Senior Michael Buehn stands with his parents after a game.
Buehn brings it home
June 2, 2016
For many, life begins as soon as they take a breath. For senior Michael Buehn, life began as soon as his shoes met the dirt of the baseball field.
Buehn was named the Big Nine Player of the Year for the 2016 baseball season and has broken several Wenatchee High School records including highest batting average with a .623, on-Base percentage (.672), and runs scored. His batting average and on-base percentage aren’t just record-breaking, but the best in the state.
“I figured something out with my body and I managed to have one of the most prolific seasons in Wenatchee High School history,” Buehn said. “They say baseball is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical. I guess I have a different mindset now than I ever have with the sport. I relaxed at the plate, I put less pressure on myself but still kept the competitive edge on my mind and certain parts of my swing came together.”
Buehn improved his baseball game from a less than .100 batting average the year prior.
“There’s always room for improvement, you’re never quite good enough,” Buehn said. “Especially coming from last year, I had a horrible spring season… Over the off-season I tried a couple of new things and it ended up working to my advantage.”
Buehn is vying for the title of State Player of the Year.
“I think that I’m in ‘the talk’, people are seeing my name and seeing my statistics,” Buehn said.
The varsity baseball team was the only undefeated team in Washington with 23 consecutive wins, several members of the team had been working together towards the State title for nine years.
“We all kind of started together,” Buehn said. “There’s eight or nine of us that have played on the same AAU team through middle school and the same team through high school. Having this culminate like this in our senior year, doing this well, is really special.”
The baseball team managed to secure a third-place finish in Buehn’s sophomore year, and suffered a “heart-breaking,” loss in the first round of playoffs in his junior year. This year, the team finished third-place again, bringing their State champion hopes to a close. Buehn credits the team’s drive and success to the bonds they have developed with each other.
“Our coach Jeff Zehnder has coached us through high school and we’ve all developed close relationships with him and with each other. We can easily call ourselves brothers, we know way too much about each other,” Buehn said. “Everyone kind of rides on each other. If one guy gets down, the rest of the team picks him up. Another team without that chemistry or a team that doesn’t know each other that well, that doesn’t happen.”
Buehn’s strengths lies in a concept he calls the five tools. If one guy gets down, the rest of the team picks him up. Another team without that chemistry or a team that doesn’t know each other that well, that doesn’t happen. — Michael Buehn, senior
“The five tools are hitting, hitting for power, speed, defense and arm strength. I’ve always had a really strong arm in the outfield,” Buehn said. “I throw a bunch of kids out and it’s a lot of fun. My hitting came around this year… I’m quick on the bases. I think I was two steals away from the record for stolen bases. If all five tools come together for one game, I feel unstoppable. The confidence comes, and it just steamrolls.”
Buehn’s baseball career all started when his parents signed him up for tee-ball.
“They’ve probably put thousands of dollars, more than that, into my baseball career,” Buehn said. “It’s nice to see a little return-on-investment on their part. They always ask how I’m doing, they come to almost every game.”
Buehn also played on the varsity football team throughout high school, taking a year off in his junior year. He was signed by Central Washington University to have a spot on their football team and has an opportunity to play baseball there as well. His final goal is to play on a major league team but also has plans to study actuarial science.
“I have to keep things realistic. If I keep playing games like I am, there’s no doubt that that could happen,” Buehn said. “That’s the ultimate goal, to play in the majors and get that experience.”