These former White Sox teammates reunite at Michigan

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- When Zach Putnam retired from Major League Baseball in 2020 after pitching parts of four seasons with the White Sox and seven overall, the right-hander thought of doing something outside the game.

But Putnam is a self-professed baseball lifer. So, it’s no surprise the 36-year-old was at Camelback Ranch this weekend as a coach with the University of Michigan baseball team. His return to baseball, which began in 2023 working with Ball State pitchers, now has extra meaning as he works with the university where he pitched for three years.

“This is where I wanted to be all along,” Putnam said before the first of four games against Western Michigan in Arizona to open the 2024 season. “It has been a dream come true so far.”

Putnam officially is listed as a student assistant coach, meaning he has to take a minimum of 12 credits to be on staff. According to Putnam, it was a good kick in the butt for him to finish his degree in General Studies after chipping away at it the last couple of years since he retired.

Those classes are in person at Ann Arbor, where Putnam also played high school baseball. He plans to finish his degree and graduate this summer.

“It will be a great accomplishment,” Putnam said. “I wanted to do it for a long time. Some people look at me funny when I tell them my major, but it has been a fun degree. I take a lot of interesting courses and not put too many apples in one basket.

“I’m rubbing shoulders in Angel Hall [at Michigan] with 18 and 19-year-old kids. It’s a little bit surreal at times but I’ve settled into a nice routine and have some great classes and professors. It’s a great experience.”

Michigan baseball uses Putnam primarily as their bullpen coach, which should be a good fit considering all 145 of his career appearances came in relief (130 for the White Sox). He saved six games for the White Sox over 49 games in 2014 to go with a 1.98 ERA, then fanned 64 over 48 2/3 innings in ‘15.

“I didn’t love pitching here,” said a smiling Putnam in reference to Camelback Ranch. “I don’t think my career numbers were very good at Camelback. Luckily for me it didn’t translate into the season for most cases.

“So many good people here. I wish I could have stretched my career out a little longer but my arm had other plans. I have nothing but extremely fond memories. Some of the guys I met in this organization are still some of my closest friends. All good things. I love the city so much and had such a blast with this organization.”

Josh Phegley, who played parts of the 2013-14 campaigns with the White Sox during his eight-year career, serves as an assistant coach for Michigan head coach Tracy Smith and threw batting practice pregame Friday. Both players are prime examples that the love for the game never leaves, even after a player retires.

“There was a fleeting moment when I thought something outside of the game would pique my interest when I retired from pro ball,” Putnam said. “But as a lot of us lifers have experienced, a year or two I started getting that itch again.

“Being at Ball State last year and coaching there really kind of cemented it for me. This is what I want to do going forward.”