A former Vancouver Island baseball player has been coaching the game internationally for years and last month he received an accolade for his efforts.
Former Nanaimo Pirate Mike Griffin was chosen Czech Baseball’s Coach of the Year after guiding the national team to a third-place finish at the Olympic qualifiers, just one placing short of leading the Czech Republic baseball team to its first ever Summer Games.
Griffin works primarily as a coach with the Pro 5 Baseball Academy in North Carolina, but used to play pro ball and coach in the Czech Republic and continues to coach with the national program there.
A social media post from Pro 5 noted that Griffin wished to thank his coaching colleagues.
“It’s a great honour,” he said. “Couldn’t have had the success and moved up in the world rankings without all of your hard work and support.”
Griffin has also coached in the past with the MLB Development Centre in China.
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