Michael Joseph Buddie (born December 12, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and the current athletic director at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1998 to 2002 with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Baseball career

Buddie attended

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

, and in 1990 and 1991 he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Buddie was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

1992 MLB Draft The 1992 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 1, 1992, through a conference call involving all 28 MLB teams of the time. Phil Nevin of Cal State Fullerton was the first overall selection, chosen by the Houston Astros. Derek Jeter, selec ...

. He played for the Yankees and the

from to . In 87 career games, he had a 5–4 record with a 4.67 ERA. He batted and threw right-handed. Buddie was also the pitching coach who prepared

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

for Costner's stint as a pitcher in

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...

's film '' For Love of the Game'' (1999). Buddie also had a brief speaking role as the character Jack Spellman in that film.

Athletics administration career

After retiring from baseball in 2003, Buddie returned to his alma mater to begin a career in athletics administration. He spent nearly a decade at Wake Forest serving in various postings within their athletic department. These included: sport administrator for baseball, women's soccer, and men's golf; assistant administrator for football and men's basketball; senior associate athletic director for administration/development; and director of the Varsity Club, as well as others. In 2015, Buddie was hired to serve as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

. While at Furman, Buddie negotiated a multi-year partnership with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, produced the athletic department's first balanced budget, and spearheaded an effort to bring the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament back to upstate South Carolina in 2017 (landing two future tournament stops). He also secured three separate $1 million endowments in support of the football and volleyball programs. While the AD, Furman won 26

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

championships under Buddie's leadership. Buddie was named athletic director at the

on May 30, 2019.

References

External links

Furman profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddie, Mike 1970 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Army Black Knights athletic directors Baseball players from Ohio Columbus Clippers players Cotuit Kettleers players Furman Paladins athletic directors Greensboro Hornets players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New York Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Oneonta Yankees players Ottawa Lynx players People from Berea, Ohio Tampa Yankees players Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball players Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni