MALE BREAKOUT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR RUNNER-UP: Hard-Working Captain Excels in Final Season

For four years, Harvard baseball captain Harry Douglas was entrenched in a constant struggle with consistency.

In his first two seasons with the Crimson, Douglas could not consistently stay healthy. He appeared in just 29 games and logged only 37 at-bats, unable to remain on the field long enough to have a chance to display his skills.

Last year, Douglas could not consistently hit a baseball. He kicked off 2008 with a bang, pounding two home runs in Harvard’s season-opening series against then-No. 16 Wichita State. But from that point on, his production dropped off, and he finished the season with a .194 batting average and just four extra-base hits.

This season, Douglas and consistency faced off for one final battle. Only this time, Douglas won.

After picking up a hit in six of his first seven games, the captain unleashed a longball in the eighth inning of a matchup against UAB on March 15 and never looked back. Douglas continued to hit the ball with authority for the remainder of the season, finishing with a team-high .342 batting average along with three homers and 27 RBI in 41 games. The third baseman’s performance was good enough to land him an All-Ivy League Honorable Mention.

“I really think it’s just from taking a better approach this year,” said Douglas, who credits a more aggressive mentality at the plate for his resurgence. “I definitely felt confident after the first few weeks. That helps you, even when you’re struggling a little bit. ”

But while Douglas’ impact in the batter’s box undeniably provided a boost to an explosive Crimson offense this season, his contributions as captain were perhaps even more significant.

With a depleted pitching staff and injuries to key players, Harvard faced an uphill battle in 2009, especially after a grueling spring break trip down south that pitted the Crimson against some of the top teams in the nation. After losing 16 of its first 18 games, including the first two of the Ivy League season to Columbia, Harvard easily could have resigned itself to a lost season. But Douglas’ leadership set an example that the rest of the squad could not ignore.

“Harry was very aggressive and very intense,” senior Tom Stack-Babich said. “He’s just a really competitive kid who loves to win. That helped, especially with the younger guys.”

While the Crimson finished 13-28 with a 10-10 Ivy League record, the team exhibited resilience throughout the season, winning several games via comebacks and walk-off hits. Douglas—who had two game-ending hits of his own this year—was a key factor behind Harvard’s refusal to give up. For all of Douglas’ struggles with consistency, his strong work ethic has always been a constant. In fact, it is the aspect of his personality that captured the Crimson’s attention in the first place.

When Douglas was in high school, Harvard coach Joe Walsh had no intentions of making a hard recruiting push for the South River, N.J. native. But Mike Garlatti, an old acquaintance of Walsh’s and a scout for the Colorado Rockies, had coached Douglas on a fall-season team for high schoolers looking to play at the college level and recommended him to the Crimson skipper.

“[Garlatti] had said to me, ‘Joe, if you take [Douglas] and he doesn’t play right away, he’s going to make everyone in front of him work harder,’” Walsh said. “‘This kid’s just going to work his tail off and get better for you.’ Mike was right.”

After four years, Walsh’s investment in Douglas has paid off, and the graduating captain has found that elusive consistency, on and off the field.

“Harry handled a lot of things very well and did a great job with the team,” Walsh said. “I won’t forget his contributions, that’s for sure.”

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.