."
"I laughed the first time I got that," said Kerr. "You look down to see what the numbers flashed to you tell you to do, and you see that. It just makes you laugh and loosen up. That's the purpose."
Bakich with his daughter, Tempie, on the way to Omaha
 What, of all the things Bakich did for this team, was his most significant contribution?
"All the tasks that he put us through," said right fielder Jordan Brewer. "He did a lot for us. He prepared us for this, and so this is just a cakewalk for us. It's the two-strike drills, the scrimmages. He was up there throwing B.P. to us, and it's a battle. He's throwing it from 50 feet away, making it 100 mph.
"Those little things are what get you here."
Pitching ace Karl Kauffmann said: "It's just everything he does and the intangibles he brings on the field and everywhere. Now to just see everything he gives us coming to fruition is great."
Tommy Henry, who will start Monday night against the Seminoles: "One night I had to go back to the stadium to pick up something I'd forgotten, and Coach's truck was still there. He was there that late, alone, getting ready to get us ready the next day. I saw him the next day (smiling) and said, 'Coach, go home to your family!' But he's a great family man, too."
Third baseman Blake Nelson, from Normandy Park, Washington: "Coach emphasizes that we're all family, but he doesn't just say it. He does it. If you aren't going home for a holiday, he sends you to his house or the house of one of the coaches. I've spent the last two Thanksgivings with the Bakich family. It means so much. We really are family."
Catcher Joe Donovan was deeply touched by Bakich's gesture to recognize his older brother, Charlie, on senior day. Charlie died before he could attend Michigan on a baseball scholarship to play shortstop, but Joe and parents Jim and Karen were presented a framed photo and game uniform for Charlie just like every senior.
"It was nothing I expected or would've asked for," said Joe. "But it really means a lot to me and my family and my parents. It's awesome having him be recognized as part of the team after he was one of the guys in that recruiting class and such a great person. I'm so thankful."
Bakich is there in the hearts of his players and there for them in the dugout, batting cages, team classroom and playing field.
Center fielder Jesse Franklin said: "It's the energy he brings to practice. He's so fired up that it gets us fired up, and we get a lot done with a lot of energy. He's always on the move, excited and setting the tone."
Bakich celebrates the super regional win over UCLA.
Before having his team practice Sunday at Creighton, Bakich hustled to the back of the team bus where his players were seated and said: "We've only got one hour today. Let's get better!"
They hustled off the bus and onto the artificial turf field, and Bakich was quickly rocketing shots deep to his outfielders to practice difficult, hit-robbing catches. Sometimes he gets too much power into the fungo hitting, and he hit a light tower beyond the left-field wall at Creighton. At UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium, he drilled one high into a towering eucalyptus tree, shaving some bark off it.
He's also gifted in psychology.
"I think it's getting us through all the ups and downs," said designated hitter Jordan Nwogu. "He's been through every situation and knows exactly what to tell us when we make mistakes. That way it doesn't happen again."
When the Wolverines blew a three-run lead in the ninth and lost, 11-7, to Creighton in a regional game that appeared theirs, Bakich opted to show his team video of Nwogu's two-out, two-strike, two-run double that made them walkoff winners in a Big Ten Tournament elimination game. Had they lost that game to Illinois, there was a high likelihood Michigan would've been one of the last four teams out of the NCAA tourney rather than one of the last four in it.
"I'm just glad I had that big AB," said Nwogu. "I just wish everybody else in our lineup could've come up and done the same thing. But after that, we all kind of responded to everything and we got hot.
"Then, after beating UCLA at their home, Coach Bakich told us, 'You can beat anybody, win anything.'"
Before Nebraska hired Will Bolt as its new coach, replacing Darin Erstad, former Cornhusker coach and current Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn told the Omaha World-Herald: "You've got to get the right person, like Michigan."
What a tribute that was to Bakich, recognized by his peers and players alike. He got the Wolverines to their first World Series in 35 years, and he has them dreaming the dream by walking the walk in everything they do.
