By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Ross Ohlendorf and Will Venable had hoped to join Chris Young in playing in the American League Championship Series that starts tonight.
The three Princeton University graduates have helped their Major League Baseball teams reach the postseason and all three played in the American League Division Series. A matchup of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals would have brought the three together as competitors.
“I think I’d have to go out in person to see a few games,” said Princeton baseball coach Scott Bradley.
The Toronto Blue Jays ruined that potential matchup when they eliminated Ohlendorf and Venable’s Rangers, 6-3, in Game 5 Wednesday, but Young’s Royals advanced with a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros in Game 5 Wednesday. Bradley didn’t want to miss a minute of their series.
“It’s pretty amazing,” he said. “Not just watching, but watching them do really well. It’s been a good couple weeks.”
Even before the conclusion of the ALDS games, there was already exciting MLB news for a couple of former Tigers. Mike Hazen was named general manager of the Boston Red Sox while Mike Chernoff was named general manager of the Cleveland Indians. Both played for Bradley.
“They’re great guys,” Bradley said. “They were terrific as players. They’re great people. They’re very, very loyal to us and to Princeton. They’re loyal to my family. It’s been a great week for Princeton baseball. The attention we’re getting is just terrific.”
Ohlendorf, a relief pitcher, and Venable, a reserve outfielder, were named to the postseason roster for the Rangers, who fought back over the second half of the season to reach the playoffs. Young, a pitcher, helped to throw the Royals into the playoffs. The only other colleges to produce three players on this year’s active postseason rosters are Georgia, Stanford and Texas A&M.
“In my 10 years in the majors, I never set foot anywhere near a post-season game,” Bradley said. “There’s 250 guys on the active postseason roster and three are from Princeton.”
Getting to the playoffs isn’t something that they take for granted. It’s the second time in the postseason for Ohlendorf and Young.
“It’s been really exciting,” Ohlendorf said. “I made it with the Yankees eight years ago, but I’d just been called up for the first time. I still felt a little overwhelmed with the situation. This time around, I feel like more a part of the team and I’m much more developed as a pitcher and can do well and can contribute to the tam. It’s been an even more fun and rewarding experience this time.”
Ohlendorf has battled back from injuries to get on the postseason roster. He was up and down in the minors with rehabbing his injuries and came on strong at the end.
“I always kept trying to do the best I could with where I was, if with AAA or with the Rangers,” he said. “I was confident I could helped the team whenever they called on me.”
Ohlendorf has played with four different teams in the last five years, and it was no accident that he ended up with the Rangers.
“I grew up a Rangers fan,” said the Texas native. “I wanted to sign here this offseason because I always liked the Rangers. It luckily worked out.”
Ohlendorf had the chance to be a hometown hero in the ALDS. He helped the Rangers take a 2-0 lead with a save in the 14th inning of Game 2, a game in which Venable singled in the 13th inning with two outs.
“Another thing great is get to play with Will in the playoffs,” Ohlendorf said. “We got to play together in San Diego a few years ago. I was excited when we traded for him. To be able to clinch the division together and both be on the playoff roster, it’s been really cool.”
Ohlendorf appeared in three games for the Rangers in the ALDS and put up tremendous numbers with 3.1 innings pitched, five strikeouts without a walk and only two hits allowed while earning his first postseason save.
“It was great,” Ohlendorf said. “That was really exciting. The last game I pitched in the regular season, I got a save opportunity and it was to clinch the division and it did not go very well. I thought I pitched well, but it didn’t go well. I ended up blowing the save. To get an opportunity to redeem myself was something I felt fortunate for. The environment I came into, I was really pumped up and that was as well as I pitched this season. It felt great to contribute so much to the team in such a big game.”
Ohlendorf remained near the top of his game in his other two appearances as well. While he’d rather the team win, he can look back proudly at how he performed in his second trip to the postseason.
“It’s been really fun,” Ohlendorf said after his second appearance of the series. “I’m living in the present with it. It’s been a blast. I really, really like the guys on the team. We all pull for each other. We all care for each other. That and the significance of the situation made it really fun. I haven’t thought too much about the past and it’s taken a while, but it’s such a unique situation, it does make it more special.”
Young was also brilliant in his only ALDS appearance. He set a Royals postseason record with seven strikeouts by a relief pitcher. He had to come in after a long rain delay in Game 1 and pitched four innings while allowing only one run and three hits.
“All three of us are still good friends and keep in touch,” Ohlendorf said. “I was really excited to watch Chris pitch the other night in their game and watch him do so well. I knew he’d do well if he got the opportunity. He and Will are such good clutch performers, in watching them play basketball and in baseball. When they get the chance, they do well.
“Will is 1-for-1. I remember in the Ivy League championship, I remember him getting some big hits in some big situations.”
Those are fond memories for Bradley as well, and now he has the chance to see several of his products play at the highest level more than a decade later.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking,” Bradley said. “It’s like watching my own kids play ball. You’re so proud of everything that they accomplished, proud of the type of people they are. What Chris Young has gone through recently with the passing of his dad and how he’s handled it. You read about his teammates talking about what kind of person and teammate he is.
“Will Venable, everyone has been saying he’s one of nicest, most grounded individuals they’ve ever been around. And the same with Ohlendorf. You’re just so proud of who they are and what they’ve developed into.”
