In August 2025, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference announced its inaugural class of 50 to the ODAC Hall of Fame. Four Royals were named to the ODAC’s first-ever class. Over the next week, EMU Athletics will celebrate all four inductees with articles highlighting their illustrious playing and post-EMU careers. Our next inductee is Erik Kratz ’02.
It could be argued that Kratz is the most successful athlete to come out of EMU. A four-year member of the Diamond Royals, Kratz was an NCAA Second Team All-American in 2002 and a First Team All-South Region honoree in 2001 and 2002. Those two seasons also saw Kratz named the ODAC Player of the Year and All-ODAC First Team. He was named All-ODAC Second Team during the 2000 season.
He holds the ODAC and EMU career record in doubles (77), hits (220), and putouts (1019), and the EMU record in runs scored (147), home runs (33), RBIs (159), batting average (.415), slugging percentage (.762), total bases (404), and games played (155). Kratz had his jersey retired after his final game in 2002, and was inducted into the EMU Hall of Honor in 2012.
He was drafted in the 2002 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, and made his MLB debut in 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his 11-year MLB career, he played for the Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, and the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2019, he was selected for Team USA in the 2019 WBSC Premier12, in which he was named the best catcher of the tournament.
Kratz is now the head varsity baseball coach at Dock Mennonite Academy, where he graduated from in 1998. He is also a co-host of the YouTube podcast Foul Territory.
Kratz, along with EMU’s three other ODAC Hall of Fame inductees, will be celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the men’s basketball game against Roanoke inside Yoder Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
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