His stellar resume reads like that of your typical Ivy League student. His stellar efforts on the baseball field, however, have raised him to a level above that of your typical Ivy League athlete.
He is Andrew Spencer '97, center fielder. Yes, he is a freshman. And, yes, he can play.
Through 18 games [not counting Thursday's Vermont contest], Spencer either leads or is tied for the Dartmouth (6-12) team lead in hits (26), runs (20), stolen bases (4), triples (2) and total bases (33), to name a few categories where it is just a wee bit important for a leadoff hitter to produce.
Oh, did I mention he ranks second on the team in batting (.388), RBI (17), slugging (.493) and on-base percentage (.474)? Shocker, he does.
Though it should surprise no one, Spencer excelled at baseball in high school, as well. Although he now lives in Sacramento, Spencer grew up in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, and attended Hoover High.
Captain of the league-winning squad his senior year, he garnered third-team honors in the highly competitive southern division of the California Interscholastic Federation.
Spencer's involvement in Hoover's extracurricular activities did not end at the center field warning track, however. He served as class president, co-founded the Black Student Union, played on the basketball team and was a member of the coed dance squad.
Spencer's combination of baseball ability, student leadership and academic achievement caught a Dartmouth assistant coach's attention the summer before his senior year.
While he considered Princeton, Harvard, Boston University and other schools in the Northeast, Spencer decided on Dartmouth, the school which recruited him most heavily. It helped make his decision easier that, from what he had heard of the College, "Everybody seemed to love it," Spencer said.
Nevertheless, Spencer harbored some doubts before freshman year. "I was really intimidated by the words 'Ivy League'," he said. "I was really unsure of my abilities academically until I got here, but now I have complete confidence in myself."
The College's often questionable standing in the black community also worried Spencer. "Subtle racism" is what concerned him the most. "Dartmouth definitely has a negative reputation on that," Spencer said.
The experience of his first year at Dartmouth has dispelled Spencer's previous concerns.
A self-described "open-minded and fun-loving" type himself who is "not embarrassed easily," Spencer points to the school's people as its greatest asset. Although he is leaning toward becoming an economics major, Spencer specifically points to the English department's professor Donaghy as an example of that asset. "His attitude is what I expected from a college professor," Spencer said.
For Spencer, the community's friendliness has played out on Dartmouth's social scene, as well. "The social part of it [has been] great; it's a great time," Spencer said.
As for baseball, Spencer also had some pre-conceptions about the team going into his first season. After fall practice, "The biggest thing I saw was that I figured we were going to hit the ball, but I wasn't sure defensively,"Spencer said.
That early assessment has rung true for the Big Green. The club is hitting at a .292 clip but is committing almost three errors per contest.
Spencer is confident the team will improve on its .922 fielding percentage. "Once we get used to one another defensively, we can do it," the center fielder said. "We make mistakes that we know happen because we are a young team."
The team's 6-12 season mark does not overly discourage Spencer, either. "We've been in it every time [including in Tuesday's ninth-inning 8-7 loss to Tufts]," he said. "We don't ever just lie down and give up."
On a personal level, Coach Whalen let Spencer know at the season's outset that he wanted the freshman as his leadoff hitter, hitting singles and simply getting on base. Before that conversation, Spencer admitted, "I didn't even know I was going to start."
Clearly, Spencer has done more than just start and hit singles. Although his productive debut startled him somewhat, Spencer said, "Once I saw the level of competition, I figured I had a chance of doing well."
Do well he has. He can add that to his resume ... not that he needs to.
