#4

Ryan Sturm

Nickname: Sturmy

Bat/Throw: R/R

Birthday: 7/17

Years Playing With The Tigers: 2001-present

Position(s): IF, OF

High School/Graduation Year: Springfield High School - Class of 2002

College: THE St. Cloud State University

Family: parents: Robert and Sharon Sturm; siblings: Mary, Karie, Randy, Ann, Shauna; in-laws: Todd, Paula, Dan, Scott; proud uncle of: Brienna, Jordan, Lacey, Taylor, Johnnie, Kallie, Chris, Brody, Brooklyn, Brayden, Charlie, Oliver, Jack, Ben, and Sam; proud great uncle of: Eli and Adalee

Job: Assistant General Manager of the Battle Creek Bombers of the Northwoods League

Best Part Of Playing Amateur Baseball: For me, it's always been playing in front of my parents. The memories from each season and awesome teammates makes each season enjoyable for me as well.

Which Team is Our Biggest Rival? This one is a toss up. There are many teams in our league I consider rivals strictly because of bad blood (for example: "This ain't Little League" after hitting a double...after Fink and I crushed triples not saying a word).
For the sake of the argument...I will say the Lamberton Long Sox for the simple fact that they are always the team to beat. They have a great mix of talent and play the game the right way.

Who is the slowest player on the team? This might be my favorite question of all time. If Chris Sturm was on the team, I would say he is the slowest. I think we all know the story behind this, so I don't have to go into too much detail.
It has to be Loomis...even though he swipes bases, the man is slow. I wish he would have stuck out his football career, so we could've all seen the first ever sun dial used to time a 40 yard dash. What he lacks in speed he makes up for in great hair and feminine tendencies. I swear, one of these times I am going to come back and he will have a full length mirror installed in the dugout.

Wood Bat or Composite Bat? Composite, even though they're junk. I like both...but have seen too many of my bats go down in flames in the hands of someone else at the plate. If we didn't have to pay Davis so much to coach this bunch of misfits...we could likely afford more natural wood bats.

Day Game or Night Game? It's hard to go against one or the other, because either way you're playing baseball. Day games in the recent history have been unreasonably hot and there is nothing fun about that. If putting on your hat involves having to change your undershirt due to sweat...there is something horribly wrong. I've always enjoyed playing under the lights...there's just something about playing under the lights that every kid dreams about.

Favorite Baseball Movie: This one is really tough as well. I've got to go with "The Sandlot" because it reminds me of the days growing up. I've always had fond memories of Mike Amsden, Brent Lang, and the crew down at the softball diamond playing behind second base basically everyday during the summer months.

One More Thing... It takes 8.5 minutes for light to get from the sun to earth.
Being a man of many talents...Matt Vogel set out to prove he could shatter this record. On a date in early June last year...Matt Vogel did just that when he came in relief of Alex Fink against Nisswa. The quote from Marty below is absolute comedic gold.
"The Lightning three hitter, Aaron Jenkins, sent a message on the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth. He crushed a ball that could have been contained by no park, except maybe Yellowstone, to make the score 7-4".
In case you were wondering...the ball reached the sun in under 4 minutes. Congratulations "Harvest Land Man".


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