Michael Baumann on Mike Baumann

Just to get this out of the way: I really have no idea if this gimmick is funny to all of you, and I don’t care. I think it’s funny, and so does Mike Baumann. The Orioles righthander and I have known of each other since he was playing at Jacksonville University and I was covering college baseball; I’d interviewed him twice for the Ringer MLB Show, once when he was drafted in 2017 and once more after he made his big league debut in September 2021. But both those interviews were done remotely; it wasn’t until this week that we met in person.

The Orioles just came to Philadelphia for a three-game series, so I made a point to go meet the other Michael Baumann. (I scanned the BBWAA badge list and didn’t spot any other current members who share a name with an active MLB player, but it’s possible I missed someone.)

So I put the following proposition to the other guy: I’d ask him a series of (more or less randomly ordered) questions covering everything from baseball technique to music to food. When there’s a major league reliever going around using your name, you want to look him in the eye and see what he’s all about. He agreed, and what follows is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

What’s your favorite thing about playing in Baltimore?

I love the stadium. It comes with the atmosphere and the fans. It’s such a unique ballpark, and it’s just been such a fun place to place since I debuted.

Everyone is in the clubhouse before a game hanging out, and you see one guy going for the aux cord to control the music. Who are you hoping it’s not?

Probably Tyler Wells. I love country but I think he’s just gonna play super old-fashioned country-style music.

How do you kill time on the team plane?

I usually download some episodes from Netflix, right now I’m watching Suits a lot. And we play Monopoly Deal whenever we have some spare time.

How is Suits? It’s been popping up on my Netflix and I need, like, a middlebrow TV show to binge. Would you recommend that based on what you’ve seen?

I would recommend it. There’s three different things going on every episode, and it’s always something new. Nothing drags along. I’ve fallen in love with those characters. Pretty much the whole bullpen’s watching it. First through third inning of the game we’re talking about Suits.

Cool. I’ll watch it and next time you guys are back in town we’ll talk about it. So the metrics show some big changes to your curveball this year. [Note: He’s throwing it three miles per hour harder than in 2022, with less break, but opponents’ wOBA against the pitch has dropped from .385 to .243.] What have you changed about that pitch?

The main thing going into this season was a I knew I had to command it better. So I started out throwing it like my fastball. Same grip, just fastball mentality. I sacrificed some movement, but the velocity ticked up. And I think when it’s a little tighter, it’s easier to control.

What does that mean, ‘fastball mentality?’

You’re almost just gripping and ripping it, not trying to manipulate it or do too much with it.

Who’s a teammate who’s better than people outside the team realize?

If I wanted to stick with the bullpen, I want to say Danny Coulombe’s been massive for us. In the lineup, I think people are starting to realize how good Ryan O’Hearn is. He’s been a massive addition to our lineup this year.

We can talk about this in terms of the major leagues, but even dating back to high school and travel ball, how many new places would you say baseball has brought you to?

Pretty much all of them. I grew up in Minnesota and pretty much stayed there, Wisconsin, and Florida. I’ve been all up and down the east coast since I’ve debuted and seen some of the west coast, too, it’s been awesome. Wrigley was pretty cool. The first time I was there, I hit a couple guys and got booed out of there, so that was a nice little memory.

Whatever else you do in your career, you can hang your hat on getting booed out of Wrigley. So a couple weeks ago my brother sent me a picture his friend had taken in Chicago, of a bunch of people in Mike Baumann jerseys—

That was probably my family. It’s like six hours from [his hometown of Mahtomedi, Minnesota. And my family on my mom’s side is from Wisconsin; that’s probably two hours from Chicago.

What’s your favorite misspelling or mispronunciation of our name?

I get Bowman [Note: like bow and arrow] a lot. I don’t know if many people misspell it. If anything, they leave out an N.

There’s a one-N Bauman at Auburn [left-handed pitcher Tanner Bauman] and another who just got drafted [Angels 13th-round pick Riley Bauman, a right-handed pitcher from Abilene Christian]. Any advice for them trying to make it in baseball with fewer Ns than they need?

