Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Daniel Jipping put his faith in the right place.
He also put a number of baseballs into orbit.
Jipping, a Central Michigan junior, was selected by the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in the Major League Baseball Draft. He leaves Sunday for Boise, Idaho, where he will join the organization’s short-season Class A Boise Hawks, forgoing his senior season at CMU.
“I’m extremely happy,” Jipping said during a phone interview Wednesday night from Comerica Park, where he was watching the Tigers-Arizona Diamondbacks game. “I’m super thankful to the Rockies for giving me the opportunity to chase my childhood dream.
“I’m thankful to all the people who supported me throughout this, because it’s not a short process.”
Jipping, an outfielder/first baseman, led the Chippewas in 2017 with a .309 batting average, 11 home runs and 61 RBI, the 10th-highest total for a single season in program history. He was twice named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team and once to the second team during his three-year CMU career, and is a two-time Academic All-MAC selection.
As a freshman in 2015, Jipping – a finance major with a 3.94 grade point average — was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team, and this season earned a spot on the Academic All-America Second Team, becoming the 12th player in program history and the first since 2008 to be so honored.
On Wednesday, Jipping was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Mideast Region First Team.
Jipping was taken by the Rockies in the 22nd round, with the 686th overall selection. He said he watched the draft at the family home in Canton along with his mother, Lisa, and brother, Eric.
“I’m a man of faith and I believe that this was God-ordained and I had nothing to do with this,” he said. “He gave me the opportunity to continue to play baseball. He’s especially blessed me with everything.
“I believe that God has a plan for the ones he loves. I also believe that life’s a journey and it’s about growth. Not only the good, but the bad. He gives you times of trials to help you grow. That makes these times so much more special.”
Jipping’s on-field growth was evident in his numbers throughout his CMU career. He came to Mount Pleasant – his lone scholarship offer came from Chippewa coach Steve Jaksa – with a reputation as a good athlete with good size out of Plymouth Christian Academy.
The 6-foot-2, 232-pound right-handed hitter hit .281 with six home runs and 40 RBI as a freshman, and then .300 with six homers and 42 RBI as a sophomore. His 143 career RBI rank eighth in program history.
“When I was younger I really forced the issue,” he said. “I think our coaches at Central, and I have a guy I work with back home … taught me that you don’t have to do it all. They taught me the approach and helped me with the mechanics of the swing, to learn to set up and get the pitches you want. Having the right approach and making adjustments (are key) because this is a game of adjustments.
“I’m grateful that the Central Michigan coaches gave me the opportunity. That’s the reason I’m drafted. They gave me an opportunity to play.”
