Hall of Fame Induction

---

Grosse Pointe South baseball will induct eight inaugural members into the program’s newly-established Hall of Fame in a special ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Pier Park Community Building, located at 350 Lakeshore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms.

Blue Devil baseball greats including Adam Abraham, Kevin Brennan, Chris Getz, Cam Gibson, Dan Griesbaum Jr., Kevin Schroeder and Marcus Wysocki will be honored as members of the Class of 2024 Hall of Fame. Carmen Benedetti was also elected into this year’s HOF, but due to a scheduling conflict, will attend next year’s ceremony.

“The first four guys we wanted to honor in our program are the four players who went on to play at the pro level,” South’s head varsity baseball coach Dan Griesbaum Sr. said. Those names include Abraham, Benedetti, Getz and Gibson.

“The next set of inductees we wanted to honor in our first class are first team All-State players,” Griesbaum added, who began coaching at South in 1984. “We said let’s go back to the beginning and pick the first team All-State players from the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000’s.”

Those names include Wysocki, Schroeder, Brennan and Griesbaum Jr.

The eight inductees all made notable contributions to the Blue Devils baseball program. They include:

Abraham, a pitcher who earned first team All-State honors in 2003 as just a sophomore at South. He went on to play for the University of Michigan in 2007 and 2008 before being drafted in the 13th round by Cleveland in 2008.

Benedetti, a South class of 2013 baseball alum and Blue Devils record-holder for most hits in a season at 54. He went on to play for the University of Michigan from 2014-2017, during which he was selected in the 12th round by the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball’s 2016 First-Year Player Draft. 

Getz, who earned first team All-State honors for three consecutive seasons in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Getz was drafted out of high school in the sixth round by the Chicago White Sox, choosing instead to play at Wake Forest.  He eventually transferred to the University of Michigan. After college, he went on to have a 10-year major-league career after being drafted again by the White Sox, this time as the 125th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2005 MLB draft.

Gibson, who earned first team All-State honors in 2011 and 2012 for the Blue Devils, before playing Division I baseball at Michigan State University. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in round 5 of the 2015 MLB Draft as the 160th overall pick. In 2019, he played for the Erie Seawolves, a Tigers AA affiliate. 

Brennan, a Blue Devil pitcher and outfielder who earned first team All-State honors in 1992. That season, he led South to the state quarterfinal, where the team lost to eventual Class A State Champion Brother Rice, where he also hit .440 on the year. 

Griesbaum Jr., who was an outstanding All-State catcher and power hitter for Grosse Pointe South from 1997-99. He sits in the top 10 of several program records, including batting average, runs scored, RBIs and hits. He ranks No. 2 in home runs with nine in back-to-back seasons in 1998 and 1999. He has the most triples in program history, hitting seven in 1999. He moved on to play D1 college baseball at Central Michigan, where he served as team captain, leading the Chippewas to a MAC championship in 2004.  Griesbaum went on to work in the Detroit Tigers front office from 2004-2019 and has also served the program as an assistant coach since his playing days ended.

Schroeder, a right handed pitcher who earned first team All-State honors in 1996, a season where he led South to the final four. He hit .441 in that season and sits in second place among the Blue Devils in all-time single-season hits at 52 and third in RBI with 48.  He also ranks second all-time in both single season and career strikeouts, as a pitcher.

Wysocki, a pitcher and shortstop who led South to the program’s first trip to the state final four in 1987, earning first team All-State honors in 1988. He has a share of the program record for home runs in a single season with 10, strikeouts with 124, innings-pitched with 72.2 and strikeouts for a career with 219. He moved on to play college baseball at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.

FOX2 anchor and South baseball alum Ryan Ermanni will perform Master of Ceremonies duties at the event, which begins with a welcome reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. induction ceremony. 

Limited tickets are on sale for $80 each or 2 for $150 and may be purchased by Venmo @GrossePointeSouth-DugoutClub. Send RSVPs to Southdugoutclubpresident@gmail.com.

https://www.grossepointenews.com/articles/south-baseball-to-induct-inaugural-hof-class-jan-25/

Article by: Meg Leonard

Reposted with consent from The Grosse Pointe News