Former college roommates clash at Triple-A

College football season officially kicked off on Saturday, and at its Midwest epicenter in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the reigning national-champion Wolverines toppled Fresno State. Fifteen hundred miles away in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a pair of former Michigan athletes celebrated the victory and their own momentous occasion.

Tommy Henry and Karl Kauffmann took the mound at Triple-A for Reno and Albuquerque respectively at Isotopes Park. Outside of a Spring Training game, it was the first time the two have graced the same mound since they were both in Michigan’s starting rotation in 2019.

“I’m in a fantasy league with a bunch of Michigan baseball players,” Henry said. “When [our game Saturday] got delayed, I sent a text out to that group chat like, ‘Hey, in between commercial breaks of the Michigan football game, if you’re bored, tune in: Henry versus Kauffmann, MiLB.’ The message got a lot of action.”

The two went toe-to-toe for five innings but neither factored into the decision as the Isotopes walked it off, 4-3, in the ninth inning. The reunion even caught the notice of another former Michigan standout, Jeff Criswell, who was busy earning his first Major League win for the Rockies that same night.

“He is excited for us to have this opportunity,” Kauffmann said of Criswell. “I’d say I wish he was here, but I really don’t. He’s in a better spot right now.”

While “Hail to the Victors” echoed from coast to coast on Saturday, the Henry-Kauffmann origin story starts in the Mitten. Born 17 days apart, the two first crossed paths in travel ball around the age of 14. Kauffmann, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills, a suburb of Detroit, headed west to join Henry’s team. According to Henry, Kauffmann didn’t need an introduction.

“At that age, Karl Kauffmann was the name in Michigan,” Henry said. “There were travel ball teams that would fly Karl in to spot start when we were 14 years old. I think everyone had googly eyes for Karl at that age. He threw harder and was nasty.”

Based on his reputation in the state, it’s no surprise that Kauffmann had long been committed to the University of Michigan. As the first commit of his class, he took it upon himself to aid in the recruiting efforts of his teammates, particularly Henry. The lanky lefty was down to Michigan and Duke, and Kauffmann was determined to make him a Wolverine.

“I had watched all of the Michigan recruiting growing up, so I thought I was going to be able to recruit all of those guys over there,” Kauffmann said. “[Henry] had to take a phone call from the Duke coach one night and I was all disappointed. 'Dang, we need him at Michigan!' We just pushed the right buttons eventually and got him on the right side.”

Henry was impressed by then-head coach Erik Bakich and the talent of the recruiting class. It also didn’t hurt that his good friend was constantly in his ear.

“I didn’t need much convincing to go to Michigan, but he was there for that little spritz if I needed it,” Henry said.

So the two headed to Ann Arbor in the fall of 2016 where, naturally, they were roommates. They opted for bunk beds so they could squeeze in a futon and challenge each other playing Madden NFL. It’s around this time that people started referring to them as “The Odd Couple” due to their differing personalities and tendency to always be together.

“Tommy pushed me to the books when I needed to. We pulled Tommy out occasionally when he wanted to,” said Kauffmann of their dynamic as roommates. “I don’t know where that came from, 'The Odd Couple,' because really, we’re pretty similar at the end of the day.”

They were certainly similar on the baseball field in results if not in style. Both made their first career starts as freshmen and then blossomed during their sophomore campaigns. Statistically, they finished neck-and-neck -- Henry with a 3.09 ERA and 77 strikeouts and Kauffmann taking the slightest of edges with a 3.08 ERA and 78 strikeouts.

By the time their junior year came around, they were the 1-2 punch of Michigan’s stacked pitching staff and helped lead the club to its first College World Series appearance in 35 years. Then the two both became Competitive Balance Round B selections in the 2019 MLB Draft. With Henry going 74th overall to the Diamondbacks and Kauffmann 77th to the Rockies, they became Michigan’s highest Draft picks since 2010 when Ryan LaMarre was selected 62nd overall by the Reds.

The end of their college careers meant the end of The Odd Couple’s time as roommates. Throughout the early stages of their pro careers, they were often playing in different parts of the country at different levels of the Minors, but they remained close friends.

“I think as we’ve gotten older, we’ve grown to be even more and more similar,” Henry said of their bond. “I think that’s helped our relationship over the course of the years. We’ve gravitated to the same things, same hobbies. The same things in life are important to us, so I think that’s what makes us such good friends.”

The fact that some lucky scheduling, bad weather and pure coincidence brought them back together in Albuquerque was “hilarious” in their eyes. And Henry, the studious half of the pairing, has made further calculations.

“Knock on wood, if nobody has a rainout, I would assume we’re lined up to start the last week of the season too when we play each other in Reno.”