Crimson Infield Will Be Tough; Pitching; Hitting Still Uncertain

Coach Norm Shepard, looking very much like a major league manager, leaned back in his chair, glanced at his roster, and shook his head. "We have some boys who can field, we've got a few hitters, and the pitching might not be too bad," he observed, but there still are plenty of imponderables."

Harvard's baseball team has been working out for a little more than two weeks now, and while some parts of the puzzle are beginning to fit, Shepard won't start making binding decisions until he sees the team perform outside.

There are some pretty big holes to till Perhaps the most devastating loss is that of the whole 1961 outfield. Charles Ravenel, Bill Rodgers, and Dick Shima were top-notch fielders and solid hitters.

Another problem is at the mound, where Shepard faces the problem of replacing his number one and number two hurlers from last year. Dave Larking graduated, and Tom Boone, who is workbag on a thesis, hasn't come out for practice yet. The only serious loss in the infield was Al Martin, the club's leading batsman last year.

After two weeks of work it has become apparent that the Harvard infield this season will be one of the best over. At first is Phil Bernstein, a .291 left-handed hitter who does a more than adequate job of covering the first sack.

Tery Bartolet returns after a year's absence and right now seems to have the second base job. Bartolet is a natural fielder with excellent control of the glove. The big question mark is whether or not he can hit. His freshman year was very disappointing, but Shepard is convinced that "anyone who looks so much like a natural ballplayer must be able to hit."

Mike Drummey returns to take command of the hot corner. Although the smallest man on the club (at 5-8, 145 pounds), Drummey has the best throwing arm and has been known to make some pretty unbelievable play. He hit around .240 last year, and Shepard thinks he can add 40 or 50 points to that average this season.

At short the Crimson has real strength with Dave Morse. In a position where the Crimson has traditionally had top men. Morse might be one of the best.

Although he is not sure where he is going to use him, Shepard is certain that sophomore Bob St. George will see a lot of action at second or third. St. George is a superb fielder with a good arm and fast hands.

Only junior Bill Gilmor is fairly sure of a job in the outfield at present. For the first game, though, he will be joined by his JV colleague from last year--Fred Karp. Mike Cronin, who hit .333 as a utility infielder last year, is slated to move to the outfield. In fact, Shepard will experiment with a lot of excess infield material during the spring swing in an effort to find a reliable outfield trio.

If either Jim Mullen or Tom Stephenson (currently listed as first basemen) or Curly Coombs start hitting, they might very well earn starting outfield posts.

The catching department is giving Shepard headaches. Dick Diehl is back from last year, but he still is hampered by a bad shoulder. Sophomore Scott Harshbarger is now ranked as number two man, and he'll back Diehl up on the Southern trip. Harshbarger is a tremendously useful ball player, and if...s hitting is as good as expected, he might play anywhere.

There is still a lot of juggling to be done, but it looks like the Crimson should have a tough defensive team this season. If the hitting develops into a consistent attack, they might go places.

Harvard's baseball team has been working out for a little more than two weeks now, and while some parts of the puzzle are beginning to fit, Shepard won't start making binding decisions until he sees the team perform outside.

There are some pretty big holes to till Perhaps the most devastating loss is that of the whole 1961 outfield. Charles Ravenel, Bill Rodgers, and Dick Shima were top-notch fielders and solid hitters.

Another problem is at the mound, where Shepard faces the problem of replacing his number one and number two hurlers from last year. Dave Larking graduated, and Tom Boone, who is workbag on a thesis, hasn't come out for practice yet. The only serious loss in the infield was Al Martin, the club's leading batsman last year.

After two weeks of work it has become apparent that the Harvard infield this season will be one of the best over. At first is Phil Bernstein, a .291 left-handed hitter who does a more than adequate job of covering the first sack.

Tery Bartolet returns after a year's absence and right now seems to have the second base job. Bartolet is a natural fielder with excellent control of the glove. The big question mark is whether or not he can hit. His freshman year was very disappointing, but Shepard is convinced that "anyone who looks so much like a natural ballplayer must be able to hit."

Mike Drummey returns to take command of the hot corner. Although the smallest man on the club (at 5-8, 145 pounds), Drummey has the best throwing arm and has been known to make some pretty unbelievable play. He hit around .240 last year, and Shepard thinks he can add 40 or 50 points to that average this season.

At short the Crimson has real strength with Dave Morse. In a position where the Crimson has traditionally had top men. Morse might be one of the best.

Although he is not sure where he is going to use him, Shepard is certain that sophomore Bob St. George will see a lot of action at second or third. St. George is a superb fielder with a good arm and fast hands.

Only junior Bill Gilmor is fairly sure of a job in the outfield at present. For the first game, though, he will be joined by his JV colleague from last year--Fred Karp. Mike Cronin, who hit .333 as a utility infielder last year, is slated to move to the outfield. In fact, Shepard will experiment with a lot of excess infield material during the spring swing in an effort to find a reliable outfield trio.

If either Jim Mullen or Tom Stephenson (currently listed as first basemen) or Curly Coombs start hitting, they might very well earn starting outfield posts.

The catching department is giving Shepard headaches. Dick Diehl is back from last year, but he still is hampered by a bad shoulder. Sophomore Scott Harshbarger is now ranked as number two man, and he'll back Diehl up on the Southern trip. Harshbarger is a tremendously useful ball player, and if...s hitting is as good as expected, he might play anywhere.

There is still a lot of juggling to be done, but it looks like the Crimson should have a tough defensive team this season. If the hitting develops into a consistent attack, they might go places.