At the end of Spring term, my obsession with Dartmouth baseball intensified as the Big Green journeyed into post-season contention. During each regional game, I ventured into Collis with a fresh bag of sunflower seeds in hand, claimed my seat on the couches and watched my classmates compete with some of the best players in the country in beautiful high definition.
HD cameras catch everything, including the one play that immortalized Dartmouth outfielder Sam Bean '11 in ESPN history. While chasing a fly ball against the University of Miami, Bean managed to get his pants caught in a low fence. As he struggled to free himself, the entire nation looked on.
Though embarrassing, Bean's antics landed him a spot on ESPN's weekly "Not Top 10 Plays." Even though it might not have been the spotlight he had envisioned, facetime is facetime, and it was entertaining to see his name and face broadcast on national television for an entire weekend, Bean said.
I managed to catch up with Bean this past week to check in on his off-season progress. This summer, he is playing for the Holyoke Blue Sox in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Without a job or any real responsibilities, Bean basically just plays baseball all summer and lounges out by the pool sipping on chilled Gatorade. I'm certainly jealous. He is living the life of the professional baseball superstars I grew up idolizing just without the money, fame and girls. Intrigued, I decided to ask him a few questions.
Here's what Bean had to say about baseball, life and the state of the nation (well, mostly just baseball).
H: Where do the various players in your league come from?
SB: The league only lasts during the summer so every player is a college baseball player. Our team in particular has had a lot of turnover. This season, there are 20 guys on the roster right now who did not begin on the roster. I was one of the guys who came in late. I started out playing in an amateur league in Boston while trying to get myself on the Blue Sox. It took a couple weeks, but I got it done.
H: It took you two weeks to get on this team? Are you kidding me? You are Sam Bean. You were on ESPN. I have a autographed framed picture of you with your pants caught in a fence. You had your 15 minuets of fame and you should have taken advantage of it. William Hung, quite possibly the worst singer of all time, capitalized on his short-lived, American Idol fame. After the worst and by far the funniest rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" on national television, the man turned his terrible talent into a record deal. You have leverage use it. In any event, while you were sitting around waiting on the Blue Sox, was the rest of your team already playing summer ball?
SB: A lot of guys are playing summer baseball. Michael Johnson '13 is playing for North Shore which is a team in Lynn, Mass. He's the only Dartmouth guy in my league but we have people all over the country.
H: Do you see what I'm talking about Sam? Your teammates are playing all over the country and you're stuck in Holyoke, Mass. I bet the guys out in California are relaxing on a beach right now with their summer beach girlfriends. How much fun can you have in Holyoke? You can go to the Basketball Hall of Fame, but does a summer trip to the museum sound appealing to you? I guess you have already faded out of the national spotlight so there is no point in trying to move now. Are you at least playing with any of your Ivy League rivals this summer?
SB: There are two kids from Cornell on my team and the football quarterback from Yale Brook Heart plays left-handed pitcher. We all make jokes about Cornell, naturally. Brook tries joke about Dartmouth, but I just remind him about back-to-back Ivy League Championships.
H: That's what I like to hear. Nobody likes Cornell anyway. Baseball trash talk ranks high among my favorite Dartmouth activities. Last season, my section excelled in heckling. Our jokes were so good that the first base coach from the opposing team would sometimes join us and insult his own players. I am glad to see that you are continung the tradition, but is there anything you miss about Dartmouth being off-campus this summer?
SB: I miss metal bats a lot. The collegiate league only uses wood bats and the difference between wood metal is huge. Honestly, though, I miss the camaderie at Dartmouth, where people don't just play for themselves. You don't have that close-knit feeling here.
H: Thanks for your time, Sam. Enjoy the rest of your summer and do your best to avoid metal chain-link fences.
