The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1527978
NOVEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 61 ❱ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Chris Fetter and Michael Brdar … the impact that those guys have had, it's been awesome. "Throughout the front of- fice, there are different people that went to Michigan or what have you. I think it's a happy coincidence, but with Fetter and Brdar, those guys have been unbelievable, and what they've gotten out of these guys, being able to keep these guys calm and being able to ex- ecute in those moments." Scales spent a dozen years as a player in the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs minor league systems and made his MLB debut in 2009. His final four seasons were split between MLB post- ings (with the Cubs and New York Mets) and the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and later the Orix Buffaloes. From there, he was with the Los An- geles Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations in player development. It was not until 2023 that Scales jumped into the Tigers organiza- tion as a commentator, thanks to a tip from Michigander and media personality Jon Morosi. "He told me that the Tigers were look- ing for someone to help with the color commentary for the 2023 season," Scales said. "He put my name out there, and then Ron Colangelo called me. We were on the phone for about an hour and he said, 'You want to dive into this next year?' And I said, 'Absolutely.' So, I was supposed to have a 40-game package last year; that 40 turned into about 65, and then they brought me back this year. That's how it all started." Scales has never lost touch with his alma mater and keeps tabs on all things Michigan, including a spot on the School of Sport Management's advisory board. "I always pay attention," Scales said. "I am maize and blue to my core and will be to the day it's over. And I love that place, I love Ann Arbor. I love everything that meant to me. So, paying attention to all things Michigan comes very naturally and very easily to me. "The aim of that board is really to connect what's happening in the sports business marketplace and make sure that our students have an opportunity to un- derstand what's truly going on." To be a Michigan Man is to have an opportunity to spend time with plenty of people at the top of their respective fields, and that is something the school and de- gree provided him that will carry Scales through the rest of his life, he said. "The opportunity to be around excellence, there's ex- cellence walking around our campus in every discipline," he said. "Every day, there's going to be people who you sit next to on the campus commuter that are going to do massive things in this world, not just in sports, not just in business and philanthropic endeavors, what have you. "These people are walking around the campus. And so, to have the opportunity to be in the same space and talk to those people and call some of those people friends was mas- sive. It was bigger than we re- alized at the time. The thing that I try to perpetuate every single day, that I'm so appre- ciative of, is just how welcom- ing and open the Michigan alumni network is. "If you see people on the street, it's 'Go Blue!' If you're between gigs and you reach out to some- body who may be working in the indus- try that you want to work in via LinkedIn and you don't know them, as soon as they see the block M, they accept. "Those are the type of things that I try to do. Because everybody talks about the Michigan difference. That's the differ- ence." ❏ Scales played for more than a decade in the minors before making his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2009. His career also included two stints in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. He became an analyst for the Detroit Tigers Radio Network in 2023. PHOTO COURTESY BOBBY SCALES ❱ The Bobby Scales File Michigan Accomplishments: 1999 Bob Ufer Award recipient … Four-year letterman, three-year starter for U-M baseball … Co-captain of 1999 Big Ten championship team … 1999 Big Ten Tournament MVP … 1999 All-American … Two-time All-Big Ten selection (1997, '98) Professional Accomplishments: Selected in the 14th round (442nd overall) of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft … Played in minor league systems (including eight years in AAA ball) of the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox … Joined Chicago Cubs organization in 2008, making his MLB debut in 2009 … Had two stints in the Nippon Professional Baseball League with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Orix Buffaloes in 2011 and '12. Favorite Spot On Campus: "Athletically, it's Fisher Stadium. That's special. It will always be special. I love that place. On campus, I used to like sitting on the east side of the Diag. There's a bench there. I used to like sitting there and just watching people." Favorite Michigan Memory: "The reason I was so interested to come to Michigan was because of the Fab Five's freshman year. I grew up in Atlanta, and they came down here to play the [NCAA] regional. I went to both games of that regional. My dad took me, and I was in eighth grade."