BLOOMFIELD HILLS — It was dark. Most everyone was gone.

Walking down a corridor of Brother Rice High School, baseball coach Bob Riker heard mysterious noises coming from the gym.

“It was freshman DJ LeMahieu, hitting a ball off a tee.”

In the 18 years since, LeMahieu has teed off on high school, college and professional pitchers. His career average at Brother Rice was .459 with 201 hits. 

In two years at Louisiana State University, he hit .344 and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2009. He hit .315 in two years in the minors before the Cubs brought him up on Memorial Day in 2011.

Entering his 11th season in the majors (one year with the Cubs, seven with Colorado, two with the New York Yankees), LeMahieu is averaging .305. That includes a .348 mark in 2016 with the Rockies to lead the National League and .364 last season with the Yankees to top the American League — the first player since Ed Delahanty (1899 NL, 1902 AL) to win a batting title in both leagues.

Over the past five seasons, no one has a higher batting average (minimum 2,500 plate appearances) than LeMahieu’s .320.

LeMahieu, who will be 33 on July 13, also shines on the field. He has played every infield position, mostly second base, and has won the Gold Glove award three times and the Defensive Player of the Year three times.

His grit and versatility has been handsomely compensated, earning $41 million so far in his career and, in January, signing a $90 million contract that will keep him a Yankee for six years.

Riker, a 1985 Rice graduate, has been the Warriors’ varsity baseball coach since 1998. He’s helped 70 of his players move on to play college baseball, including nine at the professional level. LeMahieu is one of his best players. 

“DJ (full name: David John) was tall and gangly when he came to Rice,” Riker says. “I’ve never had one like him with the drive and work ethic to get better. He loves baseball and he wants to play it the right way.”

Baseball is a game of peaks and valleys, Riker says. “DJ is one of very few players who has the mental toughness to go above and beyond.”

All of this is prelude to a recent announcement that LeMahieu has purchased the Stevens Family Baseball Complex and Warriors Park, Brother Rice’s home, in Troy. The sale was approved by the school’s board of directors and the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

In his letter to the Brother Rice community, school president Tom Reidy said, “DJ has offered to operate it as a youth baseball facility for our community. Additionally, Brother Rice will maintain exclusive use of Warrior Park and its amenities during the high school baseball season at a nominal cost of $1.00 per year.”

Reidy’s letter also contained a statement by LeMahieu:

“I saw an opportunity to positively impact baseball at Brother Rice and help the next generations of baseball players in and around the area where I grew up. There is no better place nearby for kids to play baseball and I’m proud that the Warriors will continue to be an important part of this complex’s bigger future. 

“The future at The Stevens Family Complex looks bright as significant improvements are currently in development, such as an indoor fieldhouse and a youth field adjacent to the main field. 

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without my Brother Rice experience.”

In a separate interview, Reidy said that LeMahieu, who lives nearby in Birmingham during the offseason, “has been engaged for many years in alumni activities. He cares a lot about his alma mater. He’s a quiet guy, never seeks the spotlight.”

Riker said the terms of the purchase agreement call for replacing the artificial turf of the baseball field that the school has been using for the last eight years and funding Rice’s baseball program.

The seven-acre property located in the area of Maple and Coolidge roads, next to the Oakland Troy Airport, some 10-15 minutes east of Rice’s campus, was originally purchased via a major donation on behalf of the Stevens family and a fundraising campaign led by Riker and longtime assistant coach Brian Kalczynski, a 1994 Rice grad.

“Not one penny of the project (at a cost of about $2.5 million) came from the school’s treasury,” Riker says.

The field features a synthetic turf infield, luxurious locker rooms, batting cages, a grandstand that sweeps around home plate from third base to first base putting fans on top of the action, a pressbox, restrooms, storage facilities and a new parking lot.

“We went from playing on the worst fields in city parks,” Riker says, “to playing on one of the best high school baseball fields in the state.”

He adds: “DJ giving back to his school will make it possible for students to have a better experience than he did.”

Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].