July 22, 2008

BERKELEY, CALIF. - By Scott Ball

April was a good month for Michael Capbarat.

And if the old adage that good things happen to good people is true, all the positive things that have happened to Cal's junior outfielder and team captain this past spring are well deserved.

On Monday, April 21, Capbarat was selected as the recipient of the 2008 Pac-10 Sportsmanship Award. The Saturday before receiving the honor, he was 2-for-3 with a tworun homer in the Golden Bears' 5-4 victory over Washington. The day after receiving the award, Capbarat not only went 2-for-5 with an RBI versus Cal Poly, he also made a spectacular play by catching a ball that deflected off of left fielder Charlie Cutler's glove.

Later that same day, he made an over-the-head, Willie Mays-style catch to double up Cal Poly base runners in the Bears' 10-8 come from- behind win.

Yet there is a whole lot more to Michael Capbarat than what he does on the baseball field. A testimony to Capbarat's value to Cal's nationally ranked baseball team is that even though he did not start full-time, he was selected one of the Bears' 2008 team captains.

An outstanding student, Capbarat earned the Golden Bear Award for the baseball player with the highest GPA, holding down a 3.78 as an English major.

"It is not just what Michael does on the field, but what he does off the field that sets him apart," said Cal assistant coach Jon Zuber, a member of the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and the person who spearheaded the sportsmanship nomination of Capbarat. "He is one of the most well-rounded people I have ever met. Michael has been a four-year member of Cal's Student-Athlete Advisory Council, has led our team in community service by heading projects for the Pittsburg (Calif.) Little League with free clinics at Evans Diamond, and has participated in a Breast Cancer walk. He has been the spokesperson for anti-hazing policies in college athletics as well. This award is perfect for him."

Capbarat even saved a man's life in December of 2006. He was walking on campus after a weight training workout and saw a man collapse near Dwinelle Hall. Capbarat began CPR while also phoning the Cal training staff and paramedics. He kept the man alive until trainers Brian Schulman, Barry Parsons and Ann Caslin arrived with a defibrillator. The paramedics arrived about five minutes later and said without Capbarat's efforts the man would not have survived. The man turned out to be former University of California Chancellor Albert Bowker.

"I feel honored and was pretty surprised to have won the sportsmanship award," said Capbarat, who is interested in creative writing and possibly working as a screenwriter after earning his degree. "It really meant a lot to me that coach Zuber wrote such nice things that were personal and heartfelt. He has taught me so much. He is like a baseball father figure to me."