Sophomore Matt Rothenberg entered Harvard in the fall of 2014 as a standout third baseman out of Pine Crest School in Boca Raton, Fla. But as a freshman, Rothenberg saw action at second base and in the outfield but struggled to carve out a niche in the Crimson lineup. In 51 at-bats as a first-year, he batted .275 with eight runs scored and six batted in, appearing mostly in midweek, non-Ivy League contests.
Entering this spring, Rothenberg figured to have a more prominent offensive role but still lacked a position as Harvard coach Bill Decker shifted sophomore John Fallon to third base and Drew Reid and Mitch Klug returned to anchor Harvard’s middle infield. Despite the logjam, Rothenberg’s bat forced Decker to make him a regular in the Crimson’s starting lineup. The Economics concentrator appeared in 38 of the team’s 41 games, seeing action at designated hitter and both corner outfield and corner infield positions.
“He settled in, he did his job, he did what he was asked, and he performed at a very high level,” co-captain DJ Link said. “He comes to practice everyday ready to play and I think everyone on the team sees that. His bat was something we really needed and we asked him to be an offensive catalyst for us and that’s 100 percent what he did.”
Harvard entered the 2016 campaign needing to replace much of the offensive firepower that helped it to lead the Ivy League in batting average and finish second in runs scored the year before. Rothenberg was not in the starting lineup when the Crimson opened its season on Mar. 4 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
As Harvard’s offense struggled to establish itself early on in the season, Rothenberg found himself playing first base for the first time in his collegiate career and batting fifth against A.J. Puk, a projected top pick in next month’s MLB Draft, and the No. 1 Florida Gators. Rothenberg was the only Crimson player to register a hit against Puk and a nine-hit performance in a four-game stretch against UMass and Army the following week fortified his spot in the heart of the Harvard order for the remainder of the season.
“One thing I’ve learned being here for four years is that if you can hit and you’re hitting well, they’ll find a place for you,” co-captain Matt Sanders said. “It’s great to have a guy who also provides the flexibility with what to do with the rest of the lineup because he can play so many different positions.”
Less than six weeks later, Rothenberg was hitting in the middle of the Harvard order, leading the Crimson offense into its four-game series with Dartmouth for a chance to claim its first Red Rolfe Division title since 2006. While Harvard would lose three of four against the Big Green and Yale would take the division crown, Rothenberg finished the season hitting .363 with 45 hits, 13 doubles, 18 walks, a .444 on-base percentage, and a .500 slugging percentage, all of which led Harvard regulars. His average was also good for third in the Ivy League and was the highest mark for a Crimson regular during Decker’s time in Cambridge.
Despite not having a defined position and rotating between the third, fourth, and fifth spots in the Harvard order, Rothenberg had a breakout season in large part because of his offensive consistency. In addition to having 13 multi-hit games, the Boca Raton native reached base in 32 of the 38 games in which he appeared.
“The fact that he was able to get on base so consistently just put guys in situations to get RBIs and put the team in situations to score runs,” Link said. “The bottom line is it all starts with getting on base and since he was able to do that, it really contributed to us winning games and us scoring runs.”
He also saved some of his best performances for his team’s biggest games. In the team’s two weekend series against Yale and Brown, of which the Crimson won six of eight contests to regain its footing in the Ivy League standings, Rothenberg hit .375 and scored eight runs.
His emergence was one of the keys to Harvard’s best record in Ivy League play since 2010. With Klug set to graduate, Rothenberg may have the opportunity to transition back to the infield in 2017 as the Crimson looks for its first Ivy League crown since 2005.
“Every year when you come back, the team needs to reinvent itself,” Sanders said. “I think it’s going to be great having some kids who have shown how well they can hit in Rothenberg and Fallon who you know can come back and get right back into the [heart of the order].”
Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at sgleason@college.harvard.edu.