Music Man

Robert Portnoy
Voice of the New Mexico Lobos 

Here’s one from Ray Birmingham, former USA Baseball hitting coach, 34-yr collegiate baseball HC and 14-yr HC at UNM: 

It was 2013, and the UNM Lobo baseball team was a top 25 team. It had arguably the best team in program history. During the summer of 2012, the Lobos thought they would need a top end catcher with Mitch Garver having had a breakout year behind the plate. Garver was a Johnny Bench Award finalist. UNM signed catcher Eric Suarez from Southern California. However, Garver’s season was a shock to the pro scouts and he went undrafted, so Garver would return in 2013. Suarez was now a backup to a future MLB Silver Slugger Award Winner.

With limited playing time, Suarez often was a late game replacement to rest Garver, coming in to pinch hit on a double switch in the seventh or eighth inning. That year he played in 15 ballgames entering the game in this scenario. 

The head coach loved Suarez’s walk-up song, “Return of the Mack,” and the team loved Suarez because of his unselfish dedication to his role.

After three late-game substitutions early in the season, the team caught on to the head coach’s love of “Return of the Mack.”

So when the club saw a game “in the bag” during the season and wanted Suarez in the game, they started singing “Return of the Mack” in the dugout. 

And in would go Eric, immediately.

At the end of the season, Eric asked the coach why he always entered late in the game as a double switch. Coach replied, “I had to hear

‘Return of the Mack’ and couldn’t take a chance on missing it!”

Eric: “That makes sense!”

Coach: “I love that song!”