sports
Beyond
Baseball
I
Steve Stein
Contributing Writer
E
ric Glanz is eagerly looking for-
ward to the next phase of his life.
It's a phase that includes going
to medical school. Believe it or not,
the West Bloomfield resident's life may
become a bit less hectic than it has been.
Playing one or two sports in high
school and college while not slipping
behind academically isn't easy.
"I've had to learn what to sacrifice
said Glanz, an outstanding student-ath-
lete at Walled Lake Central High School
and Kalamazoo College.
"Even though medical school will be a
bear, it'll be nice to focus 100 percent on
academics for a change he said.
Glanz, 22, who graduated from
Kalamazoo in June with a bachelor's
degree in chemistry, is taking post-grad-
uate biological sciences classes at Wayne
State University.
He's also preparing for the Medical
College Admission Test. He'll be applying
for medical school this year.
At the moment, he's leaning toward
becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
He's had shoulder and knee surgery
and broken his hand during his sports
career, so he knows about injuries from
firsthand knowledge.
Glanz was a co-Jewish News Male
High School Athlete of the Year in 2009.
He played football, basketball, hockey
and baseball at WL Central, and he said
that's when he realized baseball was his
forte.
A three-year starter at catcher in high
school, he received offers to play base-
ball at several colleges and universities,
including Brandeis and Johns Hopkins.
He decided to stay close to home
and go to Kalamazoo. He also liked
Kalamazoo's academic reputation and
small class sizes in a school of about
1,300 students.
"I embraced the recruiting process," he
said. "I knew I wanted to play baseball in
college and here I was getting to choose
the school I wanted to attend:"
Glanz was a four-year starter at catch-
er at Kalamazoo and the team co-captain
in 2012 and 2013.
The 5-foot-7, 180-pounder caught
all 40 games this season including 19
doubleheaders, many of them on back-
to-back days. All told, he spent more
than 280 innings behind the plate.
He left Kalamazoo with his name dot-
ting the baseball career record book, not
surprising considering he started 122 of
the 137 games he played.
While he's especially proud of being
part of a senior class that won the most
games ever in a four-year span (57), he's
one of just 19 players in school history to
have 100 hits in a career.
He had 102, putting him 16th on the
all-time list.
He's also third all-time in doubles
(27), fourth in walks (57), sixth in games
played (137) and hit-by-pitch (14) and
eighth in runs batted in (58).
He drove in five runs in a game twice,
tying him for third on the single-game
record list.
His best season at the plate was his
sophomore year, when he hit .383 and
earned the team's Most Improved Player
award.
He batted .252 this season, but he fm-
ished with a flourish.
He went 2-for-4 at Central Michigan
and got a hit in the final at-bat of his col-
lege career. He fouled off four pitches on
a 3-and-2 count, then ripped a single up
the middle.
Glanz made just eight errors in four
seasons. He had 343 putouts and 64
assists.
"I love being a catcher; he said.
"You're involved in every play. That's me:'
Involvement is very much a part of
his DNA. He received the Kalamazoo
Senior Leadership Recognition Award
for his leadership on the baseball team,
academics and the community.
He was a member of the college's
Athletic Leadership Council, helped
recruit potential student-athletes by tak-
ing them on campus tours and hosting
them for overnight visits, and he was a
tutor and mentor in math for Kalamazoo
Middle School students.
He's now a Class Agent for the
Kalamazoo Class of 2013. Agents help
students in their graduating class stay
connected to the college, and keep them
informed about philanthropic opportu-
nities and reunions.
So he has that responsibility on his
plate as he prepares for medical school.
And he hasn't given up playing baseball
completely.
"If an opportunity comes along, I'll
take a look at it:' he said.
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January 2 • 2014
35