Feb. 22, 2007
By Will Matthews
NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt Head Baseball Coach Tim Corbin says it didn’t take a whole lot of thought to decide who would hit in the all-important cleanup spot in the Vanderbilt lineup this year.
Even with the fourth spot taking on added significance for the Commodores as the place in the order that will serve as protection for sophomore All-American Pedro Alvarez, Corbin said the decision as to who should fill it was obvious: sophomore shortstop Ryan Flaherty.
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“I knew it the minute we started the year,” Corbin said. “There was no doubt. If you had asked back in August who would hit third and fourth, I would have said Pedro is going to hit third and Flaherty is going to hit fourth. I just knew it going in.”
Flaherty has inherited what is perhaps the single most important position in the Vanderbilt line-up. As the man who will bat behind Alvarez – the reigning consensus national freshman of the year who hit .329 with a school record 22 home runs and 64 RBI’s in 2006 – Flaherty faces a dual challenge: be enough of a threat to force opposing pitchers to pitch to Alvarez, and capitalize on the fact that Alvarez will likely be on base in front of him a lot of the time.
In the first seven games of the 2007 season, Flaherty has made Corbin look like a genius, by proving he is more than up to the task. After a 3 for 4 night Wednesday that included a solo home run, a double, and two RBI’s in Vanderbilt’s 16-7 walloping of Lipscomb, Flaherty is batting .462 to lead the team. His nine RBI’s is second on the team, trailing only Alvarez’s 10. With the win, Vanderbilt, ranked no. 1 in the country in two national polls, improved to 7-0. They host the Music City Classic this weekend at Hawkins Field, where they will face Pittsburgh, Boston College and Ball State.
“Right now I am seeing the ball well,” Flaherty said of his impressive start to the season. “The game has slowed down a lot since last year when I was a freshman. Things are just going well for me and the team.”
Flaherty acknowledges that there is added responsibility protecting Alvarez in the Commodore lineup and, with that responsibility, additional pressure as well. But not one to back down from a challenge, Flaherty says he relishes the opportunity.
“I like it. I like hitting behind him, being the guy who is charged with trying to protect him,” Flaherty said. “I like the competition of, when they walk [Alvarez], having them come and try and pitch to me. It is something that I thrive on. When they walk Pedro, it makes me want to try that much harder to get a hit.”
Flaherty is not the prototypical cleanup hitter. He hit just two home runs as a freshman last year, but got on base at a .421 clip while leading the team with a .339 batting average and exhibiting good power to the gaps.
“He commands the strike zone and he just doesn’t chase for the most part,” Corbin said. “He usually makes the pitcher earn his way. He commands the zone and he swings at strikes and I think that is what makes him a good hitter. He has got good hand-eye coordination, pretty good balance at the plate, too.”
The son of the head baseball coach at the University of Southern Maine Ed Flaherty, Ryan Flaherty has exceptional baseball pedigree and Corbin extols the savvy that he brings to the game.
“He doesn’t have to think a whole lot,” Corbin said. “He is just a kid that plays and does well on instincts. He does a pretty good job of not over-analyzing anything and just playing. That is why he just keeps a calm demeanor all the time.”
But as quick as Corbin is to praise Flaherty’s baseball attributes, he is also quick to say that he must live up to his potential and produce the way he is capable of. Because Corbin knows that as Flaherty goes, so too go Alvarez and the rest of the Commodore offense.
“Flaherty is big for us for sure,” Corbin said, “and he is going to have to get hits plain and simple. I think he is going to get pitches to hit batting behind Pedro, so he is just going to have to hit. It is what makes Pedro get pitches. If you don’t have a guy like that then Pedro is never going to get good pitches to hit. They are just going to pitch around him and say all right, we are not going to pitch to Alvarez. We are going to let the rest of the Vanderbilt team try to beat us.”
Alvarez, for one, is confident that Flaherty will continue to do just that.
“He is very tough to get out,” said Alvarez, who is hitting .419 and has already hit four home runs to lead the team. “He is a very good gap hitter. If I get on and then he puts one in the gap, then we are all going to score. And if he keeps doing that, then I think this team is going to be very successful.”
