Where’s My Koppy?

Lately during Diamondbacks games I have been signing in to Twitter using a name I created specifically to tweet with during games, though I use it for a few other things.  Since I have become more active using this Twitter name I have met a few new people, and I now receive more replies than I used to.  By coincidence one of the fans I have become friendly with is also a friend of one of my sisters; and they know each other from attending Phoenix Coyotes games.  Both she and another fan I have become friendly with recognized my WheresMyKoppy twitter name as referring to Mike Koplove, former relief pitcher for the Diamondbacks.  Many announcers and fans in Arizona used to refer to Koplove as ‘Koppy’, hence my use of  ‘Koppy’ as part of one of my Twitter names as well as my sign in name at the Diamondbacks website and here on my baseball blog.

As I told my new acquaintances, I created the name a few years ago because once Mike Koplove was released by the Diamondbacks I had a hard time keeping track of where he was playing. He played in Las Vegas, in the Cleveland Indians system, the Marlins, the Pirates, the Dodgers, the Padres, the Mariners, the Phillies…  Mike also played for the bronze medal winning 2008 U.S. Olympic baseball team where he was the only U.S. pitcher to not give up a run or a hit.  While playing for the Diamondbacks Koplove also was given the ‘Good Guy’ award in 2004 by the Arizona Baseball Writers Association, and was voted the team’s Rookie of the Year in 2002.  Though he did not pitch in the World Series that season (2001), Koplove also has a World Series ring as a member of the 2001 Diamondbacks.

I also use WheresMyKoppy as the title of one of my blogs and as a sign in name at a website or two.  I am more than happy to tell anyone who asks me exactly who and what ‘Koppy’ is in reference to!

A few nights ago after I retweeted one of  Todd Walsh’s tweets, he answered me as he has a few times in the past by (usually at my AuntInAZ name) asking me But where IS Mike Koplove!  Todd Walsh is a well known Arizona television sportscaster and radio host, and is involved mainly with the Phoenix Coyotes and the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Thanks to my new friends on Twitter I had been told first that Mike was playing somewhere in the Independent Baseball League, and then that he was playing for a team in New Jersey.  I looked up the Independent Baseball League, and found it consists of several minor leagues including the  American Association, the Atlantic League, the  Can-Am League, the Frontier League, the North American League and the Pecos League.  Each of these leagues consists of several teams; and looking down the team names I could see at least two of them were in New Jersey.  It did not take long to find the right team, however; and I soon determined that Mike Koplove is now playing for the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League!

So now at this point in time I know where my Koppy is!  And I did inform Todd Walsh of where he was as well.

Koplove was a fun pitcher to watch, and he was popular with the fans in Arizona.  I really do miss being able to see him pitch once in a while.

There is a reason why he won the ‘Good Guy’ award; he was always interested in helping the community, and that is the primary reason for that particular award.  He was also known as a nice guy, and that may well be another reason.  He was in charge of a program known as ‘Read Your Way to the Ballpark’ when he was first sent down to the minor leagues from the Diamondbacks.  Through that program young people could earn tickets to Diamondbacks games by reading and receiving credit through their local libraries for what they read.

There was also a joke that, even though Mike was popular with the other players on the Diamondbacks, on late flights after evening games some players did not want to sit next to him.  Why?  Because he liked to talk and argue about politics and they wanted to sleep…  They also liked to make fun of his hair!

Koplove had been part of a group of Diamondbacks players who came to be known as ’the BabyBacks‘ during the 2003 season.  Many of the team’s older and/or veteran players were injured and the mostly young players who were left carried the team for some time, helping to keep the team in contention for a good part of the season.  Koplove was one of several of those players who were photographed for a team calendar.  I never obtained the calendar, but Koplove was interviewed by the team’s official magazine (which he also had written for a few times) in 2007, and one of the photos included was the photo of him included in the calendar.  Mike was fully dressed in the photo, but he was standing under a small waterfall, getting wet, with his shirt riding up and…well, it was a good photo!  I sent my copy of the magazine to the team with a request for Mike to autograph it.  As it turned out he got the magazine the day he found out he was being sent down to the minors.  Ever the courteous player Koplove autographed the magazine and sent it back to me.  Unfortunately for me, the autographed magazine was among some items I had stolen from me about two years ago.  I do have an autographed baseball and an autographed baseball card from Mike; however I do not have the magazine or the calendar, thus I do not have that awesome photo of Mike…

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Mike Koplove on Twitter

Camden Riversharks player page

Tucson Padres player page (Triple A Pacific Coast League, Parent Club San Diego Padres)

2008 Olympic Team athlete profile

2010 Interview with Tacoma Weekly while playing for the Tacoma Rangers

My Mike Koplove Story by Jeff  Sullivan