LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tigers Spring Training games have been a destination for spring breakers for years. On Wednesday, the Tigers will get one famous fan on spring break into a uniform.
University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, who has made headlines across college football by taking his team to Bradenton for spring practices at the IMG Academy this coming week, will swing by nearby McKechnie Field to coach first base for the Tigers during Wednesday's afternoon game against the Pirates.
Harbaugh will coach for at least an inning, a Tigers spokesperson confirmed. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who was born and raised in Michigan and has connections to the program, told The Bradenton Herald about the news on Friday. Harbaugh is expected to bring his players as well.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, who caught Harbaugh's ceremonial first pitch at Comerica Park last July 1, will be on hand for that split-squad game. Omar Vizquel, normally the Tigers' first-base coach, will be managing the other split-squad team as it faces the Yankees in Tampa.
Harbaugh has had a Spring Training coaching stint before, handling first base for the A's for seven innings in a Cactus League game last March in Arizona. He was a guest of A's manager and friend Bob Melvin.