George Sisler donned the Maize ‘n Blue from 1911 to 1915.  Branch Rickey, then head baseball coach, remembers Sisler’s tryout,  “The workout was unforgettable. He pitched batting practice and, for the next 20 minutes, created no end of varsity embarrassment. His speed and control made him unhittable. All his moves were guided by perfection of reflexes, which made him quick, graceful, accurate—the foundation of athletic greatness. It was all there.” While at Michigan, Sisler would bat .404 and once struck out 20 batters in a seven inning game.

George started out on the St. Louis Browns as a pitcher in the major leagues, but soon took up playing first base to keep his bat in the line-up everyday.  During his time on the mound, he twice defeated Walter Johnson in complete game duels.  In 1920, Sisler had the memorable season he is known for today.  He batted .407, stole 42 bags; broke Ty Cobb’s record for hits in a season with 257.  This record would stand for 84 years until Ichiro Suzuki broke it with 262 hits in 2004. 

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- Don Jozwiak of VisitDetroit.com wrote about the Frozen Four coming to Detroit’s Ford Field.  Red Berenson had the following to say:

“The Frozen Four is a lot like basketball’s Final Four. The off-ice stuff is just as much a part of it as the games themselves. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the players and for a lot of the fans. I know Detroit’s going to do a great job as the host, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a magical weekend for the game. You can’t beat Detroit as a sports town, especially when it comes to hockey.”

- Former Wolverine Carson Butler has signed on to play with the New York Giants in 2010.  Here’s to hoping he can stick with a NFL squad next season.

- Baseball Head Coach Rich Maloney announced that the team’s sixth annual “Meet The Wolverines Night” will be February 10 @ Junge Family Champions Center (betw. Crisler & Michigan Stadium).

- AnnArbor.com has reported that Boubacar Cissoko was arrested in Ypsilanti for possession of marijuana last Friday after and later admitted intent to sell it.

- LostLettermen.com has a special on the Big Ten’s B-ball coaches before they were coaches including a piece on John Beilein leading his high school team to a then-record 23 wins.

  - 2010 Michigan Hockey Commit Mac Bennett has been named to the USHL All-Star Gamenext Tuesday at the Pepsi Center in Indianapolis, IN.

- Greg from MVictors.com has Part One of his interview up of his interview with Scout’s (WTKA Personality) Sam Webb.

- New Michigan AD David Brandon compared Michigan to Pizza in an interview with ESPN The Magazine:

“We're talking about a business as well as a school. Of course, I need to be mindful of the most popular offering. At Michigan, football is the classic-crust pepperoni pizza. So I understand the need for a successful football team. But I want to be sure I represent all the sports. We're not just making pepperoni. We're going to make a variety of pizzas, and ensure each one is baked just right.”

Barry Larkin played baseball for the University of Michigan for three years from 1983 to 1985. He was drafted by his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds, in the second round of the ‘82 MLB Draft, but instead chose to go to Ann Arbor.  Larkin was the first two-time winner of the Big Ten Player of the Year Award while batting .361 during his collegiate career.  

Upon arriving in Ann Arbor, Barry Larkin intended to play football and baseball. "I did get drafted out of high school, so I knew I was pretty good. But I think I got drafted more on potential than skill," said Larkin. "I just didn't dominate baseball like I did in football, so when I went to Michigan, that's all I had to go by. I mean, I was just thinking, 'football, football, football,' because that's all I did, and that's what I was really good at.”

After a year spent redshirting for football, Larkin decided his future was in baseball - a choice he knew he would have to share with (Bo) Schembechler. When Larkin told his coach about his change of heart, Schembechler told him to return a week later to again discuss the matter. Larkin did so, again repeating his intentions.

“I thought he was going to jump across his desk and absolutely strangle me,” Larkin said, recalling a sit-down meeting he had with the legendary Michigan football coach. “He told me, ‘Larkin - this is the University of Michigan. No one comes to the University of Michigan to play baseball.’ ”

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Jim Abbott, now 41, once amazed even those non-baseball fans by playing handicapped.  Abbott was born without a right hand, but never seemed to let it hinder his dreams/ambitions/drive to play.  He attended U of M from 1985 to 1988, only after turning down the Toronto Blue Jays. 

(Provided by MGoBlue)

While in Ann Arbor, Abbott helped lead the Wolverines to two Big Ten titles.  In 1987, he was the first baseball player ever to win the James E. Sullivan award, as the top amateur athlete in the country, and the coveted Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player in the country.  Abbott on winning the award, "The Golden Spikes Award was simply incredible. Traveling to New York City to accept the award with Coach Bud Middaugh was priceless. I think we were both very proud to represent U-M at that kind of venue. I don't think it got me out of running the next day in practice though."

In 1988, Jim Abbott pitched the gold medal winning game for the United States; was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

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This week we profile Charlie Gehringer.  Gehringer played baseball, basketball and football for the University of Michigan in 1922.  In 1923, Gehringer was discovered by Detroit Tigers LF Bobby Veach who invited him to a week long tryout to show current player-manager Ty Cobb what he could do.

Gehringer was called up in 1926, and Cobb, who was like a father to him, made him use his bat.  Although Gehringer preferred a bigger bat, he said “I didn’t dare use another one.”  Charlie would go on to win the American League MVP award and the batting championship in 1937.  Gehringer is recognized as the fourth player in MLB history to hit for a natural cycle.  His number 2 was retired by the Detroit Tigers in 1983 and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.

Charlie Gehringer passed away in 1993 at age 89.  A statue of him resides at Comerica Park to honor his time as a Detroit Tiger.

Currently 7^th in the Big Ten, Michigan (8-13, 27-23) pulls into their last series of the year (May 13-16) probably needing to sweep last place Northwestern (3-16, 12-34-1) to pick up the 1.5 games needed to catch the 6^th place Purdue Boilermakers (9-11, 22-23) for the last invitation to the Big Ten Tournament.  If the Wolverines pull off the sweep, chances are in their favor that Purdue would be unable to take their series from Illinois (15-6, 32-16) allowing Michigan to advance. Illinois will not be resting their players as they are tied for second place with the top two teams getting first round byes in the double elimination tournament (May 20-23).

(Photo of John Lorenz, courtesy of Drew Montag)

University of Michigan senior righthander Chris Fetter has been announced as one of the 50 finalists for the inaugural presentation of the Pitcher of the Year award to be awarded during the College Baseball Awards Show on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas.  So far this year Fetter is 6-1 with a Big Ten leading 2.18 ERA.  He has amassed 82 strikeouts in 74.1 innings and is now third on Michigan's all-time list with 260.  To learn more about Fetter, watch his brief bio.