New Baseball Coach Fits In Well

Take me out to the ballgame.

Yesterday in the early hours of the morning, the men's varsity baseball team boarded a plane to take the Crimson to its first game of the season. After more than six weeks of painstaking indoor practice in Briggs Cage, the squad begins its season today in Daytona, Florida against a very talented team from Akron, Ohio.

This much anticipated start to the season will be followed by 11 more games in 10 days, taking the team not only to Daytona and nearby Orlando, but also North and South Carolina. This two venue spring trip differs from previous years, when the games were all in Florida.

This changeup in locale is a manifestation of a much bigger change that the program underwent at the beginning of this year.

In October, Harvard hired Joe Walsh as its first full-time baseball coach. Changing coaches as well as instating a full-time position has brought with it a different mentality for the Harvard baseball program.

"Walsh is more vocal and enthusiastic [than previous head coach Leigh Hogan who was] more laid back with a calm demeanor," senior captain Marc Levy said.

"[This will translate into a] more aggressive squad that will go at teams more," Levy said.

Levy's assessments are echoed in Walsh's coaching method.

"My philosophy is to play with heart and enthusiasm," said Walsh.

When Walsh speaks of the program he plans to build, words such as intensity and aggressiveness combine with the phrase "hard-nosed baseball players."

Furthermore, "the fact that the school has made a full time position says we care about baseball," Walsh said.

Levy is in agreement with this evaluation of the school's commitment and he also believes a full-time coach will create a big advantage for recruiting.

But what do all these changes mean for this season especially coming off a year with a 10-25 record?

Walsh shows no alteration in his philosophy or letup in his optimism. He expects immediate improvement and he's anxious to win.

"This is a big year for establishing ourselves in the Ivy League and in New England," Walsh said. "The preseason reports don't have high expectations for us, but we'll have to see."

Walsh is not daunted by last year's record or the inexperience on the mound. The team has 10 freshman pitchers and only one upperclass pitcher, junior Frank Hogan, who has won a college game.

Instead, Walsh is entirely optimistic, emphasizing the team's defensive prowess and strength up the middle.

Walsh's success-oriented mindset translates into plans for next year's preseason that include games against top Division I schools in Florida.

"If we want to be the best, we want to play the best," Walsh said.

As for this year's spring break trip to the south, Walsh acknowledges the disadvantage of opening against southern teams who have already played more than 20 games this season.

"Our biggest competition will be ourselves at this point of the season," Walsh said.

With a discouraging finish last year and unfavorable preseason reports, putting some W's in the record are essential to justify Harvard's newfound commitment and Walsh's high hopes for a team whose members have never experienced a winning college season.

It's root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win it's a shame, cause it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ballgame.