The Princetonians of summer

This ragtag lot may seem like they stepped straight out of a failed script for a conventionally inspiring sports movie, but rest assured that no one made this team up.

The semiprofessional league in which sophomore pitcher Brad Gemberling played this summer featured graduated high-schoolers with fresh memories of senior prom, two grizzled veterans in their 40s — one of whom has played for six different major league teams in his career — and college kids from places as varied as Princeton, Villanova and Clemson. All of them dream of pro ball, most of them want to break into the professional game and a few of them are looking to get back into it.

The desire to improve all facets of their game is what drives many members of the Tiger baseball team to play in summer leagues at a time when many Princeton students are Excel or conducting thesis research.

The work during the summer league can help a player in any number of ways. For younger players — particularly pitchers — summer leagues present a great chance to learn or refine a new pitch. No one on the team would suddenly start throwing a screwball in the middle of the season.

"I worked primarily on developing a strong change-up as my third pitch, and getting confidence at throwing it in any situation," Gemberling said.

Princeton's coaches often give broader goals to upperclassmen who are veterans to summer league play,. For junior pitcher Christian Staehely, the team's ace, summer league play was about refining the mental aspect of his game.

"Gaining poise and maturity can bring out the best in a player's tools," Staehely said.

Often, players enter summer league play without a specific area to work on. Instead, they merely want to garner more experience — either through more innings on the mound or more at-bats at the plate. Junior outfielder Spencer Lucian, a key cog in the Tigers' offensive wheel, approached the off-season with just such an attitude.

"The coaches made it clear they wanted me to just focus on playing as much as I could," Lucian said.

In baseball, experience may be a player's important attribute. In a sport where the ball reaches the plate in quite literally the blink of an eye, muscle memory and instinct are vital to performance. It is impossible to reason out how to hit a 90 mph fastball; one simply has to do it repeatedly.

"I just try to keep it as simple as I can at the plate, so I try to think as little as possible," Lucian said.

While this approach is optimal for hitters, pitchers play an entirely different game. Since the pitcher dictates the pace of an at-bat, he has the time to consider what pitches he should throw and how the hitter will react. Summer leagues are invaluable for pitchers to learn how to react to different game situations and how to better read batters. For players like Gemberling, summer league coaches can impart valuable lessons.

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"Dr. Rocky Walker was more or less my mentor the whole season. He told me that I don't always have to go for the strikeout. I should work on getting hitters out early in the count and have fun tricking the batters," Gemberling said.

The results of this philosophy certainly seem impressive. Gemberling threw 5 2/3 perfect innings in one game before giving up a hit and a walk in the sixth inning. He still held on for a shutout and a victory. Later in the season, a first baseman who had reached the Triple-A level with the Pawtucket Red Sox told the young Tiger that he was one of the tougher pitchers he had faced.

Though the Tigers gained valuable skills during summer league play, perhaps the most important result was an increase in confidence. Strong performances in the summer may propel some members of this year's Princeton squad to breakout seasons and determine the team's success in the Ivy League.

If nothing else, these Tigers will certainly have some great stories to tell about their teammates. After all, not everyone gets to feel like he's on the set of "Major League."