How Griffin Doersching's Viking look & long HRs made him Oklahoma State baseball folk hero
Jacob UnruhOklahoman
STILLWATER — Zach Ehrhard still gets startled at times when he runs into a certain Oklahoma State teammate.
It might be the bleached blonde mohawk or the muscular arms, one that’s completely covered in tattoos. Perhaps it’s the 6-foot-4, 251-pound frame.
Griffin Doersching looks more Viking than slugging first baseman.
“He’s extremely intimidating,” said Ehrhard, a freshman checking in 5 inches shorter and more than 70 pounds lighter.
The image is just the outer shell.
Doersching is anything but scary. Sure, he’s a menace to opposing pitchers as he hits 500-foot home runs. Cars and other structures beyond outfield walls aren’t even safe.
But there is more to Doersching.
From his passion for family to his clubhouse leadership to his obsession with anime, Doersching is more lovable bear than monster.
“I don’t think I need to stand out today,” Doersching said. “I go out there and I am myself.”
When the third-ranked Cowboys host No. 13 Texas Tech in a huge Big 12 series this weekend, there will be no player who stands out like Doersching. The graduate transfer has turned into a fan favorite with his unique vibe and highlight-reel home runs.
And if it wasn’t something OSU sees every day, the feats would be labeled as tall tales.
Meet the Paul Bunyan of college baseball.
“I love it,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “It’s just him. We all are who we are. Some people blend in and some people stand out. And he stands out.”
Sitting in the heart of the Cowboys’ order, Doershing has had big moments. He hit the go-ahead grand slam in a wild 10-run inning against Texas to complete a series sweep. In Tuesday’s walk-off loss at Dallas Baptist, Doersching delivered a go-ahead double late.
But Doersching does more than hit. He makes the Cowboys better with just his presence.
“Once you get to know the guy, he’s a great guy and he’s always got our back and always looking out for us,” Ehrhard said.
‘He’s an absolute personality’
Greg Doersching has commanded a room for as long as he can remember.With his 6-foot-2, 300-pound frame and the nickname “Heavy D,” how could he not?
But even he knew the spotlight would move when his oldest son approached him more than a decade ago with a wild request.
Griffin Doersching, then 12, wanted a mohawk. And he wanted to dye his natural strawberry blonde hair blue ahead of a youth league tournament in Cooperstown, New York.
“Maybe there’s more going on here than I expected,” Greg remembers thinking.
Griffin then hit his first-ever home run in his first at-bat of the tournament. It cleared the fence and kept carrying.
It then soared over the fence on the next field, nearly hitting the center fielder in the other game.
“Man, he hit that a long way,” Greg said with a laugh.
Over the years, Griffin continued to grow and get stronger.
“Ever since then, it’s become just this thing to watch how far he hits them,” Greg said.
In an under-15 tournament in Cincinnati, Griffin shattered the back window of a car in an outfield parking lot three rows deep. The owner? The home-plate umpire, who later admitted he parked there because in 10 years no player had come close to reaching his vehicle.
Griffin — who gave up football after his sophomore year — hit 13 home runs as a senior at Greendale (Wisconsin) High. His raw power was undeniable.
And the memorable look was starting to really take shape.
Griffin, who kept the mohawk, earned the nickname “Hokage” in high school, both for his love of the anime show “Naruto” and for his leadership.
When Griffin turned 18, he got his first tattoo on his left arm, a large pine tree with four roots. Each root featured a specific item — a snowflake, a cardinal, a fireman’s ax and a pipe. Each represented his grandparents because he’s rooted in family.
From there, he’s added around 30 meaningful tattoos to his arm.
The No. 52, his jersey number. A moth, matched by his parents. A quote from Greyson, his younger brother who shares his love of anime. A deer for his dad.
Each design was fitting for a kid coming into his own.
“He’s an absolute personality,” Greg said. “Everywhere he’s gone, he kinda becomes an easily recognizable face on that team.”
‘Grade-A individual’
Northern Kentucky coach Dizzy Peyton sought out a parking spot nearly as far from the field as possible.“There’s a spot he almost can’t get to,” Peyton said.
Perhaps, Peyton could spare his truck’s windows when Griffin Doersching came to the plate.
In four years, few others in the lot past the left-field fence at Bill Aker Baseball Complex were successful.
“He took out at least six windows,” Peyton said. “Seriously. And the other cool thing is, he’s hit it over the parking lot, so it’s probably like a 450 shot.”
“It’s nothing I’m making up.”
At Northern Kentucky, Doersching became a folk hero.
He hit 47 homers in four seasons, which ranks second all-time in program history. He won the 2019 College World Series Home Run Derby in Omaha, with Peyton pitching as Doersching connected for 13 straight homers in the final round.
In a game at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Doersching hit a ball so hard it broke a brick in a wall.
“I’ve seen the guy take a check swing and hit a home run,” Peyton said.
Last season, Doersching set school records with 20 homers and 50 walks. And talks with Peyton about pitch selection elevated his all-around ability at the plate.
Still, the homers won over the fans.
“Here he’s like a thing of legend and he probably always will be for the people that knew him just because of the titanic shots, just the unbelievable raw power this guy possesses,” Peyton said.
That made it hard to watch Doersching leave.
He needed a new challenge. OSU and the Big 12 provided that. Peyton understood. But Doersching had become family.
“He’s just a Grade-A individual,” Peyton said.
Doersching was the player who connected with Peyton the most. After Peyton’s mom died a few years back, Doersching wrote her name on his arm sleeve during a Mother’s Day game. He did it again last week.
“I just look for ways I can help people,” he said. “I’ve done it my whole life. It’s just the way I was raised.”
‘A grown up’
Josh Holliday was surprised when he walked into OSU’s locker room earlier this season and found six Cowboys gathered around a table.They weren’t on their cell phones. They were playing cards.
Griffin Doersching was the ringleader.
Texas Hold'em, which Doersching learned from his dad, kickstarted it. The regular card games expanded to other common games that last hours and hours.
And it’s spread throughout the team.
“That’s super-important stuff, man,” Holliday said. “You can’t have a winning team if you have a team built in sections. They gotta come together across the line at some point.”
Doersching has helped unite the Cowboys in just one season.
Holliday said Doersching is “like a grown-up.”
“He treats people like gold,” Holliday said. “He’s always got something positive to say. This is an energy-giving human being. You want him around.
“It’s been real special to have him here.”
Doersching has quickly become a fan favorite, too. His look leads the way, but so does his power.
He launched a 500-foot homer last month — a goal of his — and Sunday, he hit two 450-foot blasts. Despite missing more than a month with a foot injury, he’s hit eight homers, nine doubles and a triple.
And as the temperatures have risen, so has his power. His stock has elevated for the next level, too.
“I think he is maybe slept on a little bit as a prospect,” said OSU volunteer coach Matt Holliday, a former All-Star slugger. “When I watch Major League Baseball and I see a guy like Luke Voit and some of these big, strong guys that can hit the ball a long way, I think he has a future in pro baseball.”
Griffin has raised the expectations, even for Doersching’s father.
Homer or bust. Griffin has a reputation to uphold.
“The hard part for me is, I so expect him to hit home runs that every time he hits a single or double or pops out, I’m like, ‘Oh really? Only a double?’” Greg said. “I have to fight not getting disappointed when it’s not a home run.”
