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Ivy Baseballers Make Their Mark
Created: 7/26/2002 9:56:20 AM
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It's summer again and time for America's favorite pastime to swing into full gear in the final months of the season. During this significant stretch, many Ivy Leaguers are making their mark on the pro scene, both in the major and minor leagues.
In the Majors, the Atlanta Braves have managed to fit two Ivy Leaguers on their roster. The University of Pennsylvania’s Mark DeRosa ('97) was batting .315 in 29 games as a backup shortstop for the Braves while Mike Remlinger (Dartmouth ’88) has enjoyed a extensive career, pitching primarily as a reliever for over a decade in the majors. A first round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in 1988, he had his best season as a pro in 1999, going 10-1 with a 2.37 ERA. This season, with a 7-0 record and a 1.29 ERA, Remlinger was named to the National League squad for the 2002 MLB All-Star Game.
Two other Dartmouth graduates have found their way onto MLB rosters. Big Green alumnus Mark Johnson is now in his third year serving a backup role for the New York Mets after stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1995-1997) and the Anaheim Angels (1998). Brad Ausmus (’91) is the starting catcher for the Houston Astros. He is rated as one of the best defensive catchers in the league and in 2001 he garnered his first ever Gold Glove Award. As a Detroit Tiger, Ausmus was named to the American League team for the 1999 MLB All-Star Game.
University of Pennsylvania graduate Doug Glanville ('92) is currently the starting center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League. The former Academic All-American was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1991. A Cub until 1997, Glanville took his skills back to the Penn area the following year and has been there ever since. He was the subject of a recent Ivy League trivia question for being one of two Phillies hitters in history to amass 200 hits in a season
Trying to join the MLB stars at the ultimate level are a host of recent Ivy names. Among those in the minors are some of the six Ivy Leaguers taken in this year’s draft.
Harvard hurler Ben Crockett, Ivy League Co-Pitcher of the Year and a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection in 2002, played short season ball in the Northwest League for the Tri-City Dust Devils, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. He pitched 21 innings for the Dust Devils with a 3.00 ERA.
Two 2002 Yale draftees have also been seeing time in summer leagues. Pitchers Matt McCarthy and Craig Breslow saw action in the Rookie League this summer, with each pitching six innings. McCarthy, who also currently has a science article published in the European Molecular Biology Organization Journal, was a 21st round selection by the Anaheim Angels. Breslow was picked in the 26th round by the Milwaukee Brewers.
2002 Ivy League Player of the Year Erik Rico continued his playing career and Major League ambitions this summer with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays of the Rookie-Level Pioneer League. The Cornell grad, who finished his final collegiate season with a .380 batting average, will be looking to work his way up in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system.
Princeton grad Pat Boran, a switch-hitter and a 24th round selection, played short season Class A in the New York-Penn League. The Boston Red Sox made the shortstop one of two Princeton players drafted this season along with teammate Scott Hindman, who was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 22nd. Boran worked shortstop for the Lowell Spinners, playing 14 games while Hindman signed a contract with the Angels in late July. He will be playing with their farm team in Provo for the remainder of the season.
Brown’s Greg Metzger was signed as a free agent before draft day by the Oakland A’s. Metzger went to Tempe, Arizona for two weeks of extended spring training. After the two weeks had concluded, the catcher was supposed to have been assigned to the Vancouver Canadiens of the Northwest League for short season Class A ball. However, Metzger ended up with Oakland’s Rookie-Level team in the Arizona League.
In addition to this year’s draftees, a handful of former Ivy stars are working down on the farm this season. Former Princeton hurler and basketball player Chris Young pitched 106.2 innings and went 10-6 with a 3.12 ERA for the Hickory Crawdads in Class A ball. Young, Ivy League Rookie of the Year in both baseball and basketball his freshman season, may be best remembered for forgoing a promising hoops career in favor of a $1.65 million signing bonus in baseball. He was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 2000 draft. ESPN.com’s scouting analysis of Young describes the right hander as “talented, intelligent, but still raw.”
In the Class A Midwest League, Harvard’s John Birtwell worked as a closer for Detroit’s West Michigan Whitecaps, going 4-2 with a 1.68 ERA in 59 innings pitched. Former Yale hurler John Steitz also played in the Midwest League, pitching 78.1 innings for the Beloit Snappers, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
-- Ben Samara (as of July 31, 2002)
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Related Schools: No Associated School
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Related Sports: Baseball
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*This Article has been archived.*
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