BY STEVE KRAH
With know-how gained as a player, trainer and coach, Michael McCormick has been hired to guide pitchers in the Boston Red Sox organization.
McCormick, a 2012 graduate of Speedway (Ind.) High School, pitched at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., and Eastern Illinois University and in the Chicago White Sox system and independent ball followed by stints as a Driveline Baseball trainer and pitching coach (2020) then head coach at Ave Maria (Fla.) University (2021-23).
The Red Sox reached out at the beginning of the fall. Hired about a month ago, McCormick will be a pitching coach for the rookie ball team based in Fort Myers, Fla. Camp starts in January and the Florida Complex League season begins in June.
Until seeing the players and other personnel, McCormick is go over data while familiarizing himself with different Red Sox systems and getting on-boarded onto those systems.
“I’m familiarizing myself with each guy and getting an idea of what they need to improve on this next season,” says McCormick.
He expects a smooth transition and will continue to emphasize relationship leadership over transactional.
“It reinforces the fact that the development of relationships between coaches and players in fundamental for trying to develop guys on the baseball field,” says McCormick, 30. “It’s just getting to know the person — off the field as well as on the field.
“You’ve just got to build that rapport. It’s easier to make those adjustments when there’s trust going both ways.”
The roster will be made up of player selected in the 2023 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft or those coming from the Dominican academy.
McCormick, who took Spanish in highs school, says he is conversational in the language and got to use it while playing pro ball and with bilinguals at Ave Maria.
“I’m looking forward to using it everyday (with the Red Sox) and it getting even better,” says McCormick.
Former big league left-hander Craig Breslow was hired in October as the Red Sox chief baseball officer after being Director of Strategic Initiatives for Baseball Operations with the Chicago Cubs.
Justin Willard became the Red Sox director of pitching in December after serving as pitching coordinator for the Minnesota Twins.
“I’m really excited to work with those two,” says McCormick. “It’s also the gains the Red Sox have been able to make on the pitching side I’m excited to contribute where I can.
“The emphasis will be more so on the player development side as opposed to winning at the rookie ball level. But when you focus on the important things sometimes winning is a result.
“The end goal is to win a (World Series) championship.”
McCormick will also interact with Red Sox Director of Player Development Brian Abraham as well as many others in the system’s player development department especially those who focus on pitchers. There are other former Driveline employees, too.
There will be daily interaction with the strength and conditioning staff, athletic trainers and nutritionists.
“It’s a holistic approach when it comes to player development,” says McCormick. “More goes into it than solely pitching.”
The job change does not require McCormick and his family to move. He will commute from Ave Maria to Fort Myers, a distance of about 35 miles.
Wife Teigan McCormick is heading into her first season as indoor/beach volleyball coach at AMU, which recently upgraded Tom Golisano Field House.
The McCormicks met at Parkland when he was playing baseball and she volleyball. The couple has three children — daughter Kolby Rae (7) and sons Steston (2) and Augustin (4 months). Kolby Rae attends Rhodora J. Donahue Academy of Ave Maria.
“We love living here in Ave Maria,” says McCormick. “It really worked out.”
Staying in Ave Maria also means that when time allows Michael will be able to visit the team and his younger brother Nicholas McCormick (a Speedway and Eastern Illinois graduate) — who was elevated from Gyrenes pitching coach to head coach with Michael’s leaving. Nicholas is a 2014 Speedway alum.
Ave Maria plays in The Sun Conference and that NAIA-affiliated league’s tournament is slated for JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers.
Marcus McCormick — father of Michael and Nicholas — was the head baseball coach at Speedway through the 2023 season. He has stepped away from that position and is now athletic director at Speedway Middle School while also giving baseball lessons.
The Sparkplugs baseball program is now led by former McCormick assistant Matt Burke.
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