Reusse: The Cubs’ Michael Busch is the rare Simley product gaining fame without wrestling

The late, great Jim Short became the wrestling coach at Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights in 1970. He created a dynasty, including four sons who totaled seven individual state championships, and with wife Pat doing everything possible to assist the program.

The Shorts made such a mark on the sport that, in 2013, the family received the National Wrestling Alliance’s Legacy Award. By then, son Will had taken the head coaching reins and the championships continued.

Starting with a first in 1987, the Spartans have 17 state team titles. Which brought up this question for Will Short on Tuesday:

“How did the Simley/Short wrestling dynasty miss out on Michael Busch, a muscular young athlete now creating a long-ball buzz with the Chicago Cubs? Do you not capture those lads before their hearts and minds are lost to other sports?”

Short laughed slightly and said: “Our theory is that as soon as a young person can go to the bathroom by himself, we try to get him on the mat. And we hope to have them hooked by 5, 6 or 7.”

Which does not lessen the pride that Short and Simley feel over Busch, a quarterback in football, a hockey standout, and then such a hitter in baseball that he became a big-time college recruit.

“I can claim to have been Michael’s baseball coach,” Short said. ”My claim is that I coached him at ages 8, 9 and 10. All those kids baseball teams, they have that one kid who is focused on every pitch, every ball in the field. That was Michael.

“He played with my son Jake, and Michael always played ‘up’ … with the 10s and then the 12s.

“He was a tough quarterback in football and got us to a state championship game. And he could have played Division I hockey. But Michael always was going to be a ballplayer.”

The Minnesota high school ranks were loaded at the top with the Class of 2016. Busch was among the six finalists for Mr. Baseball, along with winner Matt Wallner (Forest Lake) and Isaac Collins (Maple Grove).

There was also Louie Varland, a pitcher who did not make the final six but did graduate as the all-time leader in wrestling wins at North St. Paul.

The Cubs and Busch were at Target Field to start a three-game series Tuesday night. Chicago arrived leading the NL Central with a 54-36 record, after a 5-1 homestand that included Busch hitting three home runs Friday vs. St. Louis and then another Saturday.

This increased Busch’s folk-hero status at Wrigley Field, although No. 1 in that category is Pete Crow-Armstrong, a center fielder who has risen to MVP-contending status.

There was a collection of media surrounding Busch’s locker in the visitors’ clubhouse three hours before the series opener. Most were representatives of Twin Cities outlets, although he was asked by a non-Minnesotan about being raised as a ballplayer in the cold of our Frozen Wasteland.

“It is cold in the winter, but the summers are glorious,” said Busch, and he had this splendid July day (and evening) to serve as an example.

He was asked about his background with Wallner and Varland, a pair of Twins. There had been some competition and workouts as high schoolers.

He knew enough about Wallner, a fellow lefthanded power hitter, to remember that Matt originally committed to play baseball at North Dakota. Then the school dropped baseball (as the cheapos also did up there in dropping women’s hockey).

The Twins drafted Wallner in the 32nd round out of high school. He turned down that pittance and found a better baseball place than Grand Forks, N.D. — that being Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Busch had a better college offer: North Carolina. He hit with power there in his final two seasons. He had a solid position on draft boards for 2019. There even was speculation the Twins took a hard look at him.

Turned out, the Twins were selecting 13th, and they decided that was too high for Busch. They pounced on Keoni Cavaco, a high school shortstop from Chula Vista, Calif. There are endless bad draft choices, and then there are draft disasters.

Cavaco batted .172, .233, .231, .193 and .144 in various minor league stops. He was released June 17, 2024. He’s now a pitcher for the Chicago Dogs in the American Association, the same independent league in which the St. Paul Saints played.

Meanwhile, Busch was drafted 31st by the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the extended first round. He received a $2.31 million signing bonus. He was voted top prospect in the Pacific Coast League for the 2023 season.

The Dodgers had a jammed lineup, and in January 2024 the Cubs acquired Busch without giving up much. He became the first baseman and hit for enough power to secure a job for 2025.

He has been better this season — enough to become an All-Star candidate (he missed out), then a midseason legend with that home run explosion in Wrigley last weekend.

Busch has seven siblings and a collection of nieces and nephews that he couldn’t quickly enumerate as questions were being tossed at him before Tuesday’s game. His father — also Michael — and much of the family were watching him in the big leagues at Target Field for the first time.

Caleb Thielbar, the former Twins reliever and pride of Randolph, Minn., is a veteran Cub this season. What about your Minnesota mate down the visitors locker row here?

“Michael Busch … he’s been outstanding for us," Thielbar said. “He’s a gamer.”

Obviously, but the puzzle remains: How did Michael Busch avoid the clutches of the Short wrestling machine at Simley?

“I got into hockey real young and loved it,” Busch said. “It was my second-favorite sport.”

Yes, those Busch brothers were a tough sell to join the mighty Spartans matmen.

“We did get Michael’s brother Logan, but not until he was a senior — and then he made it to the state tournament," Will Short said. “And we couldn’t be more proud of Michael and all it can mean to be a Simley Spartan.”