Earlier in the season, Scott Shirrell '04 etched his name in the Dartmouth record books by collecting more hits than anyone ever to don the Big Green uniform. His outstanding play and leadership helped spur the baseball team to a 25-17 record and the Red Rolfe Division championship. The fourth-year player from Portland, Maine sat down with The Dartmouth's Christine Huggins to discuss his illustrious career as a member of the Big Green.
The D: You just recently set the Dartmouth record for career hits. That's awesome! When you're not slamming home runs what position do you play?
Scott Shirrell: I'm a left fielder.
The D: As a great player you probably had lots of college options. What made you decide to come to Dartmouth?
SS: Well, there's competitive baseball here, as well as good academics.
The D: So, how is the team doing this year?
SS: Well, this year, there is a good chemistry between all the classes. Everyone has something to offer. The dynamic this year is the same kind of dynamic that the team had my freshman year.
The D: That's the year that Dartmouth went to the Ivy League Championship? That's pretty encouraging.
SS: Yes.
The D: So, what's your favorite aspect of the team?
SS: I think that we're friends. We play well on the field, but we get along off the field as well. Some of my best friends on campus are guys on the team.
The D: This is your senior year -- are you planning to pursue baseball after college?
SS: If I had the opportunity to pursue baseball then yes! If I don't, then I'll stay in baseball somehow. Regardless, baseball will be a part of my life.
The D: Dedication must be a big part of success in your sport. How many hours a week do you practice?
SS: We practice anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week.
The D: JEEZ! That's a lot of time! Since hitting is your specialty, do you devote a lot of time to improving that? How would you even go about improving as a hitter?
SS: Well, hitting has a lot to do with natural ability. But there are different aspects of the swing that you can study and improve on. During the off season I usually watch tape recordings of me at bat. I look at my swing from when I was a freshman, a sophomore, and a junior, and I look at the different things I did when I hit well. Then I try to recreate those techniques. I also look at what I did wrong. It's really interesting to see the improvement across my college career.
The D: That's amazing. So, when you go to bat are all those techniques running through your head?
SS: No, improving my swing is something that's done during practice. The "technical stuff" stays off the field. In a game, I don't think too much about what I'm doing, I just do it.
The D: It is always interesting to find out how someone who is a talented athlete got started. Why baseball?
SS: Well, I started playing baseball when I was three years old. That's when my father gave me my first baseball glove. And the neighborhood I grew up in was filled with kids my age and older, so we had lots of pick up games all while I was growing up. During the summer I would play every night, and I would play mostly every night during the school year too. There was even a cul-de-sac in my neighborhood, which made a great "field." We played there until we got too good and hit the ball too far, a.k.a. started breaking windows on the street.
The D: That's sweet. Pick-up games in the summer sounds a lot like the movie "Sandlot."
SS: Uh, yeah but it wasn't quite that Hollywood. We were playing on tar with whiffle ball bats and tennis balls. Whatever we could get our hands on.
The D: This is just curiosity, but did any of your fellow neighborhood kids continue to play baseball?
SS: Well, one kid played Division III for a couple of years. But I'm the only one who still plays. My friends still follow me and still watch baseball. I'm from Maine, so everyone is a huge Red Sox fan. They still enjoy baseball, but no one plays.
The D: So, you're one of the chosen few
SS: Well, it's been a lot of hard work. To put that much time into something you really have to have a passion for it.
The D: True, true. That's really admirable! So, what's the best thing about home games?
SS: Well, the fans, of course!
The D: Rumor has it that our fans are obnoxious hecklers. Supposedly, things got really out of hand at the Harvard game last Sunday.
SS: I think "heckling" is just "good fan support." The fans are great. We always get a good turn out and the cheering adds atmosphere to the game. It gets everyone pumped to play.
The D: Thanks, Scott.
