Musically and on the Pitching Mound, Winterstein is at the Top of His Game



Winterstein '12



Coming off an injury is one of the most frustrating experiences an athlete can go through. Rehabilitation is a difficult experience that presents trial and hardship more than any other athletic preparation. For Guilford senior pitcher Micah Winterstein, aka DJ Skywalker, this frustration was doubled due to the nature of his injury and its consequences.

“In high school l started having pain my junior year in my elbow and the doctor and I weren’t sure what was causing the pain, so I did some therapy,” said Winterstein. What started out as tendonitis led to a tear, and Winterstein underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after his senior year. This procedure takes a tendon from another part of the body and replaces the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. This double procedure is highly risky and the rehabilitation process is long.

“After Tommy John it was very discouraging, because there wasn’t an immediate time that I could get back on the field,” said Winterstein.

It was also in high school that Winterstein began to DJ as a hobby.

“It started out as a hobby for sure. Music is something that I really love and have a strong passion for and as I progressively did it more and got better at it, that hobby became something I could use as a job.”

At Guilford Winterstein met, and began to collaborate with hip-hop artist Beau Young Prince, a fellow student. The pair hit it off and opened shows for major artists, such as Chiddy Bang and Wale.

After the surgery, Winterstein didn’t play at all his freshman year and played for the Quakers' developmental baseball team in 2010. Assistant baseball coach Daniel Hadra saw potential in Winterstein and suggested he drop down to a sidearm release from his more conventional over-the-top release.

“Coming off his previous arm surgery, I didn’t see him having a spot on the team. He wasn’t good enough,” said Hadra. “I saw he wanted to play and he’s extremely athletic. I thought dropping down wouldn’t be a drastic change.”

Winterstein’s new sidearm release made him far more effective.

“My strength isn’t blowing by people, but it’s relying on how much I can move the ball and putting the ball where I want,” Winterstein said. “Pitching sidearm allowed me to get more of that movement.”

In 2011 he came into his own as a pitcher. Winterstein posted a team-best 2.45 earned run average in 22 innings. He pitched effectively in 12 appearances out of the bullpen. His effectiveness was even more noticeable due to his interesting pitching style. Entering his senior season Hadra, has high expectations of Winterstein.

“He’ll come out of the bullpen and pitch two, three, four innings. I really want to get to him as fast as I can,” said Hadra. “He (Winterstein) had the best fall of any pitcher on the team. He’s much better than last year. He has much more confidence.”

As for his future as a DJ, Winterstein continues to take music one day at a time. He is not affiliated with any record label, although Popup Shop Records supports Beau Young Prince. The duo continue to collaborate and do shows on campus, as well as off.

Winterstein’s is at the top of his game musically and on the baseball diamond. He’s taking his success and his future plans one day at a time though, for someone who had to overcome so much adversity that only makes sense.