[1] Close was born in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Worthington High School before attending the University of Michigan on a baseball scholarship.

As a freshman, he hit a grand slam to help Michigan defeat Stanford and advance to the final four in the College World Series.

[5] In 1986, he was also selected as Michigan's team captain, the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, the Baseball America National Player of the Year, a first-team All-American, and he was awarded a Big Ten Medal of Honor for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout his college career.

[8] He had his best season in professional baseball in 1989 when he appeared in 95 games for Calgary (the Seattle Mariners' AAA club), batting .330 with a .503 slugging percentage, 38 extra base hits and 56 RBIs.

[10] Other baseball players who currently are or had been represented by Close include Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Derrek Lee, Ben Sheets, Michael Cuddyer, Josh Hamilton, Eric Milton, Kenny Lofton and Richie Sexson.

[17] In 2012, Close negotiated the largest contract for a pitcher at the time for Zack Greinke, worth $147 million over six years for the Los Angeles Dodgers.