By Griffin Fabits, Media Relations Graduate Assistant
TEMPE -- All Pat Murphy could do was smile.
His Sun Devils had just been blanked on the road against Oregon State, unable to solve a solid Beavers’ left-handed starter on a chilly night in Corvallis. The Oregon State pitching staff had perfectly executed their game plan of quieting the bat of prized Sun Devil shortstop Willie Bloomquist, who had turned in a rare 0-for-4 night at the plate on this night.
Bill Bloomquist, Willie’s father, caught Murphy on his walk back to the bus. Their eyes met, and Murphy, sensing Bloomquist’s frustrations after a lame night of baseball, let out a chuckle.
“That was rough, Coach. How come you look so happy?” Bill Bloomquist asked.
“Because,” Murphy said, “I feel great about tomorrow because I know when your son is 0-for-4, that means three or four hits tomorrow.”
“I’m glad you said that,” Bill said, “because it’s driving me crazy.”
And, of course, much to the chagrin of the Beavers, Willie Bloomquist answered the next day. In a big way. Like he always had.
“The next day, he hits two home runs and a double,” Murphy said, laughing. “He just wouldn’t be denied. He believed in himself; he could see it. Baseball is a game of failure. Whatever small failure he would have, he would respond to it unbelievably.”
There was a palpable degree of excellence that Willie Bloomquist always strove to meet, even when he arrived in Tempe as an 18-year-old from Port Orchard, Washington.
An 0-for-4 night at the dish simply meant there was more work to be done, more swings to take, even when the batting average sat comfortably above .300.
That standard that became attached to the hip of Bloomquist paved the way to him becoming one of the best Sun Devils in program history. A three-year starter from 1997-99, hit .394 with 42 doubles, 22 triples, 15 home runs and 176 RBI. He started all 64 games for the Sun Devils in ‘98 en route to a runner-up finish at the College World Series.
“Winning was what he loved and he’s going to win at whatever he does," Murphy said. "He’s authentic. He’s authentic-tough. He’s not flowery-authentic, and if he makes a mistake or if he doesn’t do something perfect, he’s going to respond. He’s going to take responsibility, take ownership, adjust and respond.”
Those closest to Willie Bloomquist have always marveled at his attention to detail, his passion for baseball, his hunger for winning and competing.
And, of course, his deep-rooted love for the Sun Devils.
So imagine the collective feeling when, on June 11, 2021, Bloomquist was named the 6th head coach in Sun Devil Baseball history.
There was hardly a dry eye in Bloomquist’s circle when the new skipper met with reporters for the first time in June -- proudly wearing the Sun Devils’ home jersey and maroon cap -- and went to work, as a Sun Devil once again.
This is the tale of Willie Bloomquist, not just as the man now at the helm of one of the country’s top baseball programs, but as a husband, a father, a friend and a teammate.
And as the perfect match to steer a program into the next era of Sun Devil Baseball.
“Willie is going to find the teacher in him,” added Murphy, whose son, Kai, is an outfielder/pitcher in the Sun Devil Baseball program. "The teacher is what’s needed right now. The leader, the teacher – when you’re in those roles that he’s been in, he hasn’t had to be that. He’s going to find that inside of him.
“I think he’s a high-end example of a person who has the leadership and has the teacher that can eventually take ASU to a very high level.”
Andrew Beinbrink took a deep breath, held it for a moment and exhaled. He paused.
“Where do I even begin?”
Asking how Beinbrink feels about Bloomquist, his good friend and old college teammate when the two held down the Sun Devils’ left side of the infield in the late 1990s, elicits a response that covers many different emotions.
“The biggest feeling I had was just being really jacked up for someone who bled maroon and gold, to be in the leadership position of the head coach,” he said. “Just felt this sense of excitement and peace of mind that there’s going to be this soul-supported approach to the future of the program.”
The outside world knows Willie Bloomquist the baseball player, but Beinbrink knows Bloomquist in a deeper setting. He knows Willie Bloomquist, the son, husband, father and friend. He’s also aware of the kind of leader the Sun Devils are getting, a fluent communicator who can reach people and players from all backgrounds.
“I think the ability to raise daughters and have children of his own, and to understand what young people are having to experience in today’s world,” Beinbrink said, “I think it allows him to have a unique connection and has probably softened his heart, in a good way.”
Beinbrink and Bloomquist once formed a wicked tandem for head coach Pat Murphy. Beinbrink patrolled third base and Bloomquist manned shortstop. The two were incredible presences at the plate, two All-American talents who swatted everything thrown their way.
In the 1997 season, Beinbrink hit .380 with a team-best 72 RBI; Bloomquist hit .356 with 10 doubles and five triples. They were paramount to getting the Sun Devils to Omaha in ‘98, a summer Beinbrink still considers as the highlight of his college career.
“What I remember most is the joy and the fun of competing and winning and having each other’s back during that ’98 season. That’s the best memory and the best experience that I had as a teammate as Willie’s.”
When the junior Beinbrink had been selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round of the 1998 Draft, he was seriously considering forgoing his senior season at Arizona State if it meant turning pro.
He toyed with the decision and ultimately decided he had to return to Tempe. One problem, though: The team had already issued its allotted number of scholarships and zero remained. Bringing Beinbrink back into the fold caused Murphy to scratch his head and see how and where he could get creative.
The Bloomquist family took care of that.
They gave up their son’s scholarship and offered it to Beinbrink instead.
“I wasn’t aware that Willie had done anything at that point,” he said. “But it just tells you about, not just Willie, but about his family and how committed they are to Sun Devil Baseball, and the willingness to give to the program. I think it’s a great testament to Willie and his dad and his mother and his family, in terms of their generosity.”
