The DP sits down with Doug Glanville

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DP: You and Mark DeRosa represent two of the most accomplished professional athletes in the recent past to graduate from Penn. Are you at all close with Mark? Have you talked to him about making it to the Major Leagues as a former Penn student and Ivy Leaguer? Do you have any thoughts on Mark as a person or as a ballplayer?

I haven’t talked to him much in the offseason but whenever I see him we catch up, we definitely share that common thread. I did an event with him, it was an event for athletes against drugs last winter. We just talked, and when I introduced him I gave a nice warm 15 minute presentation on Mark DeRosa, and we both have the Jersey connection so yeah, I’m always rooting for him. I hope he continues to have success and plays as long as he can.

I remember seeing him get in with the Braves, he was always waiting for that opportunity. He had the experience of being in Atlanta with the Championships. I think that showed he could contribute to a winning team.

You know that you’re an underdog coming out of the Ivy League. Penn is one thing, that’s obviously special, but you look out for any of the other schools in the league because you know its an upward climb.

He had a great year one of the years I was there. Just showing a lot of power and being the swing guy. Mark DeRosa is a guy that you’d love to have on your team because he’s super utility. He plays everywhere but you don’t necessarily lose productivity in the power game.

I know he’s been hurt, he’s had some injuries, he’s got to prove that he’s back on his game with the Nationals. He has the ability to get back but that what happens when father time starts to chip away.

DP: How do you feel about the success of former Ivy League athletes at the professional level? Though the league does boast some big time names throughout its history (Lou Gerhig, Ken Dryden, and Bill Bradley to name a few), there have been fewer athletes to point to in recent history who have carved out successful professional careers in athletics. Do you agree with this assessment, and if so, to what would you attribute it to?

You know, it’s a challenge for Ivy League players to just get recognized. You don’t play as much baseball and sometimes there’s stigmas associated with it as a smart guy or whatever. I don’t think this is any different from when I came up, I was drafted in ’91 and I had the same challenges. But the game has evolved in a lot of ways, and certain elements of it do stand out. The game is a little more global, more international now, players from all over the place. More personnel, more opportunities. When you’re competing against guys that are seen as playing around the clock, you have bigger hurdles. There are more guys that are competing that have that advantage

There will still be the shining stars, Chris Young???, Will Venable at Princeton…I pay attention to these guys. I wrote that article about Will, then I talked to Will shortly thereafter a couple years ago when he broke in. I was the first African American Ivy League Major Leaguer, and he was the second….You look out for each other. You recognize it’s a tough road. You can pull it off, the world’s your oyster.

DP: What do you think the league could do to raise the level of play in the Ivy Leagues?

Its cyclical. There are years where you have a particularly strong class.

Penn is a very popular school. There are attractive elements associated to the education you can get. There are always elements that come and go. Whether you can compete with Stanford or whether you just have not as strong a class.

I know they tried different things with divisions where they played each other and they try to spice it up a little bit to make it interesting. When I came to Penn, I was drawn to the fact that they played a really nice schedule outside of the league. I was drawn to the opportunity to both pitch and hit. I liked the fact that the coach was pretty good at marketing the team. We were able to get marquee games. I was able to play in the Cape Cod summer league. Individually, if you have a head coach who manages it well and gets the exposure that can really make a big difference to have you be seen and attract people.

DP: Though academics will always take priority, do you believe the addition of postseason football or an Ivy League basketball tournament might sway some top recruits toward Ivy League schools?

I know that playoffs have always been discussed. One division, two divisions, and all these things. But if you have a good team, you can get to the NCAA tournament.

I found it to be a good opportunity, a good place to play. I played against the University of Miami, Notre Dame, Illinois, Santa Barbara, Arizona State, Villanova was an absolute juggernaut when I played against them. They’re good teams, its good baseball.

— Alex Siegel