Vince D’Adamo: What did you enjoy most about competing in athletics throughout your life?
Mike Kramer: I don't know that there is really anything that I didn't or haven't enjoyed about competing in athletics throughout my life. There were times in my career both as a player and as a coach where I would have to deal with a slump or losing a game or a series and didn't particularly enjoy the outcomes at the time. Those moments are easily overshadowed by all the positive experiences athletics offered. The relationships I have had with teammates, coaches and even opponents, the opportunity to travel and see the country through athletics, the lessons of discipline, dedication, resilience, persistence, setting and achieving goals. Those are the reasons I have enjoyed competing and why I continue to still compete.
D’Adamo: What have you been doing since graduating from high school?
Kramer: I attended and played baseball at Pepperdine where I was fortunate to have played with and against a number of major leaguers. Once my playing career ended when I graduated from Pepperdine in 1999, I joined the coaching staff as an assistant for the 2000 season. I went on to work as an assistant at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for the 2001-2002 seasons before moving back out west to coach at the University of San Diego from 2003-2005. While I was coaching at USD, I completed my Master's degree in Leadership Studies. I also coached in a couple of collegiate summer leagues - I was an assistant with the 2000 Danville Dans of the Central Illinois Collegiate League (which is now the Prospect League) and I was the head coach for the Thomasville (NC) Hi-Toms in the Coastal Plain League in 2002-2003.
Following the 2005 season at USD, I decided it was time to get out of coaching so I could get a better work/life balance and spend more time with my wife, Kristina (whom I met while I was coaching at UNC-Greensboro and then married in 2004). In 2006, we decided to make the move to near her family in Maine and have been here now for over 10 years where I have been working in sales in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. To satisfy my competitive needs, I took up racing in triathlons (mostly sprint and Olympic distance, although I have completed a few 70.3 distance races) and have now competed in nearly 50 total races in eight states including racing in the age group national championships in 2011.
The best and most important thing that I have been doing is spending time with my family - especially my two amazing children Madeline who is 5, and Collin who is 3.
D’Adamo: What was your favorite class at Justin-Siena High?
Kramer: We were fortunate to have had a number of great teachers at Justin. But for me, my favorite class was Anatomy and Physiology with Ms Birkmeyer. Right behind A&P with Ms Birkmeyer were my algebra and Christian life classes with Mr. Clark and History with Mr. Foletta.
D’Adamo: What was your favorite athletic moment at Justin-Siena High?
Kramer: Despite having baseball as such a big part of my life throughout high school, my favorite athletic memories from Justin mostly involve my senior season of basketball. That was such a memorable year. We played in a Christmas tournament in Hawaii and won the SCAL title by beating Vanden in the final regular season game on their home court. Even though I remember that I did not personally play that well in that game at Vanden, getting that team win was probably my favorite moment because it accomplished two things that hadn't been done in years for the boys basketball program - win a league title and host a home playoff game in the South Gym. Unfortunately, when we did host that playoff game versus Colfax, we had one of our worst performances and were completely outplayed which ended an otherwise memorable season.
D’Adamo: How much do you feel you have grown personally since graduating from high school and how much of that do you trace to athletics?
Kramer: I'm now a few weeks away from turning 41 so I hope that I have grown personally since high school. Joking aside, I don't know that I or anyone who knows me well would be able to separate my involvement with athletics from who I am now as a person. My experience with sports, baseball especially, has had a significant impact on my approach to life. The two sayings that best sum up who I am and who I strive to be in all aspects of life were preached by my hitting coach, Dave Esquer (who is now the head coach at Cal) while I was at Pepperdine. He would often say, "it's never as good as it seems, and it's never as bad as it seems" and "if you are not getting better, you are getting worse." Both of these statements, whether in the context of baseball or life, have always resonated with me.
D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?
Kramer: My parents were always unbelievably supportive in allowing me to participate in sports while I was growing up. They made a number of sacrifices in order to provide those opportunities and share in those experiences with me. At various points, both my mom and/or dad volunteered to be board members in either Little League or Joe DiMaggio summer baseball, would tape basketball games and sometimes even practices, and despite the work schedules that they each kept, there were very few games that they did not make from my grade school sports days through high school.
I was also very close with my grandmother (from my dad's side). I credit her with fostering much of my love for the game of baseball. Back when I was probably only 6 or 7, she joined a senior center over in Fairfield in large part because she was able to get us tickets for both A's and Giants games and she would take me along on the group trips to the games. I have such fond memories of going on those bus rides, mostly to the Coliseum, with all of her "little old lady friends."
D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.
Kramer: I think that I would go with a non-sports figure and would want to meet Abraham Lincoln because I respect his leadership, resilience, conviction, and perseverance at what was such a pivotal point in the history of our country.
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