Baseball Blessed By Sanzo’s Return

Rounding second base never meant so much for Harvard senior first baseman Josh San Salvador as it did against Brown on April 30.

In a game five weeks earlier, “Sanzo” had tried going from first to third on a base hit to center but pulled up lame when his left knee buckled in the mud around the second base bag.

On this day, San Salvador was free to take his time. He had just launched a three-run shot to right that closed the Bears’ lead to 12-10 and brought hope to a seemingly hopeless situation. After striding out of the box, San Salvador settled into his home run trot while his overjoyed teammates streamed out of the dugout.

And then San Salvador touched second. In one sense, he was only halfway home, but in another, he had come full circle. An inning later, he capped his—and Harvard’s—storybook comeback with a solo homer to lead off the ninth.

“He’s a tough kid from Louisiana,” Harvard Coach Joe Walsh marvelled after the game. “He’s playing on a bad knee and he wins it for us.”

On the Crimson’s spring break trip to Florida, San Salvador was a victim of his own hustle. After reaching base on a fielder’s choice, he was waved around second when senior Chaney Sheffield ripped a shot up the gap, but never made it to third.

San Salvador was hoping the knee was just hyperextended, which would have required just a week or so to heal. Instead, after visiting Dr. Harlan Selesnick, team physician for the Miami Heat, he found out that he had strained his ACL and would need approximately six weeks to recover.

“The part that really worried the doctors was that there were bone contusions and cartilage damage,” San Salvador said.

After learning of his diagnosis, San Salvador devoted the better part of a month to rehabilitating his left knee. Two weeks after the injury, he had already gotten rid of his crutches. But that was just the first step.

Determined to be back in time for the Crimson’s stretch run, San Salvador spent most of April absorbed in a rehabilitation program that included time in the whirlpool, on the stationary bike and on the trainer’s table, where he underwent some electrotherapy for the pain.

The best therapy of all, though, came from something much more natural.

“Swinging the bat felt best,” San Salvador said. “It was one of the very first things I actually did.”

It was something he’d spent his whole childhood in Louisiana doing and something he did so well in high school that it garnered him attention from top baseball programs like Tulane and Louisiana State (his father Jim’s alma mater).

It also drew a personal postcard from Harvard Coach Joe Walsh. That—combined with a positive recruiting visit—lured San Salvador to Cambridge.

“There aren’t that many people at Harvard from Louisiana,” San Salvador said. “If you look in the facebook, there’s probably three or four. But the senior I stayed with on my visit—Jason Keck [’99]—was actually from Louisiana. I had played against his high school before. He had found his niche here and really enjoyed [Harvard] as much I do now.”

As a senior at Archbishop Hanna High School in Chalmette, La., San Salvador’s pure swing generated 12 homers and 40 RBI. When he came to Harvard, his natural power stroke impressed right away. Walsh used him at designated hitter and plugged him into the three-hole to begin his freshman season.

Over the course of the next two years, San Salvador bounced around the infield. Originally a shortstop, San Salvador was also used at third base and second.

Then, in the final weeks of 2000, senior first baseman Eric Binkowski went down and San Salvador moved in to fill his spot. He quickly hit homers in back-to-back games and the job became his. Though he continues to provide flexibility on defense—last year, he saw time at all four infield positions—first base has become his de-facto home.

“At first base, he’s done a great job,” senior Ben Crockett said. “He came in as a shortstop, and played second and first for us, so that shows you what a good fielder he is. It gives you a lot of confidence [having him at first].”

In addition to his defense, San Salvador has swung a hot bat since returning to Harvard’s lineup. In six games, he is hitting .313 with five RBI. Four of his five hits have gone for extra bases, including a pair of monster doubles at Dartmouth on Sunday that might have cleared the fences at O’Donnell Field.

“He’s been tremendous over [at first],” Crockett said. “[Sophomore] Trey Hendricks did a great job for us, but to be able to have both of their bats in the lineup is just a huge boost. Sanzo has just come back on fire.”

The Crimson was never more blessed to have San Salvador back than in its series finale against Brown. San Salvador ignited Harvard’s rally from a seven-run deficit, then guessed right on a slider from Brown reliever Dan Spring in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.

“That’s definitely my number one memory now,” San Salvador said. “I hadn’t hit a walk-off homer since high school.”

After failing to pull out what would have been the Red Rolfe Division clincher in its season finale against Dartmouth last weekend, Harvard will face Brown once more today with even more on the line than last time.

“We’re ready,” San Salvador said. “We work so hard all year long and this is the chance for it to pay off.

“This is the closest team I’ve played on,” he added. “We’ve got lots of senior leadership, and that has filtered down to the rest of the team. Hopefully things will turn out well.”

Today’s game could mean another date with destiny for San Salvador. So, if you notice a hitch in his step as he runs out to his position, know that it’s probably not a limp, but a skip.