BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Max Bain has dreamt of playing Major League Baseball since he was a kid.
The dream is coming true for the 2015 Clarkston High School graduate, as he was signed by the Chicago Cubs.
“It’s still a little surreal,” Bain said.
A right-handed pitcher, he played in 14 games with 21 strikeouts for the United Shore Professional Baseball League’s Utica Unicorns during the 2019 season. During his time with the USPBL, he increased the velocity on his fastball to 97 mph.

The Unicorns helped tremendously to get him to the next level, he said.
“They gave me a shot to continue my career,” Bain said. “If it weren’t for them, I don’t know if I would have an opportunity to continue playing. Being there with so many great coaches, so many great teammates, was astronomical in my success.”
He added his time as a Unicorn is something he’ll never forget.
“All of those involved, Andy Appleby, Justin Orenduff, Shane McCatty, Alan Oaks, Willi Martin, Skip Johnson, and countless others, gave me the opportunity to not only play baseball at the professional level, but to also let me develop into my own that much more. I’ll forever be grateful for that,” said Bain. “I’ve created so many lifelong relationships on and off the field. I want to thank the USPBL staff as a whole, my teammates, and the city of Utica for providing unreal experiences every day at Jimmy John’s Field.”
Bain began playing baseball in parks and recreation leagues when he was around 7-years-old. Then, he played for the Clarkston Riverdawgs and continued with the South Oakland A’s.
“I let my career take itself where it needed to go from there,” he said, adding the different teams helped him grow. “Developing so many friendships and being able to meet so many new people in the baseball community, it taught me so many lessons. There have been so many impactful people throughout that process, had I not played I definitely would not be in the position I am in right now.”
He shared the two people who impacted him the most are his parents, Aaron and Nicole.
“They have given me every opportunity to succeed in this career of mine,” Max shared. “Without them and their constant support and constant love none of this would be possible.”
He played as a Wolf on the Clarkston Freshman Baseball team during ninth grade, then on the JV team during his sophomore year. He was on the varsity team for his junior and senior years, which included being on the team when the Wolves made it to the state semifinals in 2014.
“I caught during three years of high school, too,” he said, adding he spent his spring seasons catching and summer seasons pitching. “It provided me a way to take some bullets off the arm a little bit and put some relief on it. I fit into the Clarkston system well as a catcher. There was no need to move me to the mound so I decided that’s what I wanted to do. It’s how it all worked out.”
He continued his baseball career at Northwood University as a pitcher and played for them until he signed with the Unicorns in 2019.
His advice to aspiring players is control what you can to the best of your ability.
“I think in any player’s career, they are going to have to deal with adversity,” Max said. “It comes down to consistently putting yourself in a state you are only controlling what you can. When you can look yourself in the mirror and honestly tell yourself, ‘I am controlling what I can then that’s all you can do.’ Then, everything around you falls into place.”
He added, trust the process.
“The more you can enjoy the process, the easier you can trust and control what you can,” Max said.
Max is currently in Phoenix, Ariz., for a 4-week camp with 35 pitchers and 35 position players.
“Basically they are assessing us and getting a baseline for us going into the season and providing us a comfortable way to introduce ourselves to the organization,” he shared. “It’s been an exciting process.”
Then, he will be home for a week or two before heading into spring training.

  Baseball, Max Bain