February 17^th, 2011
Larry Carmello, sporthaven.net

Speculation reigns as we roll into pro baseball’s Spring Training schedule. Can the Charleston Statesmen pull off the first back-to-back championship in PEBA history? Can Crystal Lake recover mentally from a second heartbreaking Championship defeat? Can this year’s teams find a way through Conan McCullough, or a way to shut down the bat of Pat Lilly?

Perhaps the most pressing question here in preseason is what will happen behind the scenes in southwest Michigan, where the Kalamazoo Badgers find themselves heading towards the 2011 season without a General Manager.

The search for a new helmsman for the Great Lakes perennial second-placers began in earnest after 2010 found the Badgers finish the season below .500 for the first time in their history, languishing 23 games behind their bitter divisional rivals, the Crystal Lake Sandgnats.
So far, very few names of any note have been thrown into the Kalamazoo hat. There was speculation at the start of this year that 73-year-old Byron Cormack, the legendary “Whalestomper”, would be tempted out of retirement to take on the job, but this month’s grand larceny court case quickly snuffed out the flames of that rumor.

One potential name that has been banded about in the clubroom is Mark Knight, a relatively unknown Michigan native who was something of a college baseball hero in the late eighties. If you have ever seen the famous picture of a portly catcher dragging a base runner back towards home plate by a waist-length ponytail, you will be familiar with Mr. Knight.

“It was the eighties,” Knight explained to me recently. “Everyone was a Metallica fan! At the time, I thought I looked good. But after that game with Michigan State I figured it was time for a haircut.”

Late season in ’89, Knight was a part of the highly productive Michigan U outfield. The game after which he took this life-changing decision was against long-time rivals Michigan State. After hitting a looper to right field, Knight took off for first, only to find himself landing on his back, having been yanked backwards by his hair. Catcher John “Tubbs” Smythe was ejected from the game and received a 2-week ban, later claiming that Knight had said something derogatory about his sister.

“A lot of things were always said in that game. Heated tempers always show up against State.” When pushed, Knight gave a wry smile. “I honestly don’t remember.”

The picture taken by a college photography student made local paper’s back pages and in recent years has found itself recycled countless times on amateurish YouTube picture montages, often set to obnoxious heavy metal and with little “lol” captions dotted about it.

Since leaving college, Knight has stayed close to baseball, acting as a hitting coach for several Michigan teams before a move to manage a Floridian AAA outfit for a league that folded last year. His record was exemplary, his team playing .600 ball over the 4 seasons he was at the helm.

Despite this winning record, it would be a long step upwards for Knight to walk straight into what some may conceive as one of the biggest challenges in baseball. Despite his lack of experience, however, one thing that has set Knight apart since he was linked with the job is his passion for the game and for the team.

“I’m a Michigan boy through and through,” he explains. “When the league first fired up, I took an interest straight away. I always find games in the Great Lakes fascinating and passionate match-ups. And here we have a team in a division full of those teams. I love the passion of baseball. I always have. Friendly rivalry is always welcomed and encouraged in my clubhouse, wherever I may be. I like to instill a love for the team and for the game in my players; that’s where the really good performances come from.”

It is this kind of zealous enthusiasm that could really be a boost for a Kalamazoo team that has always promised so much but failed to deliver. Far from a lyrical scholar, Knight speaks in short, excited bursts, and I could tell just from a short telephone conversation that he has the capability to motivate those around him. Indeed, after half an hour I found myself having an intense dislike for the Spartans.

The need for strong motivation is something that those in the upper echelons in Kalamazoo have spoken of in press conferences, and that, I feel, makes Mark Knight a perfect candidate. He may not be the most experienced man for the job, but he has a good working knowledge of the game and undeniable passion. I think the powers that be in Michigan could do a lot worse than to give Knight a shot.

One thing to consider for whoever picks up the job at Portage Park, is the team’s priority for the coming season. With the likes of John Collins, last year’s All-Star, and Er Hang, the 25-year-old Taiwanese ace on staff, the Badgers have a good chance to push for the playoffs in 2011. They will be reliant, however, on the likes of Henry O’Halloran, who will be hoping to repeat his power performance of 2010, having driven 30 long balls in his first year of consistent major league play. Brett Hurst, who alternated between DH and 2B last season, continued to be a solid RBI producer but has seen his average drop the last three seasons now.

It is players like O’Halloran and Hurst and potential stars for the future like Álex Martínez – who had a very impressive season in 2010 – that would benefit the most from the fervor Knight would bring with him to the team.

The other option for potential managers is to tear down the Kalamazoo organization and start again from the ground up. I personally favor this approach. For four seasons now, we have seen the Badgers lose ground to the Sandgnats. If this trend is to be stopped, I believe that the priority for the Badgers must be sound planning for the future of the club. Only 6 of the Badgers’ 40-man roster are under the age of 25. Of those, Álex Martínez is probably the best placed to succeed, but his problems with injuries, if they continue, could seriously waylay his chance to excel. Joel Swedlove, previously described as the Badgers’ best prospect, entirely failed to produce during his call-up last season, and the future for the club does not look great.

Mark Knight, however, would seem to disagree. “I think the team’s in great shape to make a challenge this season. It’s a team with a solid pitching backbone; that’s always been the focus and it has been very successful. There are one or two things that need to change to guarantee long-term success, but I’m not sure that you would need to gut the team in order to get it into that state. But I’m just speculating. I’m sure whoever takes charge is well-positioned to take the team far. It just needs that little push.”

Until the Badgers decide who will take them into the future, it’s impossible to tell what will happen, but Mark Knight is certainly the face (without the long hair) to keep an eye on.