'The only place I'm passionate about doing something would be at ASU'
The daily ritual would occur as Willie Bloomquist made his way to his seats at Chase Field.
An alum from Arizona State University would ask him when he's going to take over the Sun Devil baseball program. A fan would tell him how much he'd like to see Bloomquist back in maroon and gold.
Bloomquist spent five years as a special assistant to Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall, and rare was the night he didn't hear about his baseball heritage or why he'd be such a great fit managing the Sun Devils.
"I hadn't really given it much thought before that, but I'd be lying if I said after those several days in a row and several years in a row where people were talking that I didn't think about it," Bloomquist said. "I'm like, 'Yeah, the only place I would probably go would be where I'm passionate. I'm not going to be any good at anything unless I'm passionate about it. And the only place I'm passionate about doing something would be at ASU.
"I have a love for this program. It's the only place I would pour my heart and soul into. I want to see it be successful. And I want to help."
On June 11, 2021, the wishes of those Sun Devil fans came true. Bloomquist was named ASU's manager. Less than two years later, he has ASU in first place in the Pac-12 and ranked 12th in the country by Baseball America.
But this story isn't about records or rankings. It's about a Sun Devil whose passion for the program runs so deep that he took a job he admittedly wasn't prepared for and a job he wasn't sure he could do well.
"He loves putting on that Sun Devil uniform," Hall said. "His loyalty to the school, his loyalty to the brand, his affiliation with it, his success as a player, all of it just fits."
Bloomquist's love affair with ASU baseball – that's what it is, a love affair – began early. As a high school player in Port Orchard, Washington, he admired the program. And when he arrived in Tempe in 1996 to play for Pat Murphy, now the Milwaukee Brewers' bench coach, he found a comradery he still treasures today.
"Murph was a master at creating an environment to where the team was bigger than the individual," Bloomquist said. "No truer words were spoken than when he said, 'You're never going to experience a team like this again unless you're fortunate enough to make it to the postseason in the big leagues.'
"This was really the pinnacle of feeling a part of a team to where we all had one common goal. I think that's what makes it so special. You're not playing for personal accolades. You're playing for one destination and one goal. When you have a group of guys that buy into that, there's more power in that and there's passion in it."
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