RIP - Mike Warchol - 1972-2007
I found out some sad news last night on MySpace of all places. On August 12th my former co-worker with the Grays Harbor Gulls baseball team, Mike Warchol, added me as a friend on MySpace. I wanted to catch up with him and see how he was doing but I put off writing him an email until I thought about it last night. What I didn't know was that later that night after he added me as a friend, Mike passed away in his sleep. He was just 35 years-old.
Mike was an important person in my life because I worked extensively with him during my first job in baseball with the Gulls. I emailed the team one day during my freshman year of college inquiring if they had any positions available, basically to do anything, from interning to concession work. I didn't care, I just wanted to work at a ballpark that summer. Mike emailed me back almost immediately and since I was at school at the time for media and radio journalism (I wanted to be a play-by-play guy), he thought it would be good for me to work with him doing public and media relations for the team along with all of the other crazy things that you have to do when you work in a small minor league front office.
It was Mike that taught me how to write a game recap, a press release, he let me do the radio updates (we didn't have a full-time broadcast), compile stats and whatnot. For some teams this stuff isn't that important, but for Mike it was. He was so passionate about the team and his job that he went kind of overboard, or as I prefer to call it, he did exactly the right amount of media and public relations that a baseball team should do and the newspaper and radio stations rewarded him for it by giving the Gulls very good coverage, probably the best of any team I have worked for. I developed my passion for writing (it doesn't always shine through here, but it is there)and for baseball because of Mike and his passion and all that he taught me.
Mike left baseball when the Gulls folded, got married and moved to Vancouver, Washington and I lost track of him. But it came as no surprise to me when I found out that he continued his passion for writing and became a regular contributor to Rivals.com and he published WashingtonPreps.com, a very important and influential website devoted to Washington High School sports. He poured everything into those websites and devoted himself to helping kids get the recognition and coverage that they deserved and, from the looks of the comments, did a great job of it.
After learning of all the work and writing that he was doing, I was really eager to share my Sports Logo Pundit site with him, I thought he'd get a kick out of it at the very least. I came this close to firing an email off to him through MySpace before I did a little reading on his profile and came to the sad fact that he passed.
Mike was a great guy that did a lot of good for me and for others and I've always appreciated it. He will be missed. My thoughts go out to his wife and their children.
UPDATE: Here is a great article from The Vancouver Columbian about Mike that captures what he was all about.
Mike was an important person in my life because I worked extensively with him during my first job in baseball with the Gulls. I emailed the team one day during my freshman year of college inquiring if they had any positions available, basically to do anything, from interning to concession work. I didn't care, I just wanted to work at a ballpark that summer. Mike emailed me back almost immediately and since I was at school at the time for media and radio journalism (I wanted to be a play-by-play guy), he thought it would be good for me to work with him doing public and media relations for the team along with all of the other crazy things that you have to do when you work in a small minor league front office.
It was Mike that taught me how to write a game recap, a press release, he let me do the radio updates (we didn't have a full-time broadcast), compile stats and whatnot. For some teams this stuff isn't that important, but for Mike it was. He was so passionate about the team and his job that he went kind of overboard, or as I prefer to call it, he did exactly the right amount of media and public relations that a baseball team should do and the newspaper and radio stations rewarded him for it by giving the Gulls very good coverage, probably the best of any team I have worked for. I developed my passion for writing (it doesn't always shine through here, but it is there)and for baseball because of Mike and his passion and all that he taught me.
Mike left baseball when the Gulls folded, got married and moved to Vancouver, Washington and I lost track of him. But it came as no surprise to me when I found out that he continued his passion for writing and became a regular contributor to Rivals.com and he published WashingtonPreps.com, a very important and influential website devoted to Washington High School sports. He poured everything into those websites and devoted himself to helping kids get the recognition and coverage that they deserved and, from the looks of the comments, did a great job of it.
After learning of all the work and writing that he was doing, I was really eager to share my Sports Logo Pundit site with him, I thought he'd get a kick out of it at the very least. I came this close to firing an email off to him through MySpace before I did a little reading on his profile and came to the sad fact that he passed.
Mike was a great guy that did a lot of good for me and for others and I've always appreciated it. He will be missed. My thoughts go out to his wife and their children.
UPDATE: Here is a great article from The Vancouver Columbian about Mike that captures what he was all about.
posted by Brandon @ 11:39 PM
4 Comments:
Sorry for your loss, B. It's never easy.
Sorry you lost him...Now he's watching you from the big front office in the sky...
Wow, i lost mike too, he was the first little leage coach i actually though cared about me, he taught me so much and to love the game. I cried so much and i'm happy to know he's somewhere where he needs to be, i'm oly 13 but it is something i will never forget because he means alot to me still, he was the best coach i will ever have and i will miss him more and more,
Mike was da best!! :) he was there for me since the beginning, he was my first Coach and my first All-Star coach! (he practicly put me on the team) anyway i always think about everyday......i'm only 12 but he meant so much to me, even though its been 2 years i still thinkk i'll seen him at try outs or at my games but then i remember August 13 2007. My 2 favortie memories of us where when i got on All-Stars he came down from the club house and i ran and jumoed up and gave him a bigg hug!! the other one was when we went to state and we lost our second game and we told red robin that it was mikes birthday, he cried and Olivia W. & Krystin P. & me hugged him but he didn't know i hugged him so he said "serena don't you walk away without give me a hugg" it was awesome! I LOVE MIKE forever & always
~Serena C.
AKA
HOT WHEELS
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