The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532537
76 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2025 BY ANTHONY BROOME O ne of U-M's own heads into 2025 as one of the most respected fig- ures in all of Major League Baseball. Chris Fetter, the pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers and a Michigan alum who turned 39 this past December, was named the 2024 MLB Coach of the Year by Baseball America just before the cal- endar flipped to 2025. Fetter has been with the Tigers for five seasons and is coming off his best campaign yet of leading the pitching staff, helping guide the squad to an ap- pearance in the American League Divi- sional Series. Detroit ranked fourth in the league last season with a 3.63 ERA. A feather in his cap came when ace pitcher Tarik Skubal won the American League Cy Young Award. Skubal finished the year 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched, the best season of his career by a wide margin. "He's just really good at communi- cating, which is everything, especially at the big-league level," Skubal said af- ter Fetter won the award. "Guys are go- ing to be very talented and very skilled, but being able to communicate and work on those little things and those fine adjustments can take your game to the next level. "He knows how to communicate, es- pecially on days I pitch. He knows my body language, my tendencies. He keeps me in line and keeps my goals simple. I really like that aspect of him. "Our conversations are pretty open and honest. I don't want someone to just be a 'yes' man. I want someone to coach me and try to get the best out of me. I think he really does that for me." ❱ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Former U-M Pitcher And Coach Chris Fetter Was Named The Top MLB Coach Fetter pitched for the Maize and Blue in four seasons from 2006-09, and ranked first in program history with 332 1/3 innings pitched and third with 281 strikeouts. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETICS.