'BAMA SLAMMA: Ignorance Isn’t Always Bliss

BROCKTON, Mass.—Remember the axiom about baseball being a “thinking man’s game”?

You’ve probably heard it. Without a doubt, someone famous probably said it.

A real baseball player watches tendencies. He looks ahead. He really thinks.

Man on second, one-out ground ball? Check the runner, go to first.

Two outs, bases juiced? Get the easy bag.

What did the batter do last time up? How do you react in the field? Remember shifts. Know pitchers.

And for goodness sake, always use two hands.

These sayings may appear in your nightmares, your little league coach-of-choice hammering them home. Chances are, they continue running through your head after you wake up in a cold sweat.

“What the #$%^ happened???” he yells to you at short—then, gathering his composure, adds, “learn from your mistakes.”

The fact is, baseball may not always appear to be a thinking man’s game. Sometimes, it’s ruled by those who forget.

Remember the guy in high school who was dumb as a fence and who, as a result, mashed the ball day after day?

Similarly, soon after last night’s 11-6 drubbing by Boston College knocked the Harvard baseball team into the Beanpot Tournament consolation round against UMass, the Crimson was hoping for a little memory loss.

To the team—which has now lost five of six—amnesia may seem productive. It was only one week ago that Red Sox officials booted the Beanpot from Fenway Park’s grounds, citing “re-sodding the turf” as the main reason.

And there was the Crimson last night, laboring close to midnight at a frigid Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.

That was the least of Harvard’s worries. The Crimson, which rode a powerful lineup to a 7-1 conference record going into the weekend against Yale, limped out of New Haven on Monday with regulars David Bach, Morgan Brown and Trey Hendricks nursing injuries. Over the weekend, the offense disappeared and the pitching perplexed—looking effective but inconsistent.

But consider this: Harvard showed little sign Tuesday night of carrying a burden. After watching Boston College jump to a 7-0 lead before their first base hit, the Crimson put up a four spot in the fifth—capped by a three-run rocket of a home run by Hendricks, which sailed over Campanelli’s Merianbros.com Tuxedo sign.

Harvard continued to chip away. There was Bryan Hale, fruitlessly running out a ground ball like a madman in the sixth. There was the infield defense, turning flawless double plays in the sixth and seventh. There was Hendricks, hitting ropes in the seventh and eighth.

But as Harvard chipped away, so did BC. The Eagles outscored the Crimson 4-2 after that four-run fifth, sealing the win. And Harvard sent only three batters to the plate in an uninspiring ninth.

Harvard coach Joe Walsh stressed fundamentals.

“Whether it’s not playing heads-up baseball or swinging at bad pitches, you just hope that you learn from a game like this,” he said.

And that, the skipper said, is why the team can’t forget.

Walsh knows that, as Harvard hits the end of its schedule—facing fellow Red Rolfe division squad Brown in four games this weekend—it must take advantage of meaningless non-conference games like BC, no matter how much municipal prestige is on the line, to rid its ship of leaks.

“As you go along and you’re playing and you’re not getting better,” Walsh said, “if you’re taking steps back, it’s hard to take another step forward.”

Learn from your mistakes. What a novel idea.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.