As a 14-year big leaguer, Bloomquist was every manager’s dream. He showed up every day eager to do whatever was asked of him. Perhaps no manager appreciated that more than Kirk Gibson, who managed Bloomquist on the Diamondbacks from 2011-13.
When Gibson’s Detroit Tigers were eliminated from postseason contention by the Milwaukee Brewers at old County Stadium in early October 1981, Tigers manager Sparky Anderson instructed his team to watch the celebration unfold on the field in front of them. From a dejected dugout, Gibson watched and sulked as the Brewers paraded before him.
“When we went home, Sparky [Anderson] said, ‘Remember how you felt looking at this. Remember how you feel watching them celebrate. If you don’t care, let me know because you won’t be back next year,’” Gibson said.
Gibson employed similar tactics when managing the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013. The Los Angeles Dodgers had just clinched the National League West Division and partied at Chase Field like it was 1988. He told his players to stay and watch and to remember the feeling.
Willie Bloomquist, the veteran infielder in his third season with the Diamondbacks, was the last to leave the third base dugout. Bloomquist wanted to win more than anything; it pained him to see a division rival clinch in his home stadium.
“He was much like the way I was when I was a player,” Gibson said. “He wouldn’t think twice about any mountain being too tall to climb. That’s the beauty of him. Passionate, sincere about what he does and how he sets his goals. His players are in for a wonderful experience. They will, at the end, feel fortunate to have spent time with Willie Bloomquist.”
Bloomquist has no coaching experience prior to joining the Sun Devils. At the end of a 14-year big league career, with stops with the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Diamondbacks, he held a front-office job with Arizona as Special Assistant to the President & CEO for parts of six seasons.
If there are reservations about Bloomquist and how he’ll fare as a first-year head coach, Gibson is here to refute those.
“He’s just a wonderful blessing for those young men and women who are involved in that organization and that college, to help them shape themselves to be somebody who can be productive, and a giver, not a taker.”
Bloomquist may be best known amongst Diamondbacks fans for a gusty safety squeeze he executed in Game 5 of the 2011 National League Divisional Series against the Brewers.
Down 2-1 in the ninth inning, with runners on the corners and zero outs and Bloomquist at the plate, Gibson looked on from the visiting dugout and called for the squeeze. With soft hands and a cool approach, he laid down a perfect bunt to tie the game.
“I trusted all my guys,” Gibson said, “but Willie cherishes the opportunity to fail. Most guys are afraid to fail. He’s not thinking he’s going to fail, and if he does, he is thankful for the opportunity.
“I’m just a Willie Bloomquist fan,” Gibson continued. “You’re smelling the roses with him. You’re smelling the flowers. He’ll figure it out.”
Lisa Bloomquist heard it countless times from her husband for years: It didn’t matter who was calling, who was hiring, who had vacancies on their staff to fill, if it wasn’t Arizona State on the other end of the line, Willie Bloomquist wouldn’t consider it.
He was done with baseball. It was a terrific life in this sport, beginning from the early days as a kid in Washington and ending in the Diamondbacks' front office.
His next full-time gig would only call for fishing and flip flops and lots of time spent with his wife, four daughters and their dog Murph -- named after his old college coach, friend and mentor, Pat Murphy. (Murphy is also the godfather of Willie’s daughter, Layla).
Bloomquist was tapping out from the baseball scene.
Or, so he thought.
Then, Arizona State called. They had made an early-summer coaching change and had begun their search for a new head coach.
“One day, he said, ‘Lisa, ASU called.’
“He was so shocked by it. I said, ‘This is like it’s meant to be. You have always said from the moment you left ASU, from the moment you retired from Major League Baseball, ‘The only way I’m going back is if something opens up at ASU.’”
The two sides expressed mutual interest and a deal was quickly in place to make Bloomquist the program’s next head coach.
A return to ASU always did feel imminent, simply because it had all started there. Not just the All-American collegiate career and the magical run in ‘98 to Omaha, but it’s the origin of the Bloomquist family story, too.
On Lisa’s first day of freshman year, she planted herself in the third row of a 500-person auditorium. It was an introductory biology class for her very first college course.
“Willie walked in [to class] just a little bit late. He couldn’t find a seat so he just came down the aisle and sat next to me. I said, ‘Oh, better late than never,’” she said.
After meeting in biology, the two had quick chemistry. They became fast friends and began dating a year later.
So, of course, if a return to ASU even was possible, Willie and Lisa Bloomquist couldn’t have jumped faster at the opportunity to take it.
Since the news of her husband’s hire was made official, Lisa has heard from countless of their college friends who already have flights booked to get the gang together again to watch the new-look Sun Devils -- with old college friend Willie at the helm.
The new model and direction of the program is designed to mirror the path once taken by their new head coach, one that develops Conference Players of the Year, Academic All-Americans, high draft selections, all while getting the Sun Devils back to Omaha.
The message to players and parents and recruits and fans alike is simple: The path that took Willie Bloomquist on the big-league ride of a lifetime started right here in Tempe. There is a blueprint to replicating that, a dream that was lived out by the man now leading the charge.
It is only fitting, then, that Bloomquist is a Sun Devil once again.
Like he was always supposed to be.
“As we hired Coach Bloomquist, I spoke about the need to find a leader who has personally and passionately lived and loved Sun Devil Baseball on the diamond, in the dugout, in the classroom, and in the community," Arizona State's Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said.
"I am very encouraged by the early returns, particularly the strong comments shared to me by our student-athletes. They have never felt so together as a unit. They are learning so many life lessons through baseball while making important strides in their respective development on the field. There is no better person for them to learn these lessons from than Willie.”