The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/299859
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? were going to be young and we were going to have some tough days and it might be a really inconsistent season, but he said he had confidence in me and confidence in the program, and he said he wanted to do everything he could to help us become a cham- pionship team. "He was absolutely the catalyst, the MVP, the soul of the team. He was the reason we won the Big Ten title that year. We weren't the most talented team, but we were the best team be- cause of him." Kunkel hit .335 with 28 RBI, but his greatest impact came behind the plate, as he nurtured a young pitch- ing staff relying on four freshmen. "I take a lot of pride in the fact that we won a Big Ten championship my last year," he said. "That was the rea- son I came back, and the fact that the program kept getting better even after I left — I always wanted to leave the program better than when I came in. "The next year, they went down to Vanderbilt and beat the No. 1 team in the country in the regional, and I'm in a minor league clubhouse with West Michigan just crying and celebrating. The guys on my team looked at me like I was nuts, but I felt bad because they just didn't get it. They didn't have the college experience I had." Michigan clinched the Big Ten reg- ular-season crown Kunkel's senior year by beating Iowa in Ann Arbor the final weekend, capturing the program's first conference title since 1997. "To sing 'The Victors' with my teammates and for my whole family to be there when we beat Iowa was a special moment in my life," Kunkel said. "Those guys have remained my best friends, and every day, when I see the ring, I'm reminded of that time. "I actually don't wear my [2012] American League championship ring too often, but my Michigan Big Ten championship ring I wear all the time." Following the conclusion of his U-M career, which included another NCAA Tournament, Kunkel signed Kunkel, who aspires to be a manager some- day, has served as the Tigers' bullpen catcher since 2012. PHOTO BY TOM HAGERTY