Questions and Answers with D-Backs' Ohlendorf

Photo by Paul Chin

Senior Ross Ohlendorf gave up his last year of baseball eligibility when he signed a professional contract with Arizona last summer.

After spending three years as the ace of the baseball team, senior Ross Ohlendorf was picked in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player's Draft last June by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ohlendorf decided to sign — forfeiting his final year of Princeton eligibility — and spent the rest of the summer pitching for the Yakima Bears, going 2-3 with a 2.79 ERA.

Back on campus for the fall semester, Ohlendorf recently sat down with 'Prince' senior writer David Baumgarten.

'Prince': Let's start off with a few warm-up tosses . . . favorite baseball movie?

Ross Ohlendorf: "Bull Durham." When I was playing in high school I got compared to Nuke LaLoosh because I didn't have any control.

P: DH or no DH?

RO: DH — I don't want to hit.

P: Favorite team (before Arizona)?

RO: Houston and Texas.

P: Favorite player?

RO: Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens.

P: Playoff prediction?

RO: I think the Red Sox will get to the World Series, but I think the NL team will win. I'd like to see the Astros, but I think it will be the Cardinals.

P: OK, you're warmed up — let's move on. Why did you choose Princeton?

RO: The academics were a big thing, and I really liked the campus and Coach Bradley a lot when I visited. I was recruited by some bigger baseball schools — University of Texas and Baylor — but I wanted to leave Texas. I'm definitely glad I did.

P: How did you improve over your Princeton career?

RO: Coming in, I hadn't played all that much baseball. I could throw pretty hard, but I didn't really know how to pitch. I felt like the jump I made freshman year was really big. Having a coach helping me with mechanics helped. I feel like each year my control got better and I started throwing harder consistently.

P: How hard do you throw now?

RO: I used to be low-to-mid 90s, but this summer I was more high 80s. I'm not really sure what happened.

P: What was the highlight of your Princeton career?

RO: Beating Virginia in the [NCAA] Regionals last year. We played really well — we'd never beaten a No. 1 seed before. Definitely a big win, I think they were in the top 10 at one point last year. Just really exciting.

P: When did you start thinking of a pro career as a possibility.

RO: My junior year in high school, we got a new coach — Keith Mooreland, who had been an All-Star with the Cubs. He convinced me that I could play in college and then after. Before that, I had been thinking about playing college basketball.

P: What was your reaction when you got the call during the draft.

RO: I was watching on the internet. I was hoping to go higher, so I was a little disappointed. But I was glad I went to the Diamondbacks because I like the Western part of the country. They also aren't very good, which means the chances of moving up are better.

P: How difficult was the decision to sign?

RO: It wasn't that bad. The last two years, I was pretty sure I would go [after junior year]. When I didn't get drafted as high as I thought I would, I considered coming back and getting drafted next year, because the signing bonuses are significantly higher. But it was a pretty big risk and I felt like I was ready.

P: What did Coach Bradley and your parents think?

RO: He felt like I should sign, that I needed to move on. He'd taught me about all he could, he thought. My mom thought I should listen to Coach Bradley.

P: What was the toughest thing to give up?

RO: Not being here this spring with all my classmates, not being able to play with all my teammates.

P: Princeton has turned into quite a pro-baseball pipeline.

RO: Hopefully it will keep going. I think there are a couple guys on the team that will eventually get drafted. I think a big part of it is that Coach Bradley has stepped up the recruiting, nationally. And once someone like Chris Young ['02] signs [a pro contract], it makes the decision to come here easier.

P: Have you kept in touch with Chris and Tom Pauly '03?

RO: I talked to Chris when I was choosing an agent. I've kept up with Thomas. The summer team I played for, he'd played for the year before [Chatham A's of the Cape Cod League]. He's only a year ahead of me, so we share experiences. He's doing really well, hopefully he'll be up there with Chris pretty soon.

P: How was Yakima?

RO: It was okay. It was the worst stadium in the league and had the lowest attendance. It was pretty dry, but it was neat to get to live out there. I hadn't been to Washington before.

P: Were you happy with your results?

RO: Yeah, especially with a couple starts I had. I hadn't pitched in a while, since the Regionals, so the first couple times I felt pretty uncomfortable. But once I got back into it, I felt pretty good.

P: Do you know where you'll be pitching next year?

RO: You make a team during spring training, but they're hoping I'll be in "high-A" in Lancaster, Calif. Yakima was in a short-season league.

P: Do you have a timeline for getting to the majors?

RO: I don't know. I think I'll have a better idea after pitching a full season this summer. I think at least three years, probably.

P: Is minor league life like "Bull Durham?"

RO: Some kids go out a lot, but some guys would never go out. You get a lot of different lifestyles. But there weren't any older ladies and we didn't have anyone as old as Kevin Costner.

P: Biggest perk?

RO: Getting paid, I guess [laughs].

P: Have you met any of the big-leaguers? I know Coach Bradley is good friends with Randy Johnson from when they played together.

RO: No, but hopefully I'll get to meet him during spring training.

P: What's your plan for finishing up academically?

RO: This spring I'll be in training, so I'll finish up next fall. I'm pretty sure I'm going to walk this year [at graduation]. The Diamondbacks gave me permission.

P: Is it strange being back?

RO: Not really. I definitely have more time on the weekends — I went home for the Texas-OU football game last weekend, which I hadn't been able to do the last three years.

P: Do your friends give you much grief about signing the big contract?

RO: No, I'm kind of surprised, it hasn't come up much.

P: You are apparently still driving for Tiger Foods, though?

RO: It's fun. I don't know, it's so I don't feel bad about spending my signing bonus, I guess.