John Traub General Manager at Albuquerque Isotopes | Official Website
Tommy Henry and Karl Kauffmann, both former University of Michigan baseball teammates, faced each other on the mound for the first time in a professional setting outside of Spring Training. The matchup took place at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Henry pitching for Reno and Kauffmann representing Albuquerque’s Triple-A team.
The two pitchers were roommates during their college years at Michigan and played key roles in leading the Wolverines to their first College World Series appearance in 35 years. Their paths crossed again as professionals when they started against each other, a moment that drew attention from their circle of former teammates.
“I’m in a fantasy league with a bunch of Michigan baseball players,” Henry said. “When [our game Saturday] got delayed, I sent a text out to that group chat like, ‘Hey, in between commercial breaks of the Michigan football game, if you’re bored, tune in: Henry versus Kauffmann, MiLB.’ The message got a lot of action.”
Neither pitcher was involved in the decision as Albuquerque secured a 4-3 walk-off win over Reno. The event also caught the eye of Jeff Criswell—another former Wolverine—who was earning his first Major League win for the Rockies on the same night.
“He is excited for us to have this opportunity,” Kauffmann said about Criswell. “I’d say I wish he was here, but I really don’t. He’s in a better spot right now.”
Henry and Kauffmann’s friendship began when they met playing travel ball at age 14. Kauffmann had established himself as one of Michigan’s top young pitchers early on and helped recruit Henry to join him at Michigan.
“At that age, Karl Kauffmann was the name in Michigan,” Henry said. “There were travel ball teams that would fly Karl in to spot start when we were 14 years old. I think everyone had googly eyes for Karl at that age. He threw harder and was nasty.”
Kauffmann recalled encouraging Henry during his college decision process: “[Henry] had to take a phone call from the Duke coach one night and I was all disappointed. 'Dang, we need him at Michigan!' We just pushed the right buttons eventually and got him on the right side.”
As roommates at Michigan starting in 2016, they became known as “The Odd Couple” due to their different personalities but close relationship.
“Tommy pushed me to the books when I needed to. We pulled Tommy out occasionally when he wanted to,” said Kauffmann about their dynamic living together. “I don’t know where that came from, 'The Odd Couple,' because really, we’re pretty similar at the end of the day.”
On-field performance saw them finish with nearly identical sophomore-year statistics before both were selected as Competitive Balance Round B picks in the 2019 MLB Draft—Henry by Arizona (74th overall) and Kauffmann by Colorado (77th overall).
Despite being assigned to different minor league teams after college graduation, they remained close friends.
“I think as we’ve gotten older, we’ve grown to be even more and more similar,” Henry said about their ongoing friendship. “I think that’s helped our relationship over the course of the years. We’ve gravitated to the same things, same hobbies. The same things in life are important to us, so I think that’s what makes us such good friends.”
Their recent matchup could be repeated if schedules align later this season.
“Knock on wood, if nobody has a rainout, I would assume we’re lined up to start the last week of the season too when we play each other in Reno,” Henry noted.
