Mike
Spiers loved baseball. He loved coaching kids. He loved teaching
kids how to play this great game that we all love. He loved creating
opportunities for players of all ages and he was fiercely
competitive.
Mike
was involved with Perfect Game from the very beginning and spent just
as much time helping Perfect Game as he did his own programs. He
sent hundreds of players to college and professional baseball and
many of the players he helped never donned an ABD uniform.
Mike
was never shy about sharing his opinion, and he did so intent on
improving the game of baseball.
There
was a player that Mike was adamant about and a guy we used to argue
about all the time. I used to argue with Mike when I knew there was something he felt really strongly about, even if I agreed just to get him riled up. Mike was dead serious
that this guy would hit in the big leagues. He just kept
saying, "People don't realize how good this guy is." I knew he
was a good player, but Mike knew he was special when the kid was 14 years
old. That player was Allen Craig.
I
used to aol chat with Mike from like 10 at night to sometimes four in the morning. I
would copy the chat and paste it into a word document just to make
sure I didn't forget all of the ideas that we talked about, or the
teams that he said we should try and get.
Mike really wanted a baseball complex built in California. He was
one of the happiest people I talked to when the LakePoint development became a
reality.
I
still can see Mike chewing on a straw telling me why he gets so many
guys thrown out stealing bases. Yep, I argued with him on that
one too.
I
had so many conversations with Mike involving other parents about
going to events, getting seen, and him selling our stuff again better
than anyone. Mike
did it the right way. His players loved him and the parents of
his players did as well.
Baseball
is and will continue to be the best game there is because of men like
Mike Spiers. I know that Mike will continue to coach, continue to
teach, and continue to live the game of baseball, because that was
his life. I just wish baseball had more guys like Mike Spiers.
Baseball lost one of our best ambassadors of the game and I lost a
good friend.
Rest
in peace Mike Spiers.
Here are some other quotes from those that were close to Mike Spiers that responded to the news late on Friday evening:
"On
behalf of SHOW Baseball may Mike Spiers rest in peace. The baseball
world has lost a coach who made a difference. Dios te Bendiga Mike
Spiers and ABD." ~ Hector Lorenzana
"Our prayers and thoughts are with his family." ~ Manny Hermosillo
"What
makes me sick is that three nights ago I thought about calling Mike
as a friend and nothing to do with baseball. Just because I hadn't talked to
him in so long. I'm kicking myself right now. He was really good to me. I stayed at his house and roomed with him a few times. I worked closely
together on the early PG California events. He got a lot of prospects
who are now big league stars like Bryce Harper to do PG Showcases
when they were real young.
"What most people dont know was he was an
excellent cook. So good that i thought his fallback would be to open
a restaurant or come out with his own line of foods because he would never
share a recipe.
"The word is the same from all of the travel
coaches and guys who helped us run events with mike. They all said to
a man he was a good guy. A baseball guy. And their thoughts and
prayers go out to his family and ABD. I shed some tears tonight." ~ Tyson Kimm
"(Mike) made
the best chicken alfredo I have ever had to his day, and he also had
an incredible salsa recipe. Mike did a lot of good for PG and kids. We lost a good one." ~ Jason Gerst