Danny Schmitz is an American baseball coach and former second baseman. He played college baseball at Eastern Michigan for coach Ron Oestrike from 1974 to 1977 before playing professionally from 1977 to 1984. He then served as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan (1988–1990) before becoming the head baseball coach of the Bowling Green Falcons (1991–2020).[1][2][3][4]
 Schmitz in 2014 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 1955 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1974–1977 | Eastern Michigan |
| Position(s) | 2B |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1988–1990 | Eastern Michigan (Asst.) |
| 1991–2020 | Bowling Green |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 717–786–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| MAC Regular season: 1995, 2002, 2008, 2009 Division: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010 MAC tournament: 1998, 1999, 2013 | |
| Awards | |
| MAC Coach of the Year: 1994, 1995, 2009 | |
Playing career
editSchmitz was a four-year letterman at second base for Eastern Michigan, which he helped to a pair of College World Series appearances including the 1976 final. After his senior season, in which he batted .339 and served as a co-captain, he was drafted in the 20th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees. Schmitz would go on to play six seasons in the minors, reaching Class AAA in his second season but never reaching the majors. He spent brief time in the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins systems, including a season as a player-coach with the Toledo Mud Hens before retiring and turning full-time to coaching.[1][4]
Coaching career
editImmediately after ending his playing career, he served as manager of the Twins' class-A affiliate Visalia Oaks. He served in that position for three years before returning to Eastern Michigan as an assistant coach. While back with the Hurons, he helped lead EMU to a pair of second-place finishes in 1988 and 1990. He was hired at Bowling Green for his first head coaching job at the collegiate level, just the Falcons ninth coach and fifth since 1928.[1][2]
While with Bowling Green, the Falcons have claimed four Mid-American Conference regular season titles, seven division titles, and three Mid-American Conference baseball tournament championships. Schmitz has seen 29 players sign professional contracts, while his teams have amassed over 600 wins.[1][3] Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Bowling Green State University announced the termination of the baseball program due to budget cuts during the pandemic,[5] just weeks later, the school announced that it had fund-raised enough money to revive the program effective immediately.[6] On June 3, 2020, it was announced that Schmitz would step down from head coach and step into an advisory role with the program.[7]
Head coaching record
editThis table shows Schmitz's record as a college coach.[1]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) (1991–2020) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Bowling Green | 16–39–1 | 7–23 | 9th (9) | |||||
| 1992 | Bowling Green | 14–25–1 | 7–22–1 | 9th (9) | |||||
| 1993 | Bowling Green | 19–27–1 | 7–23 | 9th (10) | |||||
| 1994 | Bowling Green | 29–18 | 16–10 | 3rd (10) | MAC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1995 | Bowling Green | 34–20 | 22–8 | 1st (10) | MAC tournament[b] | ||||
| 1996 | Bowling Green | 28–22 | 14–17 | 8th (10) | |||||
| 1997 | Bowling Green | 24–27 | 13–17 | 8th (10) | |||||
| 1998 | Bowling Green | 34–21 | 17–10 | 1st (East) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1999 | Bowling Green | 36–24 | 25–6 | 1st (East) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2000 | Bowling Green | 29–24–1 | 14–12 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 2001 | Bowling Green | 36–18 | 18–9 | 1st (East) | MAC tournament[c] | ||||
| 2002 | Bowling Green | 32–22 | 18–7 | 1st (East) | MAC tournament[d] | ||||
| 2003 | Bowling Green | 17–28 | 9–18 | 6th (West) | |||||
| 2004 | Bowling Green | 28–19 | 13–11 | 5th (West) | |||||
| 2005 | Bowling Green | 33–18 | 12–18 | 3rd (West) | MAC tournament[e] | ||||
| 2006 | Bowling Green | 26–27 | 11–16 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 2007 | Bowling Green | 22–32 | 7–20 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2008 | Bowling Green | 32–20 | 16–8 | T-1st (East) | MAC tournament[f] | ||||
| 2009 | Bowling Green | 28–22 | 18–8 | 1st (East) | MAC tournament[g] | ||||
| 2010 | Bowling Green | 31–23 | 18–9 | T-1st (East) | MAC tournament[h] | ||||
| 2011 | Bowling Green | 20–31 | 11–14 | 3rd (East) | MAC tournament[i] | ||||
| 2012 | Bowling Green | 20–33 | 9–18 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2013 | Bowling Green | 24–31 | 13–14 | 4th (East) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2014 | Bowling Green | 25–27 | 15–12 | 3rd (East) | MAC tournament[j] | ||||
| 2015 | Bowling Green | 19–24 | 11–10 | 3rd (East) | MAC tournament | ||||
| 2016 | Bowling Green | 17–37 | 7–17 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2017 | Bowling Green | 15–34 | 9–15 | 3rd (East) | |||||
| 2018 | Bowling Green | 11–39 | 6–19 | 10th | |||||
| 2019 | Bowling Green | 16–33 | 8–18 | 8th | |||||
| 2020 | Bowling Green | 2–11 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
| Bowling Green: | 717–786–5 | 372–398–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 717–786–5 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
- ^ The top four of the MAC's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 1994.
- ^ The top four of the MAC's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 1995.
- ^ The top six of the MAC's thirteen teams qualified for the tournament in 2001.
- ^ The top six of the MAC's thirteen teams qualified for the tournament in 2002.
- ^ The top six of the MAC's thirteen teams qualified for the tournament in 2005.
- ^ The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2008.
- ^ The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2009.
- ^ The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2010.
- ^ The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2011.
- ^ The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2014.
See also
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Baseball Coaching Staff". Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ^ a b "Falcons hire Schmitz for baseball". Toledo Blade. August 29, 1990. p. 18. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ^ a b John Wagner (April 24, 2013). "Bowling Green baseball coach Schmitz gets 600th win". Toledo Blade.
- ^ a b Brandon Karsten (November 6, 2011). "Former EMU baseball player excels". Eastern Echo. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ^ Piotrowicz, Nicholas (May 15, 2020). "Bowling Green cuts baseball program effective immediately". The Blade. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ Nicholas Piotrowicz (June 2, 2020). "Bowling Green reinstates baseball program". www.toldedoblade.com. The Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Nicholas Piotrowicz (June 3, 2020). "Longtime BGSU baseball coach Danny Schmitz moves to new role". www.toledoblade.com. The Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 4, 2020.