Flashback 100: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices
November 1, 2024
The 2024 Major League Baseball World Series showcased a distinct Michigan flair during its television broadcasts these last few weeks.
The Los Angeles Dodgers triumphed over the New York Yankees in five games, with viewers treated to the commentary of Joe Davis and John Smoltz, while Derek Jeter made appearances on the pre- and postgame shows. Notably, all three athletes hail from Michigan and have left their mark on the sports field.
Davis graduated from Potterville High School in 2006, where he earned honorable mention all-state honors as a quarterback while playing football for his father, Paul. He played four years of baseball at Potterville, too. After high school, he continued his football career at Beloit College in Wisconsin before transitioning to broadcasting. Today, he serves as the television voice of the Dodgers and covers both MLB and NFL national games for Fox.
John Smoltz, a graduate of Lansing Waverly in 1985, made his mark as an all-state basketball player but gained fame on the baseball diamond. During his senior year, he hit a game-winning home run in the championship game of the Greater Lansing Diamond Classic after pitching in the semifinal. Drafted by the Detroit Tigers out of high school, Smoltz enjoyed a remarkable 21-year career in Major League Baseball, spending 20 seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He holds the unique distinction of being the only pitcher in history to record 200 wins and 150 saves.
Derek Jeter graduated from Kalamazoo Central in 1992, where he was named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year after an impressive third consecutive season with a batting average exceeding .500. In addition to baseball, he also excelled in cross country and basketball. Jeter was selected in the first round of the 1992 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees, where he went on to win five World Series championships during his illustrious 20-year career.
Both Jeter and Smoltz are members of the MLB Hall of Fame, representing two of only six inductees who played high school baseball in Michigan.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Oct. 25: Flashback 100: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS Top row, from left: Fox Sports broadcasters Joe Davis, John Smoltz and Derek Jeter. Bottom row from left, Davis as a student at Potterville, Smoltz pitching for Lansing Waverly and Jeter playing infield for Kalamazoo Central. (Current photos courtesy of Fox Sports. Past photos courtesy of Potterville High School, the Lansing State Journal and the Detroit Free Press, respectively.)
Bridgman Finishes 'Miracle' Title Pursuit with 1st Championship since 1987
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2023
EAST LANSING - There’s exceeding a coach’s expectations, and then there is exceeding the expectations Bridgman head coach Justin Hahaj had for his team when the 2023 season started.
“I went through the schedule and thought we’d be a .500 baseball team,” Hahaj said.
Bridgman ended up being 24 games – and a Division 3 championship – better than that.
The Bees ended up 33-9, with the last win a 7-1 victory over No. 1-ranked Algonac in the Final on Saturday at Michigan State University’s McLane Stadium.
The title was Bridgman baseball’s first since 1987.
“This is a miracle what happened with this group,” Hahaj said. “It’s just a testament to what happens when people play for each other.”
It was the second time Hahaj had coached Bridgman in Final, with the first in 2013 when the Bees lost to Madison Heights Bishop Foley.
Bridgman hadn’t been beyond the District round of the MHSAA Tournament since, with hurdles such as 2022 Division 3 champion Buchanan and Niles Brandywine always standing in the way during the opening week.
In a District Final this year, Bridgman used an incredible comeback against Niles Brandywine to get past that barrier. The Bees rallied from a 9-1 deficit to beat Brandywine in 10 innings, 10-9.
Bridgman then recorded one-run wins in a Regional Final (4-3 over Grass Lake), Quarterfinal (4-3 over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in nine innings) and Semifinal (3-2 over Standish-Sterling) to earn a shot at Algonac.
“The team that comes out of that District — because we play such good baseball against each other — is just primed and ready for tournament runs,” Hahaj said.
Bridgman completed its long tournament run thanks to the pitching of sophomore Charlie Pagel. By no means a hard thrower, Pagel confounded Algonac with guile and an assortment of breaking pitches, tossing a 3-hitter.
He struck out five and walked one.
“I don’t throw very fast, so I just wanted to keep them off-balance with the off-speed and that was about it,” Pagel said.
Making its first appearance in a Final, Algonac finished 38-4.
In addition to not being able to figure out Pagel, defensive miscues also proved costly for the Muskrats.
“You know every pitcher is going to be a strike thrower when you get to this situation,” Algonac head coach Scott Thaler said of Pagel. “I thought he did a nice job of getting strike one over. His curveball was working, so he was able to get some groundballs. We didn’t really do a good job of adjusting to those curveballs and off-speed pitches.”
Bridgman opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the third inning, taking a 1-0 lead after loading the bases with one out.
An infield popup eluded Algonac and landed fair, and while the batter was out due to the infield fly rule, a run was able to score. Senior Riley Gloe then singled up the middle to score two runs, one of which was earned and another unearned following an Algonac throwing error. Senior Nolan Roberts then blooped a double down the right-field line to score a run and make it 4-0 Bees.
Bridgman added two runs in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Roberts and a fielder’s choice.
Algonac finally broke through in its half of the sixth, cutting Bridgman’s lead to 6-1 on an RBI single by junior Evan Sadler. But Bridgman got that run back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Pagel to make it 7-1.
Pagel, Gloe, Roberts and junior Alec MacMartin each had two hits to lead the 10-hit attack for Bridgman.
PHOTOS (Top) Bridgman scores one of its seven runs during Saturday’s Division 3 championship game. (Middle) Nolan Roberts (2) and a teammate celebrate. (Below) Bridgman’s Charlie Pagel delivers a pitch. (Photos by John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)