Revamped Staff, Explosive Lineup Key Hardball Repeat Bid

Earl Weaver, one of baseball's legendary gurus and mastermind of the Baltimore Orioles machine in the early 1980s, subscribed to the simplest of offensive philosophies.

"Give me the three-run homer," Weaver was fond of saying. "I don't want to worry about somebody missing a sign or lousing up a bunt. Just give me the three-run homer."

Weaver's formula has become hardball shorthand for the quick-strike offense, the lineup capable of breaking a game open with one or two well-timed drives. And that approach rules in college baseball's dominant South and Midwest.

Harvard Coach Joe Walsh, something of a guru in his own right, won't turn down any three-run homers, but he certainly isn't looking for them.

"We try to do some of the little things in each ballgame to get guys on base," Walsh said. "We rely on the bunt, we rely on the hit-and-run, we try to steal bases. If we can do those things, we're going to score some runs. If we try to rely on guys going yard each time, we're not going to have much success at all."

Walsh can probably afford to be iconoclastic. In two short seasons, his brand of scrappy, throw back baseball has turned a team that finished last in 1995 with a 10-25 record into a two-time division champion and a giant-killer of the first order.

Walsh's Crimson last season posted what was arguably the finest campaign in Harvard baseball history, finishing 34-16 (20-3 Ivy) with wins over ranked teams Miami, UMass, and, famously, eventual College World Series participant UCLA.

But as the Crimson departs for its annual Florida spring training trip, more is on the table than a warm-up for another Ivy cakewalk. Harvard must address several key questions--foremost among them its revamped pitching rotation--in preparation for April and the beginning of league play.

Outfield of Dreams

The Crimson returns three starters to what must rightly be called the Ancient Eight's best outfield. Harvard's defensive anchor and defending Ivy League Player of the Year, senior Brian Ralph, will patrol centerfield and pull down superlatives from around the League for his leather.

"Defensively, Ralph is as good as anybody in the country," Walsh said. "Our pitching staff really believes in throwing strikes, because anything up in the air, Ralph's got a chance to get."

Ralph twins his top-notch defense with a potent offensive package as well. He led the Crimson in batting average at 390, adding six home runs and 36 RBI, murdering left-handed pitching all season.

A true sparkplug in the top of the order, Ralph mixes a consistently dangerous potential to go deep with an awareness of the short game and aggressiveness on the basepath.

Flanking Ralph are senior Aaron Kessler in left and junior jack-of-all-trades Andrew Huling in right.

"Kessler has great speed," Walsh said. "He knows how to play hitters and he knows how to play hitters and he knows our ballpark extremely well. He plays an extremely shallow left and takes away base knocks from a lot of hitters."

Both Kessler, who batted .356 out of the leadoff slot, and Huling, who hit .383 with 42 RBI batting third, tallied better than .400 on-base percentages and loaded the bags for the middle of the Crimson order. The three outfielders finished one-two-three on the squad in runs scored.

"I'll take our outfield over anybody's," Walsh said.

Around the Horn

Harvard loses only one member of its starting infield, but the departure of Pete Albers '97 means a great deal. The Crimson's major defensive question mark remains finding a starting first baseman to replace last year's captain.

"It definitely hurts to lose Albers," said junior second baseman Hal Carey. "He was a team leader, but guys collectively can setup and fill that role."

Walsh will put the job up for grabs on the spring trip, as sophomores Eric Binkowski and Jason Portman will vie with Huling for playing time at the sack.

But Binkowski, who had not practiced until this week due to an ACL injury, and Larcoque, whose bulging disc in his back has him day-to-day, saw limited action last season and will have to prove themselves hungry enough to earn the spot.

The double-play combination of Carey and senior captain David Forst at shortstop solidifies a stellar Crimson defense up the middle. Forst's impressive golvework, however, comes this season with a much-improved presence at presence at the plate.

