University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Michael W. Pash 1981 - Baseball
Considered one of the best second basemen in UVM baseball history, Mike Pash, a 1997 Hall of Fame inductee, was a big part of some of the best Catamount teams ever.
"The best second baseman I've seen at Vermont, Mike turned the double play really well," said Bill Currier, the current UVM baseball coach and a former teammate of Pash's. "I've only seen one other player do it as well and that was Juan Samuel (a major league all-star who Currier played with in the Philadelphia Phillies system). And Mike had the quickest hands of any second baseman I've seen since I've been at UVM," Currier added.
An outstanding defensive player, Pash could also get it done at the plate. He hit .287 for his career, which ranked him in the top 25 on the all-time UVM list at the time of his graduation. He recorded 98 hits in four seasons, also in the top-25. In 1981, when the Catamounts recorded what was then a school record 22 wins.
Pash had an outstanding season. He hit .319 that year with 44 hits in 138 at-bats, and also recorded 26 RBI, five doubles, two triples and two home runs. His slugging percentage of .428 was third best on the team that season. Pash's 44 hits were at the time fourth-best in UVM history and his 138 at-bats were the most ever recorded up to that time. Pash scored 30 runs in 1981, again ranking him in the top 20 all-time for a single-season total. The 1981 Catamounts, which featured Currier as well as future Hall of Famers Kirk McCaskill and Jim Farrell, made it to the title game of the ECAC New England Championship before falling to Maine.
Pash's name can still be found throughout the UVM baseball record book. His five career triples put him in a tie for ninth all-time, while his 52 career RBI are tied for 20th. He is also among the school's all-time leaders in runs scored (60), at bats (342), total bases (109) and games played (105).
