Liam Ohlmann signs with Milwaukee Brewers
Right-hander Becomes First MCC Player Drafted in 27 Years
Liam Ohlmann was in Keene, New Hampshire Friday afternoon preparing for his next start. He had just returned from practice with his summer league team, the Keene Swampbats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League when a small entry on his computer changed his weekend plans. And then some.
The Milwaukee Brewers had just chosen the MCC right-hander in the 20th round of Major League Baseball’s first year player draft. So instead of pitching the season opener for the Swampbats Saturday night against the Holyoke Blue Sox in New Hampshire, Ohlmann will be boarding a plane for the Brewers training facility at Maryvale Park in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday.
After receiving a phone call from Brewers scout Rene Monds, Ohlmann left New Hampshire, and within two and a half hours of seeing his name pop up on the screen, he signed a contract and became an employee of the Milwaukee Brewers.
“I’m a Brewer,” a relaxed Ohlmann said to a well-wisher over the phone less than an hour after signing.
The deal was cut at the Ohlmann’s home in Wallingford Friday evening with his parents, Chris and Karen Ohlmann and MCC Head Coach Chris Strahowski sitting at the table with him. Ohlmann then went out to dinner with his parents at Archie Moore’s in Wallingford.
“I’m euphoric,” Ohlmann said in a phone interview while waiting for his dinner order. “I’m so happy and relieved. I’m so thankful to my parents for their support. It’s still sinking in.”
The 2005 Choate grad was 7-2 with a 2.62 ERA for the Cougars in 2008, struck out 72 batters in 55 innings and was named NJCAA Division III First-Team All-American. The MCC Dean’s List student will pass on a full scholarship to Fordham University, but plans to continue his education with an education fund set up by the Brewers.
Ohlmann helped lead MCC (29-13-2) to its first NJCAA Division III World Series since 1994 last month and became the first Cougar player to be drafted since outfielder Steve Roath was taken by the St Louis Cardinals in the 30th round in 1981.
Ohlmann pitched in front of scouts during most of his nine starts this season and showcased his 93 mph fastball in a workout with the Cincinnati Reds last week in New Jersey, but his maturity level and character cannot be measured by a radar gun.
Ambitious beyond his 21 years, Ohlmann built a batting helmet rack for MCC, installed a solar light in the dugout storage area at McCormick Field, installed pegs in the home dugout and welded together a ball hopper that holds nearly 20 dozen baseballs. How many professional pitchers can wield a welding torch? Then as encore, he and Assistant Coach Shawn Barry painted both dugouts prior to the NJCAA Region XXI Division III Tournament hosted by MCC on Mother’s Day weekend.
“It’s like having MacGyver on your team,” Strahowski said of Ohlmann referring to the 1980’s TV Secret agent who seemed to have unlimited scientific resources. Strahowski, who pitched five years of professional baseball, has been a major influence on Ohlmann and encouraged the hard thrower to take better care of himself physically. After turning a 2-6 season in 2007 despite 54 strikeouts in 46 innings and a 3.71 ERA, Ohlmann worked with a personal trainer and over the winter and lost 35 pounds.
“He deserves this,” Strahowski said. “He has been working his butt off for years.”
