As he was strolling around campus on June 7, Will Bashelor '07 had decided, for all intents and purposes, to delay thoughts of professional baseball for another year. Following a season-long rampage through the Ivy League, Bashelor had set his hopes on the respect and presumed monetary benefits of being a first-day pick in the 2006 Major League Draft. Yet by the conclusion of round 18, there was only disappointment when his name was not called. One phone call, however, would transform frustration into opportunity, and change the young outfielder's life forever.
Throughout 2006, the junior standout had established himself as Dartmouth's most prolific offensive threat, ranking second in the Ivy League in batting average, third in slugging percentage and on base percentage and fifth in slugging percentage and triples. His colossal regular season campaign, in which he was named to the All-New England first team by the NEIBA, only reaffirmed what major league scouts had already witnessed the previous summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Bashelor had emerged as an all-around stud while playing in the esteemed summer league and scouts made it clear he was on their radars.
"I always thought about professional sports, but it became more of a reality after the 2005 summer," Bashelor said. "I was getting some real looks and I knew I'd be drafted eventually."
A gifted football player, Bashelor was "more of just an athlete than a baseball specialist in high school." As a senior at Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut, Bashelor was not even the best baseball player on his varsity team. The Wildcats claimed a state championship that year and sent more than a few players to division I programs, but Bashelor knew baseball was his sport for good.
Courted by schools like Vermont, St. John's and Coastal Carolina, Bashelor was sold on Dartmouth immediately.
"Coach [Bob] Whalen told me I'd play my first year and have a chance to make an instant impact, something other schools couldn't guarantee," Bashelor said. "That, on top of Ivy League academics, made my decision easy."
The decision Bashelor would be faced with three years later would not be quite as easy.
As his cell phone rang and an unfamiliar number appeared on his caller ID, Bashelor answered the call. A skeptical greeting turned into an energized one when the Dartmouth junior realized a representative from the New York Mets was on the other end of the line. Bashelor's self-described "shock" would soon grow even more.
"When the Mets called me, they told me they were going to take me early on the second day but pay me significantly more than normal second-day guys," Bashelor said. "It was really surprising to hear."
Within days, he was packing his bags for Brooklyn, home of the single-A Cyclones. Bashelor would become the second Dartmouth athlete in two years to leave school early for a career in professional sports, as Hugh Jessiman '06 did the same in 2005.
The decision to leave school was not something Bashelor took lightly, but one possibility in particular made the choice a bit less difficult.
"Because there won't be any games for me to play in during Fall and Winter terms, I plan on coming back to Dartmouth to try to graduate with my friends this year," Bashelor explained. "I obviously won't be able to play baseball at Dartmouth again," the junior added, who lost his eligibility by signing with a professional team.
Bashelor, just two months into his new career, has already experienced the fickleness of professional baseball. After slightly more than one week with the Brooklyn Cyclones, Bashelor was moved to the rookie-league Kingsport Mets on June 29. The reason for this "demotion," however, was more superficial than ability-related. Playing in the New York Penn League, the Cyclones, although single-A, represent the most lucrative minor league venture for the Mets organization as well as the brainchild of Fred Wilpon, the Mets' team owner. As soon as the Cyclones showed signs of struggling, Wilpon brought down high-A players and pushed those like Bashelor off the roster.
"They wanted me to get experience and at-bats instead of just being the fourth outfielder," Bashelor said, speaking of his relegation from Brooklyn to Kingsport. "But I do like it here in [Kingsport,] Tennessee. It's more laid back, more about development -- more so than Brooklyn at least. The coaches are really great, there's a light atmosphere and the team is just as talented, but not as flashy as in Brooklyn. It's a real good situation overall."
He has proven his worth early, batting .289 through his first 14 games at Kingsport -- third best average on the team. He has started more than 50 percent of the time and remains certain that progress is on the horizon.
"If I start hitting home runs consistently I could be moved up to double-A next year," Bashelor said, tongue-in-cheek. "More realistically, if I continue to produce, I'll be in long-season single-A by next Spring.
"This process takes a while," he said. "You can't be shortsighted about this, I know it's a progression. That's what I signed up for, after all."
