Virginia Cavaliers’ catcher Logan Michaels celebrates with his teammates after hitting a home run

That Logan Michaels homer was a called shot

The University of Virginia (UVA) baseball catcher Logan Michaels hit his first home run of the season at the College World Series against Tennessee. Logan later added an RBI single that jumpstarted a four-run the UVA in what turned into a 6-0 win over Tennessee.

That it all went down on Father’s Day, with Logan’s father Jeff, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in 2018, in the stands, made it all the more special. Jeff Michaels has, for now, beaten back cancer, though he acknowledges that pancreatic cancer is the kind that sort of “wants to come back.”

“When I hit that, I instantly, when it went over the fence, I started thinking about my dad, and it’s one of the most special moments we could share together,” Logan said. “I was sitting in the dugout after it happened. I got pretty emotional. For him to be here, for what he went through in the past, just for him to be here and be able to see that, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Just a really special moment.

“There are no words for it,” Logan continued. “Just for someone to bring him the home run ball and obviously for it to happen on Father’s Day at the College World Series, I mean, definitely a special moment for our family and for my dad and I.”

“He’s the leader on our team,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “We have a number of leaders, but I’d say he’s the guy that a lot of players look to. He’s somebody that I seek his counsel a lot on how the team is doing and the certain thing he feels that from a player perspective can be done to help the ball club.”

The visit was particularly meaningful for the Michaels family. It marked the three-year anniversary of Jeff’s cancer diagnosis.

Jeff was diagnosed in 2018, after going to the doctor for what he thought was food poisoning. “You’re not going anywhere,” Jeff recalled the doctor saying. Jeff and his wife, Peg, cried when they heard the news. Perhaps the only silver lining, Jeff says, was that his kids weren’t there when he found out.

Jeff and his wife, Peg, both lost a parent when they were young, so they knew well the devastation the diagnosis potentially held. They also knew they learned the news first and could control how the rest of the family took the news.

Fighting cancer is a challenge. Fighting one of the most lethal forms of cancer optimistically is an even taller task. Jeff told his family they were welcome to look up what the diagnosis meant. They could see the statistics that would say his chances of making it two years were slim. His chances of lasting three years were even smaller.

What they found, though, Jeff didn’t want to know. He wanted to go through the fight without knowledge of the stats telling him how little time he might have left with his wife and kids.

“I definitely looked up what it entailed,” Logan said. “Whenever you hear cancer you think of death, and it’s just one of those things where you see all these people around you who have family members who have gotten cancer and died, and you’re like hopefully that never happens. And then it happens to you and you find out its pancreatic cancer, which is usually one of the worst.”

“One of the things I wanted to make sure was Logan stayed out there after my surgery and he played,” Jeff said. “One of the greatest things that happened for me was the UVA televising the games because honestly, I was in bed for eight months and having those games and then rewatching the games, it meant so much to me.” The games, and the phone calls after the games, gave Jeff something to look forward to.

Other glimpses of hope came through smaller moments. Jeff attended a local hockey game on a pancreatic cancer awareness day. It was in that press area that he was introduced to a 14-year survivor of the disease. He broke into tears when he met the woman. “All of a sudden I felt like, ‘Wow, this is actually possible. I can get some time out of this,’” Jeff said.

Another small moment came when one of his many doctors explained a treatment plan. The doctor nonchalantly used the word “cure” when describing the end goal. “I stopped him and I said, ‘Wait, you’re going to cure me? Nobody said ‘cure’ before,’”

Jeff said. A doctor, for the first time in Jeff’s many interactions with medical professionals since his diagnosis, said he would cure Jeff. “I’m holding you to that,” Jeff said.

The family has grown closer over those years, and Jeff views the weekend as a celebration of their journey. For some, this weekend’s games against Louisville are just part of a baseball series. For the Michaels family, it’s much more.

“It’s a miracle,” Logan said.

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