But ironically, some of Crockett’s former Harvard teammates may take on Nomar Garciaparra before he does.
Sunday’s Boston Globe reported that the Red Sox plan to invite Harvard, Northeastern, UMass and BC to each play spring training exhbition games with the Sox once every four years. This would mean that the four teams would essentially share the spot currently occupied solely by the Eagles, who play the Sox every exhibition season.
No one from the Red Sox administration has contacted Harvard yet.
“[The story in The Globe] was the first I’d heard of it and the last I’ve heard of it,” Walsh said. “That was news to me.”
Unfortunately, it may not be all good news.
The Ivy League tightly regulates the schedules of each of its athletic teams and rarely makes exceptions. Spring sports, in particular, are forbidden from playing games before the first week of March.
Though a game with the Red Sox may seem like a good reason to break the rules, Walsh is skeptical that the Ivy League would allow it.
A similar situation arose in 2001, when the Crimson was invited by the US Olympic Committee to represent the United States in Taiwan. Opponents would have included the Cuban, Korean and Australian National Teams, but because the event was in February, the Ivy League refused to let Harvard go.
This year, the Red Sox are sceduled to play BC tomorrow, Feb. 28.
“There would be a couple of hoops that we’d have to go through,” Walsh said. “The Ivy League says we can’t play before the first weekend of March.”
Still, the idea of playing with major leaguers is enough to make both Walsh and his players light up.
“It would be a lot cooler [than just playing at Fenway Park during the Beanpot],” Mann said. “It would kinda get Harvard baseball out there a little better.”
When the Fighting Irish took on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last Spring, Morgalis struck out 1993 World Series MVP Pat Borders and discovered what a magical experience it can be.
“It was just one of those times when you are living out your boyhood dreams of being at that level,” Morgalis said.
Around The Horn
The Crimson will open its season with six games in three days when it travels to Bradenton, Fla. Mar. 8-10. The schedule doesn’t slow down, as Harvard faces off against perennial powers Miami, Florida International and Florida Atlantic (among other teams) two weeks later during a spring break trip to South Florida....Senior lefty Kenon Ronz, who emerged as a situational reliever down the stretch in 2002 after being plagued by bicep tendinitis, has impressed in fall and spring workouts. According to Walsh, Ronz will receive serious consideration as a weekend starter this season....Harvard’s opening day lineup may include as many as five freshmen, “two or three” in the infield and “a couple” in the outfield, according to Walsh. This doesn’t dim the coach’s hopes. “A lot of coaches like to say that we’ve got a young team, so we’re going to be good in a year or two,” Walsh said. “Uh, Uh. I say it’ll be a game or two.”
—Staff writer Lande A. Spottswood can be reached at spottsw@fas.harvard.edu.