What many of the northeastern coaches did not really remember is that all of the southern schools begin their seasons the first week of March.
By the time the Harvard squad gets to warmer climates, all of those teams will have played as many as 10 or 12 games. That is quite a contrast from the Harvard players who have only donned gloves and carried bats within the cozy confines of Briggs Cage.
Playing the Field
One advantage that the Crimson batmen have over much of their northern competition, though, is that their season begins immediately after they get back from the South. Columbia, for example, charges south in the middle of March for two weeks only to have to return to indoor practices for two more weeks before the season begins. The Crimson, however, can go from playing field to playing field.
Eastern League outlook calls for a tight race again this year. Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Cornell and Brown as well as defending champion Harvard, all look to be in the thick of the battle come the middle of May.
"Penn has to be favored," Park said. "They have their whole team back this year." The Quaker veterans are led by one of the finest pitchers in the East in Andy Muhlstock.
Muhlstock recorded nine wins last year against two losses with a sizzling ERA of 1.69. He was the EIBL's leading winner and he pitched the most innings. He also posted a .344 batting average.
Cornell brought in a whopping 19 junior college transfers for this season and on that fact alone looks to be strong. It was on a road trip to Cornell and Army last year that Harvard won the title, but it will take a very strong performance to repeat that sweep this year.
Strong Arms at Brown
Brown is returning a veteran ball club led by junior shortstop sensation Bill Almon and outfielders Mike Cirullo and Ted Schoff. Almon was a first team All-East in 1973 beating out heavy hitting Crimson shortstop Durso for the spot. Cirullo and Schoff garnered positions on the second team All-EIBL behind their strong arms and impressive hitting.
Dartmouth will probably be right up there with the leaders in May. Traditionally a strong finishing club, the Green won 12 of their last 14 games last spring. Dartmouth had the best fielding average (.963) in the East last season.
Locally, the Northeastern and Providence squads appear to be strong. Both clubs made their way to the NCAA Region I playoffs held in Fenway Park last year and both have the capability to do it again.
Providence relies on solid pitching while Northeastern is one of the best hitting clubs in the area. In 1973, they had six men with season averages over .300.
The final standing in the Eastern League last year found Harvard ahead of Penn by a game and a half. Yale was three games behind Harvard's 11-2 pace-setting mark, and Cornell was three-and-a-half games back.
In the Greater Boston League, Harvard finished with a 6-1 record ahead of Northeastern's 5-2 mark in a race that narrowed down between the two teams in the final week of the season.
The Confidence Game
"I think this is probably a reconstructing year for us," Park said. "You know, I sure don't want to call it a rebuilding year--that is just what coaches say when they think they are going to have a losing year and they want excuses early--but we can't get too confident until we prove ourselves."
"Like I said, the potential is there, if we can just bring it out and all work together, we'll go a long way," Park said.