Dartmouth slugger Nick Santomauro '10 grew up rooting for the New York Yankees and dreaming of playing professional baseball.
Despite his Yankee roots, however, Santomauro recently signed with the New York Mets, and insists that his loyalties have changed.
"On the day of the draft, I was a converted Mets fan," he said.
Santomauro joined the Mets organization after being drafted in the 10th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft this past June, ending his career with the Dartmouth baseball team to embark on his career in professional baseball.
"When you are a little kid, you always want to play in the majors," Santomauro, who played right field for the Big Green, said. "Coming to the realization that I have my foot in the door and just have to swing it a little bit more it is almost a dream come true."
Agreeing to a standard minor league professional baseball contract with the New York Mets, Santomauro is paid a maximum of $1100 per month.
The decision to sign with the New York Mets and stop playing Dartmouth baseball was tough for Santomauro, he said, adding that he thinks it was ultimately the correct decision.
"The cons would be that I wouldn't be a member of the team anymore," he said. "I would lose a lot of time with my teammates. The pros were signing early and getting more leverage. I think I made the right decision looking back at it now."
This summer, Santomauro joined the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league, short-season single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. He mostly played left field in 45 games for the Cyclones, which posted a record of 45-30 this summer.
Tied for the team lead with six home runs, Santomauro also drove in 21 runs in 145 at-bats with Brooklyn. He had a .241 batting average and a .368 on-base percentage.
"It is definitely a jump up," he said. "Everything gets faster. The pitching is better, because of the velocity they bring to the table. Probably like a third of the way through, at about fifty at-bats, I was able to make the adjustment."
On Sept. 3, the Cyclones and Santomauro were joined by Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran, who played for the team in a rehab start.
"[Beltran] spoke to me specifically one day during batting practice when he was just standing outside of the hitting tunnel watching us hit," Santomauro said. "It was really great having him there for major league insight to the game."
After signing with the Mets, Santomauro will no longer be able to practice or compete with the Dartmouth baseball team.
He will, however, continue to be allowed to use the facilities on his own, with permission from Big Green baseball head coach Bob Whalen, according to Santomauro.
During the 2009 Dartmouth baseball season, Santomauro led the Big Green with a .372 batting average, a .446 on-base percentage and 61 hits. He was named the 2009 Ivy League Player of the Year, and was honored with the Blair Bat Award after leading the Ivy League with a .473 batting average in conference play.
With 20 multiple-hit games in 2009, Santomauro helped the Dartmouth baseball team to earn its first Ivy League championship in 22 years when the Big Green defeated Cornell in a best-of-three series.
"He has been one of the best offensive players in our league," Whalen said. "From a coach's standpoint, you try and identify certain guys you don't want to let beat you when the game is on the line, and he was one of those guys for opposing teams."
Santomauro's premature departure from the team will leave a void to be filled, especially in his usual third spot in the batting order.
"Now we just have to figure out what our next group of best players is and put them in the lineup," Whalen said.
Santomauro plans to be on campus this Fall term and Winter term, before taking off the Spring term for spring training, and finishing his Dartmouth education next fall. He said he may have to take off this Winter term for additional training.
Looking ahead to next year, Santomauro plans on continuing to play in the Mets farm system. He is likely to join either the Savannah Sand Gnats, a long-season low single-A team, or the Port St. Lucie Mets, a long-season high single-A team, depending on his perfomance in spring training, he said.
Whalen said he is optimistic about Santomauro's potential to succeed as he begins his journey through the Mets' organization, but also recognizes the whims of a professional athletic career.
"The one thing you learn at the professional level is to try and minimize expectations," he said. "There is no doubt in my mind that [Santomauro] has the ability to play at the professional level. But, there are too many variables. A lot of things can happen between now and then."