They only have one N?

Yeah, there’s a two-N Garrett Baumann who was a fourth-round pick, but these guys only have one N.

I just…I don’t know. [laughs] You just gotta get through it. Gotta wear it.

Take me through your gameday routine. What are you trying to do to get in the headspace to pitch?

I roll my body to get it activated, and then, yeah, I’ve learned to take catch a little bit more seriously being in the bullpen. I get fewer reps now throwing every day. I’m trying to save my bullets, but at the same time get my work in. I’ve got a band routine, then a little plyo ball routine before I throw, to get what I need every day throwing-wise. Before the game, just getting in the right headspace with music. Once the game starts, I start moving around in the third or fourth inning once the game’s going.

Are you one of those guys who eats the same thing before every game or do you like to switch it up?

I try not to, just because it’s so hard to find the same food in different cities. No superstitions there.

What’s on the pregame playlist?

It’s probably been the same since I was in high school, though I’m in the middle of changing it now. It’s basically early 2010s hip-hop and rap.

Do you miss starting?

Actually, no, I don’t miss it. I like throwing every day, being on the board every day, being able to take part in as many games as possible. So I could have a bad day, show up to the field like nothing happened and be in the game the next day and help the team win. That’s probably the best part about it.

What’s your go-to pizza order?

Good question. If I was to order from Domino’s, I’d go with banana peppers —

YES!

— and bacon.

So my wife and me, our normal pizza order is pineapple, jalapenos, and either pepperoni or bacon.

I am not afraid to put pineapple on pizza.

You should, next time. You get the spicy, salty, and sweet all at once.

That’d be good. Right now, the wood-fired pizzas, I’ll get in there. Any kind of meat and honey, there’s been some good meat and honey pizzas.

If you like honey on pizza, pineapple isn’t that big a stretch.

Yeah, I’m not scared to try it. I’ve had pickles on pizza too, that’s pretty good.

What’s the best moment of your career so far?

I’m gonna say my debut. Actually, no, my first Opening Day, which was in Tampa Bay last year. That was a special moment. Got a little emotional. I didn’t realize how big a deal it was until that moment.

What’s the thing that you feel like you’ve worked hardest to achieve?

Honestly, just consistency. Being the same guy every day on and off the field, not getting too down on myself or too high, and carrying that over to the mound.

If you had to go pro in a sport other than baseball, which would you pick?

Football, in a heartbeat. That was my favorite sport growing up, still is one of my favorite sports. I just loved being in the trenches in high school. I’d love to be a pass rusher.

Were you not a quarterback in high school? I love that. When a pitcher played football in high school but wasn’t a quarterback, there tends to be a good story behind it.

Yeah I was a tackle. Defensive and offensive tackle. People always ask why I didn’t play tight end, but I didn’t really have the hands for it.

What’s something you wish people in the media understood better about ballplayers?

Just that we’re normal people. We get some hate mail here and there that we’ve got to live with, it comes with the job. At the end of the day, we go home to our families just like everyone else.

What’s the skill or ability you don’t have but most wish you had?

I’d love to be able to sing. I can’t sing, but I’d love to be able to sing and play piano.

My answer to that question would also be “play the piano.”

My mom was always trying to force it on my as a kid, and I just never would budge.

Okay, here’s one. Barbenheimer: Have you seen one? Both? Neither?

Neither. I plan to see both at some point, but I want to see Oppenheimer in theaters. I’ll go see it on an off day. [As a baseball player,] there’s only so much you can do as far as normal society goes, so I have to find an off day and go check it out.

Last one. If you could steal one pitch from another pitcher around the league, what would it be?

We were just talking about it yesterday. I was watching Shintaro Fujinami’s splitter. Yeah, I’d take Fuji’s splitter. Or maybe Matt Brash’s slider.

…

There you have it. We’re very different people, pursuing very different careers, but with a shared name, a shared regret over never having learned to play the piano, and similar taste in pizza. What unites us is greater than what divides us. If Suits turns out to be any good, I’ll let you all know.