tromeros@unm.edu
Junior catcher Mitchell Garver is making a name for himself in his hometown.
The Lobo baseball player is one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench Award that honors the top Division I catcher in the nation. The other two finalists are Kevin Plawecki from Purdue University and Mike Zunino of the University of Florida.
If Garver wins, he would be the first Lobo to receive the award.
Garver had his best season as a collegiate player this year, leading the team with 68 runs and 27 doubles, and the second best batting average on the team with .377. He also had 101 hits, 10 home runs, 57 RBIs, 164 total bases, a .612 slugging percentage and a .438 on-base percentage.
The nomination came as a surprise to Garver, who said if it wasn’t for the efforts of head coach Ray Birmingham, he would not have been nominated for the award.
“I was really surprised when I found out and a little bit overwhelmed, but it’s all thanks to coach Birmingham because I wouldn’t even be on the list,” Garver said. “He made a few calls and made things happen, and now I’m a finalist.”
Freshman outfielder Ryan Padilla said Garver was a leader on the team and helped the Lobos win the MWC regular season and tournament titles.
“Mitchell is just a great teammate,” Padilla said. “He was a real leader for our team, and he’s just one of the guys you look to lead us to the MWC championship.”
Garver said he embraces the role of being a leader and only wants to help his teammates improve.
“I like to make people understand the game and what they’re doing, instead of trying to tell them to do something,” Garver said. “I like to help develop younger players into the best baseball players they can be just by playing the game the right way.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all smiles for Garver last week. He expected to be one of the 1,238 players taken in the MLB draft, but was not selected.
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Garver said he was upset by not being selected, and he attributes it to the fact that he didn’t play in many top amateur events when he was younger.
“I didn’t play a whole lot of high-level amateur baseball when I was young,” Garver said. “I didn’t go to perfect-game showcases and didn’t try out for Team USA.”
Garver said he hopes to be selected in next year’s draft, and will try to improve in all facets of his game to raise his draft stock.
“This year was more of a breakout year for me,” Garver said. “Next year I hope to continue my hot streak, have a high hitting average, make the Johnny Bench watch list again, and I want to make it further (in the NCAA tournament), if not win the whole thing.”
