Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

I know people say it all the time, but it’s amazing how fast 4 years goes by. I remember when I getting out of high school and having no idea what to look for in a college. I toured a few campuses and not feeling very hot or cold about any of them except that I was sure I wanted to try and play collegiate baseball. The response from most places was very underwhelming from most places, Coach Whaley invited me down and I spent a night. I learned pretty quickly they weren’t just a bunch of guys who happened to play ball together, they were a close knit group. Since then a lot of people have come and gone through the program, some I’ve gotten to know, a lot I wish I’d gotten to know more, but it seems like there’s something about baseball that draws people together, which is no small feat considering some of the adversary we’ve faced. It hasn’t been an easy four years, that much is certain, but when I look back on it, the long bus rides and games we’d rather not talk about get forgotten in the laughs and good times that we’ve shared.

I’d like to thank my family for giving me every opportunity in the world to play and succeed, whether it was dragging me to try-outs or sitting through pretty much every game I’ve ever played regardless of location, weather or score.
 
To my fellow seniors, I think we should all buy a few lotto tickets because after the luck we’ve had over the past four years I think we’re all due for something crazy to happen. We’ve lost games in just about every way imaginable but when I look back it’s not that important for me and I hope it’s not for you. You guys did a great job of stepping up making this team what it is. I’ll miss playing baseball with you guys.

To the pitchers, this year has been especially difficult on us for obvious reasons but because of it I thought we banded together in a way that I’ve never been a part of, I have a lot of fond memories from this year. I think you all made leaps and bounds this year on and off the field and I hope it’s a sign of things to come.

To the team, no matter what our record is this year this is the most talented team I’ve been on and you all have a lot to be proud of. Don’t let anyone take from what we’ve done this year. Keep working hard, good things will happen and don’t forget to stop every once in a while and enjoy things.

To the guys I’ve played with in years past, thank you for showing me the way, making this more than a team and no matter what happened, making sure the laughs heavily outweighed the frustrations. You guys changed the way I see the game and made playing a joy.

To Coach Whaley, thank you for giving me the opportunity to play collegiate baseball and showing us the right way to play the game. To Coach Heugel thank you for pushing me to be what you knew I could be, not what I would settle with being. To Coach Winecke, thank you for having such a passion for the game and for this program and making sure it rubs off on us. Coach Hollnagel, thank you coming in under such short notice and being here at every opportunity to make us better. Coach Kuhn, thanks for being willing to help improve this program and remind us how good the Sox are in case we’d forgotten.

You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time  — Jim Bouton