Journal

Lessons From the Locker — No. 1: How Do You Want to Be Identified?
Lessons From the Locker — No. 1: How Do You Want to Be Identified?
When Andy Lopez arrived at Arizona, one of his early locker-room handouts confronted the program’s recent Pac-10 record and asked a simple question: How do you want to be identified?... Read more...
Before the Series
Before the Series
Before a three-game Pac-10 series, Coach Andy Lopez had a ritual: during the week, a sheet of paper would appear in our lockers. Some focused on preparation. Others on mental... Read more...
Still in the Game
Still in the Game
A baseball life does not always move in a straight line. In 2005, Tim Link worked in Baseball Operations with the Colorado Rockies during Spring Training. Years later, a simple... Read more...
A Piece of Rosenblatt
A Piece of Rosenblatt
The stadium is gone. The history remains. Some pieces of baseball history are preserved in photographs. Others survive in stories, scorebooks, programs, uniforms, and the memories passed from one generation... Read more...
The Wolverine of the Year Bat
The Wolverine of the Year Bat
In 2000, Tim Link received Aliso Niguel Baseball’s Wolverine of the Year award—engraved on a wooden baseball bat. More than 25 years later, the bat has become more than an... Read more...
From Dedeaux to the Next Generation
From Dedeaux to the Next Generation
Baseball knowledge rarely belongs to one person. It moves from coach to player, father to son, and one generation to the next. From Rod Dedeaux and Mike Link to Tim... Read more...
The Game Was Passed Down
The Game Was Passed Down
Baseball is rarely taught all at once. It gets passed down in pieces — through stories, standards, lessons, and the people who carry the game forward. For Tim Link, much... Read more...
1968 — A Championship Season
1968 — A Championship Season
A championship lasts one season. What it leaves behind can last generations. In 1968, Mike Link was part of USC’s national championship baseball team. Decades later, the watch, program, scorecards,... Read more...
The Fellowship of Baseball
The Fellowship of Baseball
Some friendships outlast the final out. The story of Mike Link, Bobby Valentine, and the lifelong relationships baseball leaves behind. Read more...
The Curveball Lesson
The Curveball Lesson
In 1966, during Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax’s holdout, Drysdale took time to help Notre Dame High pitcher Mike Link with his curveball. Decades later, that lesson became part of... Read more...
The Smell of a Baseball Field in July
The Smell of a Baseball Field in July
You know it before you see the field. The grass, cut that morning, still holding the heat of the afternoon. The infield dirt, dry and fine, lifting slightly in the... Read more...