For Ohlendorf, a field is the dream

Baseball head coach Scott Bradley has told the story hundreds of times, but even five years later, he cannot help but crack a smile.

The year is 2002 and although he is only a freshman, Ross Ohlendorf '05 is already a star. The baseball team has been asked to clean up Princeton Stadium following a lacrosse tournament, and while most of his teammates putter around, offended at the very idea of picking up garbage, Ohlendorf digs rights in.

"I think he picked up 10 times more trash than anyone else," Bradley said. "Every time I looked over, he was like Paul Bunyan: huge bags on each shoulder."

The story, Bradley's favorite recollection of perhaps the best pitcher ever to wear a Princeton jersey, lingers as a funny memory, but it also stands as a testament to the type of player that is Ross Ohlendorf.

"It really delivered a message to me and his teammates," Bradley said. "If the team was going to get involved in something, no matter what it was, Ross was going to be giving it his best."

Over the next three years, Ohlendorf fueled the Tigers to two Ivy League titles and a slew of impressive victories, including a stunning 4-2 upset of No. 1 Virginia in the 2004 Regionals of the College World Series, a game that Ohlendorf considers the highlight of his college career. Just a few days later, the six-foot, four-inch, 235-pound right-hander was drafted in the fourth round of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Though Ohlendorf was still a junior, he opted out of his final season to pursue his dream of making it to the majors.

"I knew from the first time I saw him throw a baseball that he had MLB potential," Bradley said. "I said, 'He has a pro-body and a pro-arm, we just need to fill in the rest.' "

Having focused primarily on basketball in high school, Ohlendorf arrived at Princeton a relatively raw pitcher, but Bradley and his staff worked quickly to add discipline to his overwhelming talent.

"When I was a freshman I could throw hard, but I wasn't a good pitcher," Ohlendorf said. "Coach Bradley taught me about mechanics and the art of pitching properly."

"The area he most improved in [at Princeton] was consistency," Bradley added. "He was able to slow down and really concentrate on repeating his delivery pitch after pitch."

In 2002, Ohlendorf was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and he only got better as time went on. His junior year, he went 7-3 with a 3.46 earned run average and 79 strikeouts. It was clear to everyone around him that Ohlendorf was ready to make the jump from college to the minor leagues.

"There is not a doubt in my mind that Ross has the talent to get far in professional baseball," Bradley, who caught in the major leagues for nine seasons, said. "I was telling all of the scouts that came to see him, 'I'm not far removed from a career in the big leagues, and this kid is a pro.' "

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Ohlendorf spent two impressive seasons in the Diamondbacks organization before being traded to the New York Yankees in a deal that also returned likely future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson to Arizona. Ohlendorf was in contention for a starting spot with the Diamondbacks, but in an age when college basketball players skip college to make the pros and college football players sue for the same chance, Ross has remained impressively humble and enthusiastic about the trade.

"I am hoping to have a long career, and right now I just want to improve," Ohlendorf said. "So in the long run, it is not going to matter that I did not get that shot in Arizona. Unlike the Diamondbacks, the Yankees had some mechanical changes for me when I arrived. There are a lot more resources here to help you get better."

Princeton baseball currently has only one alumnus in the major leagues, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Chris Young '02. But Ohlendorf — along with teammate Will Venable '05, whose minor-league career with the San Diego Padres will be chronicled in The Daily Princetonian next week — is knocking on the door.

This year, the Yankees invited Ohlendorf to their major-league spring training camp in Tampa, Fla.

"The whole experience was amazing," Ohlendorf said. "Everyone on their team is a big name. Mike Mussina had a locker next to mine, and I had a chance to talk to Andy Pettitte on numerous occasions about things I could improve on. Both of those guys are pitchers I looked up to growing up."

When the Yankees set their Opening Day roster a week ago, as expected, Ohlendorf was not on it. Instead, he will begin the season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees — New York's AAA affiliate — where his progress will be closely monitored. Is there chance we will see Ohlendorf in the majors this year? With the Yankees' current pitching troubles, it is possible, but not very likely.

"[Yankee management] has given me the indication that if I pitch well [in Scranton] and they need a pitcher, I will be one of the first players that they look at," Ohlendorf said. "However, it is too easy for people in my situation to get caught up in worrying about that. I truly believe that as long as I take care of myself and pitch to my abilities, the rest will work itself out."

What is definite is that sometime in the near future — be it this season or three years from now — Ohlendorf will get his chance in the Major Leagues. That being said, he knows what it will take to reach that point and has the levelheadedness to keep things in perspective.

"This season I just need to work on staying consistent," Ohlendorf said. "That and helping my team win are the most important things for me right now."

Ohlendorf has come a long way since that hard-throwing freshman began picking up garbage in Princeton Stadium, but in a lot of ways, he hasn't changed at all. Sure, he has since traded his Princeton jersey for one that reads "Yankees," but at his core he remains an electrifying pitcher and a player never willing to put himself before the rest of his team.