Mike Glavine doesn’t like to be the bearer of bad news.
Yet the coach had a lot of it to deliver to his Northeastern baseball team this season. Either the program had to be shut down for 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test, or the opponent had canceled a weekend series, or the indoor training facility was being converted to a university testing center.
Glavine loves baseball, Northeastern — where he played his college ball and has coached since the summer of 2014 — and his players. Having to be negative so much is not something he loves.
“It was tough,” said the Billerica native. “You get those mood swings, those ups and downs. We were shut down a few times. But we had resiliency and a positive attitude.”
The bouts of negativity and the challenges of an odd season didn’t deter the Huskies’ climb in the college baseball ranks. In spectacular fashion, they won their first Colonial Athletic Association championship last Sunday, with an 11-10 victory over North Carolina-Wilmington, tying the game in the bottom of the ninth on Ben Malgeri’s second home run of the game, and winning it with a walkoff homer in the 10th off the bat of Max Viera.
The conference championship earned Northeastern (36-10) its second NCAA tournament berth in the last three seasons, sending it to the Fayetteville regional and a Friday night date against 19th-ranked Nebraska.
Northeastern continues to be a program on the rise under Glavine’s watch. A hidden gem of college baseball for decades, the Huskies have played on the same grounds on Kent Street in Brookline since 1925 (grounds that were once frequented by Babe Ruth when he wasn’t at Fenway Park).
They count 50 MLB draft picks in program history, dating to the very first draft in 1965. Among them are Haverhill native and 2008 Gold Glove winner Carlos Peña and current Red Sox reliever Adam Ottavino.
Glavine himself is an alumnus of the program, playing first base from 1992-95. He hit 28 home runs, eighth all time in the Husky record book, and amassed 110 RBIs. He then spent 10 years in pro ball, mostly in Double A and Triple A, save for a September 2003 stint with the New York Mets when he got the chance to play alongside his brother, Tom, a Baseball Hall of Famer. At the time, he became just the third Husky to play in the majors.
After his retirement as a player in 2004, Glavine soon found his way back to Huntington Avenue, serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under his former coach, Neil McPhee. When McPhee left after his 29th season in 2014, Glavine stepped up as his replacement.
“I’m extremely proud to be here,” said Glavine. “It gives me an extra sense of pride to be at Northeastern. Our program has gotten to a different level both academically and athletically.”
In his six seasons, he has a 195-147 record, is a three-time CAA Coach of the Year, and has coached nine MLB draft picks. Current Cleveland Indians pitcher Aaron Civale, selected in the third round of the 2016 draft, is an example of the talent Glavine and his staff are churning out. As of Thursday, Civale was 7-2, tied for the American League lead in victories.
Another one of Glavine’s players on the rise is Max Burt, a 2018 draft pick of the Yankees who is now playing shortstop for the Somerset Patriots, their Double A affiliate. It is a team that Glavine himself once played for.
Glavine’s exposure to the pro game makes him an effective coach, according to Burt.
“He grinded his way all the way to the top,” said Burt, a North Andover native. “I was very lucky to have a grinder like Glav in my corner and coaching me every day. That grinder mentality is something that I have taken with me into pro ball and has helped me exponentially.”
This year, Glavine has the CAA’s Player of the Year on his squad in Amesbury’s Jared Dupere. The sophomore outfielder set school records for home runs (21) and runs (57).
While Glavine is molding baseball talent on a field that pops up seemingly in the middle of nowhere on a Brookline side street, he only wishes more people saw it. He pitches the good news of college baseball and the great talent on his Northeastern team to anyone who will hear it.
“I grew up in Billerica, and I know this is a pro town,” said Glavine. “But I think there is room for both. This team has had an incredible ride. We have great pitching, speed, great defense. They are fun, and they are local.”