Back on Center Stage

It's the age-old question.

Is the greatest centerfielder in baseball history Joe DiMaggio or Willie Mays? Who would you put on your at-time team--the quiet grace and smooth swing of Joltin' Joe, or the speed, style and charisma of the Say Hey Kid?

Last Friday Harvard centerfielder Brian Ralph showed us that you could have them both--at least for one day. On his very first day back from a broken right hand, the senior and returning Ivy League Player of the Year combined two of the most well-known accomplishments of each of the two New York legends.

No, he didn't marry Marilyn Monroe. But when Ralph singled in the second inning of the nightcap of Friday's doubleheader against Penn, it evoked memories of the Yankee Clipper's most noteworthy feat, for it extended Ralph's Ivy League hitting streak to a Harvard record 21 games. It eclipses the former record of 20 games set by Bobby Kelley '80 and tied by Ralph with a sixth-inning single in the doubleheader opener, a 9-4 win over Penn.

That record-tying base knock, however, was not the highlight of the inning for Ralph. In the top or the frame, as Penn looked to get back into the game with runners at first and second and one out, Penn's David Corleto ripped a shot into the right-centerfield gap that had two-run double written all over it. But Ralph sprinted from his usual spot in shallow center, stuck out his glove and made a highlight-reel, back-to-the-plate basket catch that had everyone scratching their heads in awe, vividly recalling in what World Series they had seen such theatrics before.

Ralph finished the four-win weekend 5-for-13 with two home runs and five runs scored, just enough to make us forget the brace on his right hand and remember a couple of other not-too-shabby centerfielders.