Winning has always been important to Whitecaps manager Andrew Graham

COMSTOCK PARK - Andrew Graham admits he's always been about setting goals.

It doesn't matter whether the setting of goals came during in his playing days when the farthest he could advance up the minor league ladder was 36 games at Triple-A in 2007. A second goal as a player was trying to help Team Australia to the second round of the first two World Baseball Classics in 2006 and 2009, while a third was learning to become a manager at short-season Connecticut the last three years.

In each case, Graham said he's tried to set lofty standards and then live up to them.

Which is why he's been thrilled this summer with a West Michigan Whitecaps club that could win both halves of the Midwest League schedule for the first time since 2006.

Graham, who played 176 career games in the minors, understands that the priority for low Class A-level ballplayers is all about development. Improve as a player, get to the next level and eventually become a major leaguer. But as a member of two Whitecaps clubs that in 2004-05 that went from fifth-place finishes in the first half to finish first and second in the second half, Graham also understands what winning means to a community. The 2004 team was the third of five Midwest League champions.

With no Whitecaps team making the playoffs since 2010 and none winning a post-season series since 2007, Graham said winning here was a goal since being named manager last winter.

"I've always set goals and my goal has always to be in the playoffs," he said. "That's one that has been ticked off my list."

The Whitecaps went 7-3 in their last 10 games of the first half to win the Eastern Division by a half-game with a 41-29 record. The team took a 32-18 record and five-game lead in the second half into Wednesday. West Michigan's 73-47 overall record is only surpassed by Kane County's 75-45 mark.

It's a season that should leave Graham very much in the hunt for Midwest League manager of the year while boosting his managerial stock in only his fourth year of running teams.

Graham said his managerial philosophy hasn't changed since he led Connecticut to a 39-35 record in his first season in 2011. Since he was released by the Tigers as a player the same day the organization hired him as a manager, Graham has stressed player development such as hitters not giving away at-bats, won't tolerate players who don't hustle and believes in an open-door policy. Graham has been very accessible to the media.

"You want players to be able to go about their business," he said. "I try to be a mix between being able to mingle with the players and creating a loose environment in the clubhouse. I have an open-door policy, but I think I can also put my foot down."

As for handling the Xs and Os of baseball, Graham said five years as a minor league catcher left him with a knowledge of the game. One of his chief concerns in making the transition from managing in short-season to a club which plays 140 games was pitching. Short-season teams typically have a couple more pitchers over low Class A. He also sees a difference in managing a team for five months compared to three.

"I was a little skeptical at first, but I've handled it," Graham said of having fewer available arms. "I have a confidence in handling players because I was a player."

With five years of playing experience and another four as a manager, Graham, a native of New South Wales, Australia, said he's already spent more time in baseball than he expected. He played two years in college at Clarendon College in Texas and another at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Georgia, then expected to head back home, but the Tigers took him in the 19th round of the 2003 draft.

"I thought I'd play in college, but I signed and then I thought I'd stay as long as I was good enough to play," he said. "Now I'll coach as long as they want me. It's a little strange. I've spent as long in this country now as I did in Australia.

Graham said he's enjoyed working for the Tigers, but has no timetable for his advancement up the ladder in that organization. Whether it's a player or manager, Graham said the goal is the major leagues.

"The goal is the big leagues, but you want to win and keep relationships," he said. "I know I've enjoyed being part of the Tiger family, they've treated me well.

"The game is fun for me. I can't sit here and say I'll move up or down. I want to stay in the game, hit fungos and teach the game I've loved since I was 4 years old."