There is no doubt that opposing pitchers would like to avoid giving Nick Santomauro '10 anything to hit -- the right fielder is batting .378, with eight home runs and 37 RBIs. Unfortunately, if teams pitch around Santomauro, they then have to deal with Mike Pagliarulo '09, who is himself hitting .319 with five home runs and 36 RBIs.
Pick your poison.
The pair has torn up the Ivy League this spring, leading the Big Green to its first Ivy League title since 1987, and earning the program's first bid to the NCAA tournament. Having terrorized college pitchers for the past three years, it appears likely that the heavy-hitting duo will be swinging professionally next year.
"It's obviously something that I've wanted to do all my life," Pagliarulo said. "I've lived my whole life playing -- honestly, I'd play for free."
The two players have had starkly different college careers. Pagliarulo was not the slugger he is today when he arrived in Hanover, struggling his first two seasons. His junior year, however, saw a huge turnaround, as Pagliarulo posted the best numbers of his career in every offensive category. His .370 batting average that year was nearly .200 points better than the previous year, and his six home runs and 30 RBIs were both more than he had produced in his Dartmouth career.
Santomauro, on the other hand, was an immediate success, leading the Big Green as a freshman with a .396 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage. He was the unanimous Ivy League Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Ivy first team. As a sophomore, Santomauro led the Big Green in nearly every offensive category and reached base in an astonishing 38 of 42 games played. He was again named to the All-Ivy First Team and to the NEIBA All-New England First Team.
Having traveled contrasting roads to success, the two are also different types of players. Pagliarulo is a vocal leader, who said he places equal value on every game.
"I just try to be the best player I can be," Pagliarulo said. "I play as hard as I can every game. The Ivy League Championship weekend was just another series to me where we had to go out and win."
Santomauro is more reserved. He remembers being shy as a freshman, and said he now works to help younger players on the team overcome their own initial reticence.
"As a freshman, you don't speak that much," Santomauro said. "I've definitely tried to be more vocal and help some of the younger guys. I'd like to think that they listen to me and see me as a leader."
Their teammates say the players have been helpful in bringing the team together in its championship run.
"Pags and Santo are both really great players and teammates," Cole Sulser '12 said. "Pags is a really funny guy and is a really good leader in the locker room. Santo has been really good, helping me out, giving me advice after some of the rough games I've had. They're both essential to the team."
The two players will also likely follow different routes to professional careers. Pagliarulo, a senior, will have less freedom to turn down offers, as he will no longer be an eligible college athlete at the end of the season. Santomauro is considering entering the MLB entry draft as a junior, and will have a year of college eligibility to negotiate contracts.
"Being a senior, you have no leverage," Pagliarulo said. "It's a huge disadvantage versus juniors and seniors in college. But I'd go wherever. If I can be a major league player, I'd play wherever."
Santomauro has not yet said whether he will enter the draft at the end of this season, maintaining that his focus is on playing well for Dartmouth.
If both end up playing professionally, they will add their names to a substantial list of players who have plied their trade past Dartmouth, including Russell Young '08, who was drafted last year into the Cleveland Indians organization.
Both Pagliarulo and Santomauro said that Coach Bob Whalen has helped them significantly during their time at Dartmouth.
"He's a great coach and [he] made my time at Dartmouth wonderful," Santomauro said. "The one thing I'll remember from my time here is how much we've come together as a team. All those practices and games have really brought us together."
