The Wolverine

August 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1147681

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 75 of 83

76 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2019   WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Just another lesson from the game. "That was very frustrating," LaMarre said. "I felt like we did lose some talent, but we had a lot of talent there as well. It was one of those things. There were some guys thrown into the lineup for the first time, after not having to contribute much. Baseball is such a game of ups and downs. "I didn't feel like it was as bad as the record showed. We had some tough breaks, some tough losses. "We were coming off a run of three straight Big Ten champion- ships, and beating up on some teams pretty good. Teams could sense we were a little down, and they brought their best effort ev- ery time they played us. They really tried to pay us back for the past few years." LaMarre credits Maloney for doing an "amazing job" of building his confidence, and it showed. His junior year, La- Marre became a first-team All- Big Ten outfielder, leading the squad in batting average (.419), on-base percentage (.453) and slug- ging percentage (.649). The team finished second in the Big Ten and suffered a three-game exit from the conference tournament. LaMarre desired to finish differently, but it was time to move on. "I didn't want my career at Michi- gan to end that way," LaMarre said. "I wanted it to be a little more like my freshman year was — you win a cham- pionship and get into the postseason. It was a tough decision, but I was ready." The Cincinnati Reds took him with the 62nd pick in the 2010 draft, set- ting off an impromptu celebration in Jackson. "It was an unbelievable experi- ence," he recalled. "I was at my par- ents' house. Within 30 minutes, there were probably 30 people there, cel- ebrating with us. "I was just very happy for the opportunity and the next step on the journey." The next steps tested him, in- volving nearly five years in the Reds' minor league system. The reminders came: you never really have this game mastered. The biggest adjustment in- volved playing baseball almost every day or night, compared to the three-game weekend series with a midweek game or two in college. Hanging out and un- winding with college buddies became memories. "You're in these small cities, staying at these crappy hotels," LaMarre noted. "You're riding these long bus rides. Then ev- ery night at 7:05, you're playing against some of the other best players in the world, who are also trying to accomplish their dreams. "You're facing better pitch- ing, better players. The mental side of the game, in professional baseball, is where the talent gets weeded out and separated. That was a huge, huge learning expe- rience for me." He endured a series of injuries, a byproduct of playing every day. His first big-league break occurred in 2015. His team was playing in Gwin- nett, and the manager called him in before a game to tell him he'd been summoned to the Reds. He couldn't fight through traffic to make his flight that night, but that turned out okay. "It gave my family time to get down there and gave me a chance to make a few phone calls, thank people who helped me along the way," he said. "It was a whirlwind couple of days, but it was amazing." It's been amazing ever since, in many ways. He's played for Cincin- nati, Boston, Oakland, Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox. He hit .303 last fall in 33 games played (66 at-bats) for the White Sox. He still wound up signing with Gwinnett this year, and is looking to claw his way up to Atlanta. "It's a crazy game," LaMarre ac- knowledged. "What I've learned is you don't try to explain it. You don't really try to understand it. You just go out there and you work hard. "You trust God, throw your chips in and compete on a nightly basis." ❏ The Ryan LaMarre File Michigan Accomplishments: Played on a Big Ten championship squad as a freshman, hitting .305 in 51 games … Increased his batting averaged the next two seasons, to .344 and then .419 as a first-time All-Big Ten performer as a senior … Hit .356 in three years, with 20 home runs, 125 RBI, 122 runs scored and a .557 slugging percentage. Professional Accomplishments: Has played professionally since 2010, includ- ing parts of four seasons at the major-league level … Hit .303 in a 33-game stint with the Chicago White Sox last year … Has two home runs and 18 RBI at the major league level … Was hitting .301 with six home runs and 40 RBI in 82 games for the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers as of July 16. Michigan Memory: "I met my wife at Michigan … of my wedding party, six of the eight were former teammates at Michigan. It's just the amazing life experi- ence you get in Ann Arbor — the people you meet, the classes you get to take, the experiences you get to have. "The university gave me so much. Those are friendships and memories we still talk about. We had our Big Ten reunion last year, at a football game, from the 2008 championship team. You don't see these guys for 10 years, and it's like you never missed a beat." Family: Married to Michigan tennis alum Whitney Taney. LaMarre has appeared in 105 major league games over four seasons (2015-18) with five different teams, and is cur- rently suiting up for the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, Ga. PHOTO COURTESY RYAN LAMARRE

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolverine - August 2019