Profile: Greenhills’ Seir making a difference on and off the field

It was a busy spring for Gabe Seir, who was one of several key players to help lead the Greenhills baseball team to its first ever Regional title. In fact, the junior helped win the game that clinched the title with his suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the 12^th inning to give the Gryphons a 6-5 walk-off (bunt-off) win over Riverview Gabriel Richard in the Regional final.

Seir, 17, didn’t spend the summer celebrating his baseball accomplishments. Entering his senior year at Greenhills, Seir played travel baseball this summer for the Ann Arbor A’s and pitched and played third base.

Off the baseball diamond, Seir did an internship at a University of Michigan biomedical engineering lab. His host’s project was focused on nerve regeneration after spinal cord injury. While baseball is his sport of choice, it’s in the classroom where he excels and sets him up for an amazing future in whatever direction he goes.

So let’s step in the batter’s box and lead off with the important stuff.

“My favorite subjects are math and science,” says Seir, the son of Ricardo Seir and Andreina Castro. “I particularly enjoyed learning about biology.”

Biomedical engineering, he says, combines these two fields in a way that can be used to help people and contribute innovations that can be used to help society.

“The research currently being done in this field is extremely important and can lead to many important treatments, machines, and techniques in the future,” he says. “Also, it allows me to stay on a pre-med track in college while studying something I find extremely interesting and useful.”

His internship this summer was at a U-M research lab as part of the Advanced Research Program Greenhills offers. “My job included a lot of shadowing as well as helping out with some of the picturing and staining of certain proteins.”

While he is just beginning the college application process, Seir hopes to study Biomedical Engineering in college and potentially apply for medical school after.

And that leads us back to the baseball diamond. “I’m not really quite sure yet with regards to baseball,” he says. “Whether it’s college baseball or not though, I still hope to continue to play after high school.”

After all, baseball is part of his DNA – and he doesn’t need a degree in Biomedical Engineering to tell him that.

“I can remember playing baseball ever since I was a little kid,” he says. “Whether it was just catch with my dad from a young age or starting tee-ball at the age of 5, I always had a bat and glove close by.”

And like so many baseball players, it all started in the backyard with his dad.

“I have my dad to thank for getting me so interested in baseball because he was the one who first put a glove and ball in my hands and let me fall in love,” Gabe says. “He put up with the countless games of catch in our backyard and drove me to all my, probably not very entertaining, little league games. He gave me the chance to play and continue to play such a great sport.”

As a freshman at Greenhills, Seir knew they had a strong team and a bright future. He started about half of the games for the Gryphons mostly as a pitcher. He only had 14 plate appearances but earned a spot in the starting rotation and finished with a 4.4 ERA and struck out 35 in 32 innings. 

Seir started every game in his sophomore season, finishing with a .216 batting average, 21 walks, and 19 hits. He pitched 55 innings and finished with a 2.4 ERA and struck out 50. At the end of the season, he received an All-Academic award in the Catholic League and was a part of the All-District team as a pitcher.

“My sophomore year was challenging as I ended up facing many tough opponents, like Leslie in the district final, and was still learning how best to approach these teams,” he said. “My teammates were able to help me out throughout the whole year making great plays and helping me grow as a player.”

This past season was special both for Seir and the Gryphons. Seir was named to the All-District Team, All-Catholic First Team and All-State Academic Team in 2019. He was 29 for 103 (.281) with four doubles, two triples, 24 RBI, nine stolen bases and a .321 OBP. On the mound, Seir went 9-1 with one save. In 74 innings, he recorded 91 strikeouts with a 1.42 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with three complete-game shutouts, including the District championship.   

He credits his success on the mound to his teammates. “This was largely in part to the phenomenal defense my team played all season long,” he said.

But everyone, including his coach, knows that Seir’s talent and hard work were the biggest keys to his success this past season.

“This past year, we had our best season in school history, winning a Regional championship and school-record 29 games,” says Greenhills Coach Thomas Ward. “We had an amazing senior class that led the team, but in many ways Gabe was the team’s heart. In the Regional championship, he had the two biggest hits of the game and pitched through a leg injury to lead us to the win. Gabe’s an intense competitor and is a phenomenal student-athlete. I am really looking forward to his leadership this upcoming season.”

Ward’s Gryphons finished the season with a 29-6 record and top-five ranking in the Coaches Association poll. They won a Catholic League C/D Sectional Championship with a 15-1 record and Ward was named CHSL C/D, District and Regional coach of the year.

Seir, who also plays on the talented Greenhills soccer team, says he is looking forward to his senior and final year at the school.

“I came to Greenhills in the ninth grade,” he says. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect and all I knew was that most of the people there will have been classmates and friends all throughout middle school.

“What I found was a place that allowed me to grow academically, athletically and as a person. I have had the chance to play three sports at Greenhills, an opportunity not available at many other high schools. Academically, I have had the chance to learn as much as I can in an environment that encourages growth. I have made amazing friends through both sports and in the classroom, that enhance my experience. Overall, I have really enjoyed my time at Greenhills and I’m sad that my final year here will be starting soon.” 

Video courtesy of Bob Winning