“It started with my grandfathers and my fathers and uncles,” Rohn said. “My brothers and I all played growing up, and we all played collegiately and we all played professionally.”

From Alpena High School to Central Michigan University to the major leagues, Rohn found success at every level as a player and transitioned into a long, successful coaching career.

“Coaches are hired to be fired, and I got fired four times and hired five, so it worked out OK,” Rohn said with a laugh.

Rohn graduated from Alpena and went on to Central Michigan, where he was named an All-American in 1977. He was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the 1977 amateur draft and played parts of three major league seasons as an infielder.

Courtesy Photo/Lake Erie Crushers Lake Erie Crushers manager Dan Rohn throws batting practice to his team.

“Getting the ball for the first time, it was like ‘What?,’ and I joined the club in Cincinnati,” Rohn said. “My first home game in Chicago, my whole family was there.”

In 1983, Rohn got 31 at-bats with the Cubs and batted .387. He got another 31 at-bats the next season and hit .129.

The ascent of future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg within the Cubs’ system cut into Rohn’s chances for sustained playing time and he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1985.

He got 10 at-bats in 1986 and batted .200. He finished his career in the minor leagues in 1989.

It was then he began the second act of his baseball career as coach.

Dan Rohn

As it turned out, the Minnesota Twins needed a minor league coach, so Rohn drove from Sarasota, Florida to Fort Myers, Florida and got to work.

“It was a bit of an abrupt change, but, the next day I wanted to do it again,” Rohn said. “The first game I coached, I had the farm director, the roving hitting coach, and the roving pitching coach all at the game. I said, ‘I think we’re going to be OK,’ and we won the opener.”

Rohn’s coaching career began in 1991 with the Twins’ Gulf Coast League team. He also spent time in the Seattle Mariners’ and San Francisco Giants’ systems, coaching at the Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A and Rookie League levels. As manager of the Tacoma Rainiers, Seattle’s Triple-A team, Rohn was twice named Manager of the Year.

Rohn even got a call up to the major leagues as a coach, spending the 2006 season as a bench coach with the Mariners.

In 2009, as coach of the Giants’ Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, Rohn won his 1,000th game as a minor league manager.

Courtesy Photo/Lake Erie Crushers After a long career coaching in the minor leagues, former Major Leaguer and Alpena High alum Dan Rohn returned to coaching this season, leading the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League. Rohn, a former collegiate All-American and big leaguer, has spent nearly 30 coaching and led many of his teams to league championships.

Rohn even made his way back to Michigan, coaching the Traverse City Beach Bums in the Frontier League from 2014 to 2018.

He was inducted into the Alpena Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Rohn was briefly retired after the Beach Bums folded their Frontier League operations in 2018, but got back into the game this season with the Lake Erie Crushers of the independent Frontier League. Rohn was hired as the Crushers’ manager and Director of Baseball Operations in 2020, but the 2020 season was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

After all, baseball is in his blood, and he couldn’t pass up the chance to help young players.

“It’s about the ability to give these kids a chance to get to the big leagues like I had,” Rohn said.