Forst, who hit only .291 through the Ivy season but led the team by going 17-for-37 in the playoffs, looks to become a legitimate multi-skill player.

"Forst had a lot of great at-bats last year," Walsh said. "He's improved immeasurably with the bat, and he's become a tough out. Before, he would just slap the ball around, but now I think he's a real two-way player."

Carey, the 1996 Ivy Rookie of the Year, should play into the Crimson's Billyball-brand offense with his effective spray hitting and baserunning instincts.

"He's the type of kid that takes pitches, hits behinds runners," Walsh said. "You need a Hal Carey in your lineup. He's a pure team ballplayer. Because of his ability to use the Yard, to hit to all fields, Hal's the kind of guy who can hit big-time pitching."

Walsh will return junior Peter Woodfork to the hot corner. Woodfork, who started alongside Carey in their rookie seasons, sat out 19 games last season with a bum ankle but looks a break out in 1998. According to Walsh, Woodfork made immense progress over the winter and has looked sharp in pre-season practices.

Senior designated hitter Brett Vankoski, who terrorized League pitching last season, will do the base-cleaning in the middle of the lineup. Ever the focus of Ivy scouting reports, Vankoski's big bat will pick up some of Albers' slack in terms of power and RBI.

Inside Pitch

Perhaps no graduating senior will be more sorely missed than left-handed starter Frank Hogan. Hogan, the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year, posted eight wins, including victories over Miami and UCLA, and was a mound workhorse all season. His biting breaking ball left hitters across the nation clueless.

But only one of Hogan's mates in the rotation--junior right-hander Don Jamieson--will be back on the hill come today's opener. Classmate Andrew Duffell, the staff ace with an 8-1 record and a 2.35 ERA, underwent ulnar nerve surgery in the off-season and will be unavailable until at least April.

Duffell, junior southpaw Quinn Schafer and sophomore closer Mike Madden will all begin the season on the disabled list, but Walsh holds onto hopes of seeing them join the squad.

Walsh and pitching coach Marty Nastasia, however, find themselves blessed with the deepest staff in seasons. Jamieson--who finished 5-3 with a 3.36 ERA--will be the number one starter, but juniors James Kalyvas, Huling and Garrett vail will see substantial time on the rubber.

"Two guys who I think are going to be major contributors are Vail and Huling," Walsh said. "Vail has added the ability to change speeds, he's got some pop on his fastball, and he seems to want it more this year. I think Huling was underutilized last year on the hill."

Rounding out the pen are several rookies--and a quarterback. Freshmen John Birtwell, who brings a potent fast-ball and slider, and Graham McKay, who sports a decent curve as his out pitch, could break into the box scores. Sophomore Rich Linden, crossing from Harvard Stadium to O'Donnell Field, abandoned the outfield he played in high school to attempt to crack the staff.

Junior catcher Jason Keck, who won the starting job last season and rapidly made a name for himself as a team leader, will handle the revamped staff. Keck's ability to frame grey area strikes and call the best game in the Ivies will bring out the best in his staff.

Looking Forward

The Crimson will compete in a league which managed to beat it only three times last year, all at the hands of Princeton. The second-place Yale Bulldogs, who finished two games, out graduate five of their top six hitters, as well as ace Rich Perez. Only senior Eric Gutshall, who posted a 2.97 ERA with 86 strikeouts, can keep the Elis in contention.

The Crimson expects another Ivy crown but clearly looks beyond the Eight to establish itself as a national-level power. Nothing exemplifies that mentality better than the story Walsh tells of his first Ivy League Championship Series in 1996.

"My first year, When we lost to Princeton 1-0 in the championship game, I watched the pileup on the field and I said, 'This is gonna be great some day when we win this," Walsh said. "Last year, when we won the Ivy league championship, it was a different feeling. I had guys come up to me after the game and ask, 'Hey coach, when's practice tomorrow?"

For now, practice is in Florida and another dream season my well be in the works. Harvard has the manpower to pull it off.