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From Pop-Ups to Pop Quizzes: Detroit Tiger Comes Home to Teach in Rochester

As the Tigers pursue the division title, we catch up with former pitcher Andrew Good, who is teaching fifth-graders in Rochester.

Who's your Tiger?

You may have seen the commercials or perhaps the banners down at Comerica Field asking this very question.

For  staff and students, the answer is easy.

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After a pitching career in Major League Baseball, including one season with the Detroit Tigers,  alum Andrew Good has returned home to Rochester to teach fifth grade at North Hill.

"It's very cool. I feel very fortunate to be in one of the best districts in the state," Good said.

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The Tigers begin a three-game series today against the Indians in Cleveland; they are one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central Division.

The majors

Good remembers every detail of what will be one of the defining moments of his life.

It was April 18, 2003: Good Friday, in St. Louis. There were 40,000-plus people in the stands of Busch Stadium when Good, at the time an Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher, got the call from the bullpen to start warming up.

He was about to play his first game in the major leagues.

"My heart started beating so fast. I thought I kind of jogged out to the mound but my teammates told me I sprinted," Good said. "I couldn't feel my feet touch the ground."

From there, muscle memory took over. His first hitter popped out and sensation started to return to Good's body.

Good pitched for parts of three seasons in the major leagues, including two games with the Tigers in 2005. He appeared in 35 major-league games, most of them with the Diamondbacks, and he posted a career record of 5-4.

That's not your typical get-to-know-your-teacher story.

Growing up with baseball

Good said some of his most vivid memories are of playing baseball as a kid in Rochester.

"This was a great area to grow up in," Good said. "Sometimes I drive by my old house and remember the wiffle ball games we had in the back yard. I remember playing catch with my dad and brother in all the parks and fields around town.

"This town had good competitive baseball, and it helped me grow my skills. Without that competition I could never have done what I did."

Part of that journey to the majors included a 1997 baseball state championship for Rochester High.

"It was a great experience. Those were the guys I grew up with. It was the accumulation of years of hard work — and fun," Good said.

But was it all baseball growing up?

"I met my wife, Michele, here in our sophomore biology class. We've been together ever since," Good said with a smile.

"That's my favorite part of Rochester."

The Goods have two young boys and live in Royal Oak.

From pop-ups to pop quizzes

Good was drafted right out of high school. It was a life-altering moment in more ways than one. 

"It was a difficult decision," he said. "I always thought I'd go to college but if I had gone right after high school I would not be a teacher today."

Good said his interests at that time would have led him to a more sports-oriented major. Instead, he played baseball and then he coached baseball and along the way he realized that he really enjoyed helping someone learn something they couldn't do before.

Good returned to Rochester as a student at . He was a student teacher at  and when he graduated in December of 2011 he was hired as a math/reading interventionist at . During that interview process he met North Hill principal Dave Pontzious. When a fifth-grade position at North Hill opened up this year, Good interviewed with Pontzious again and was hired.

"I love this age group and the excitement they have for learning," Good said. 

He remembers that his own favorite subject in fifth grade (besides gym and recess) was math. "I have a lot of positive memories of my elementary experience," Good said. "The teachers and coaches in my life were so important.

"I want to make a positive impact on my students' lives as well."

Just asking

The bright lights (and elbow surgeries) of the majors are behind him now as Good settles into this new career as teacher.

But, still, we have to ask: "Who is your Tiger, Mr. Good?"

And the correct answer is: Jose Valverde. 

Writer's note: To the students of Mr. Good's fifth-grade class — don't let the headline scare you ... I was just trying to be clever. There is not a pop quiz planned today (at least that I know of)!

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