The Yale Bulldogs baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The team is a member of the Ivy League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Yale's first baseball team was fielded in 1864. The team plays its home games at Bush Field in New Haven, Connecticut. The Bulldogs are coached by Brian Hamm.
History
Yale played its first baseball game on September 30, 1865 against Wesleyan College; Yale won 30 to 12. On July 23, 1868, Yale played its first championship game as an invitational against Harvard University, in which it lost 25–17. On June 5, 1869, Harvard visited Brooklyn and defeated Yale 41–24. Harvard would continue to dominate Yale in the Ivy League baseball conference, but Yale won two games in 1874.
In 1928, Yale Field was built to house the Yale baseball program. Yale's first game in their new stadium was played in 1928 against the Eastern League New Haven Professionals. The first pitch was thrown by Mayor Tower of New Haven. The result of the game was a 12–0 shutout by the road team.
Major leaguers pitcher Craig Breslow (Oakland A's and Boston Red Sox) and catcher Ryan Lavarnway (Boston Red Sox/Los Angeles Dodgers), among others, played baseball for the Bulldogs. Breslow led the Ivy League with a 2.56 ERA in 2002. Lavarnway led the NCAA in batting average (.467) and slugging percentage (.873) in 2007, set the Ivy League hitting-streak record (25), and through 2010 held the Ivy League record in career home runs (33). In August 2012, Breslow and Lavarnway, playing for the Red Sox, became the first Yale grads to be Major League teammates since 1949, and the first All-Yale battery in the major leagues since 1883. In September 2016 the two were again battery-mates, this time playing for Team Israel in the qualifiers for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.Baseball alumni take on the world | Sporting Life | Yale Alumni Magazine
Yale in the NCAA Tournament 1947 2–2 College World Series Runner-up, Eastern Playoff Champion 1948 4–2 College World Series Runner-up, Eastern Playoff Champion 1981 0–2 Northeast Regional 1992 1–2 Mideast Regional 1993 0–2 Central I Regional 2017 2–2 Corvallis Regional 2026 0-2 Eugene Regional 9–14
Major League Baseball Bob Davis pitched for Yale and then pitched in Major League Baseball in 1958 and 1960. Yale has had 35 Major League Baseball draft selections since the draft began in 1965. Bulldogs in the Major League Baseball Draft Year Player Round Team 1968 8 Phillies 1970 17 Senators 1973 29 Cardinals 1973 25 Cardinals 1981 1 Rangers 1992 35 Tigers 1993 53 Astros 1993 30 Mariners 1993 19 Indians 1994 28 Cubs 1994 2 Astros 1995 33 Rockies 1996 22 Brewers 1998 33 Cardinals 1998 30 Cardinals 1999 26 Cubs 1999 15 Diamondbacks 2000 23 Mets 2001 3 Brewers 2002 26 Brewers 2002 21 Angels 2005 10 Blue Jays 2006 38 Rangers 2007 15 Cubs 2008 36 Tigers 2008 17 Giants 2008 6 Red Sox 2009 25 Mariners 2010 49 Red Sox 2011 49 Brewers 2011 23 Rockies 2012 37 Tigers 2012 11 Reds 2012 10 Pirates 2013 34 Dodgers
Undrafted players Craig Breslow, MLB pitcher
Other notable players National teams Eric Brodkowitz, Israeli-American baseball pitcher for the Israel national baseball team Ben Wanger, Israeli-American baseball pitcher for the Israel national baseball team
Notable in other fields George H. W. Bush, 43rd Vice President of the United States, 41st President of the United States, first baseman 1947–1948 Ron DeSantis, 46th Governor of Florida, outfielder, led team in batting average in 2001, listed on roster as R. D. DeSantis while playing
See also List of NCAA Division I baseball programs
References
External links