Remastered edition: re-edited and shortened for clarity and pace.

We trace Jeff Natchez’s path from Flint open gyms and sandlots to a Detroit Tigers draft pick, rookie ball under a young Jim Leyland, and a second career in optometry. Honest reflections on choices, mentors, and coming home frame a story about resilience and community.

A Flint kid grows up in the city’s golden era, spends every spare hour on open courts and dusty diamonds, and learns how far grit can take you. That kid becomes a Tigers draft pick, rides the rookie-ball buses with a 26-year-old Leyland, and shares a field with future stars like Lance Parrish and Mark Fidrych. Then spring training delivers the phone call that changes the dream’s shape—and what happens next is the heart of this conversation.

We sit down with optometrist and former multi-sport standout Jeff Natchez to trace the full arc: Saginaw Valley showdowns with Flint Northern and Pontiac Central, the scout who believed early, and the surreal shock of patrolling right field at Tiger Stadium as a high school senior. Jeff opens up about the hard fork at eighteen—college under Bo Schembechler or a pro contract—and why hindsight suggests a different choice, even as the minors delivered priceless lessons in professionalism, poise, and preparation. The details are vivid and human: cold opening nights in Clinton, Iowa, clubhouse laughter, and the way Leyland handled teenagers like a steady metronome.

The turn toward optometry isn’t a retreat—it’s a reinvention. A long drive to Las Vegas sparks a plan, Ferris State University sharpens the craft, and a role in Reno with an ophthalmologist builds a second life anchored in precision and care. Jeff explains how the same fundamentals that defined Flint—accountability, mentorship, and access—shaped his work and his return home. We also honor the mentors who mattered, from playground supervisors who taught the basics to local legends like Rick Leach who showed what “it” looks like up close.

If you love Michigan sports history, underdog resilience, or stories about changing course with grace, this episode belongs on your list. Subscribe, rate, and review—and tell us: what choice at eighteen would you make differently today?

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