For true baseball fans, getting together in the off-season to talk about the game is almost as much fun as being in the middle of a pennant race. After all, debating which team got the better of the latest blockbuster trade, arguing about which hitter or pitcher should have been the MVP, and ruminating on the overall state of the game are what truly make baseball a year-round sport.

So when University President Walter Harrison thanked about 175 Hawks baseball fans for coming out on a frigid January night and making a boyhood dream come true, everyone understood. There's nothing like a Hot Stove League Dinner to warm the heart of any baseball fan as his or her thoughts turn to spring.

Much of Harrison's thanks were actually directed toward Gary LaRocque, an All-America shortstop at the University in 1974 and currently assistant general manger of the New York Mets. LaRocque was instrumental in putting together this year's dinner, held on January 22 at the University's 1877 Club, and he promised that this dinner would become an annual event. He told the packed house that he would "do everything I can to support" the efforts of President Harrison, Hawks Baseball Coach Harvey Shapiro, and others to improve the facilities and resources available to the baseball team.

"We have to get to work to be ready for the next [Astros' star] Jeff Bagwell (BARNEY '90) who will be coming to the University," said LaRocque. Or the next Gary LaRocque, who was named Pioneer League manager of the year and Gulf Coast League manager of the year while working in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization from 1979 to 1997. He joined the Mets as director of amateur scouting in October 1997 and was named assistant general manager a year later.

"One of the best moves I've made, and it was made within two months of my getting the job, was adding Gary LaRocque to my staff," said Steve Phillips, senior vice president and general manager of the Mets. Phillips, LaRocque, Harrison and Shapiro took part in a panel discussion about the state of the game, some of its more controversial figures and the future of the game with America's young people.

The panelists agreed that baseball has to do more to keep young people interested in the game (in such ways as scheduling World Series games in the afternoon) and increase their participation in the game. "As kids, we used to play ball all the time, but now, with today's kids and all the options they have, [playing ball has] moved down the list," said Phillips.

He added that baseball has a particular responsibility to its young players because it is the only major professional sport with a minor league system that gives players time to develop. That means baseball has a responsibility to help its players develop as people as well.

"We have a responsibility to bring in players who know that putting on [a Mets] uniform comes with responsibility," said LaRocque. "It's a huge responsibility that we have, to train and teach these young men, but it's a challenge we accept as an organization."

Phillips said Earl Snyder (A&S '99), currently a hot prospect in the Mets farm system, is a "fantastic representative" of the kind of students coming out of the University. "He is a fine young man and we're very excited about what the future holds for him," Phillips said.

Baseball Has Special Place for Coach Shapiro

He is baseball coach at a school where the University president might have one over on him in a trivia contest about America's pastime. But for Harvey Shapiro, escalating the Hartford baseball program is not trivial. His goal is clear: to recruit some of the top players in Connecticut and beyond, returning Hartford baseball to days gone by.

Those bygone days include 1988, when Hartford finished the season 29-12 and fell just short of reaching the NCAA Tournament. One year later, no fewer than four Hawks were selected in the professional baseball draft, including soon-to-become National League Rookie-of-the-Year and All-Star Jeff Bagwell.

In his second year as head Hawk, Shapiro brings an impressive and diverse coaching background to Bloomfield Avenue. He served as the Dutch National Baseball Team coach for two years in the 1980s, competing in two world championships. For almost a decade, Shapiro coached and managed in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, mentoring current major leaguers such as California's Darrin Erstad and Cincinnati's Scott Winchester. Prior to his arrival at UofH, Shapiro spent 15 years as head coach at Bowdoin College (Maine).

A highly respected clinician and author on the sport, Shapiro has served on various collegiate and international committees. He recently received an achievement award for leadership and devotion to baseball by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

"Harvey is an educator first and foremost," says Director of Athletics Pat Meiser-McKnett. "He has extensive experience in all phases of the game. We are fortunate to have a man of his integrity and experience guiding the program."

How appropriate that a true baseball educator landed at a school which, from the top down, has a special affinity for the game.

Midway between two historic stadiums, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, the University of Hartford is carving out its own baseball niche. With noted baseball historian Warren Goldstein on the history faculty and President Walter Harrison an avid baseball fan and scholar of the game, the University's President's College offered a unique class last fall on the history of baseball. The school's Hot Stove League dinners are attracting some of the sport's top names. And each time Bagwell or the up-and-coming Earl Snyder sends another ball flying over the fence, the University gets a taste of its baseball past and a hint of the potential for its future.

Is assistant general manager of the New York Mets, Gary LaRocque spends much of his time thinking about what player moves would help his organization win. There's little doubt, however, about the impact that LaRocque has already had on the University of Hartford.

"I think Gary is the ideal of what an alumnus should be," says James R. Keener, the University's former director of sports information. "He is professionally successful, represents himself and the University with the highest of standards, and he continues to be involved -- he doesn't forget his roots. If I could summarize Gary in two words, I'd say, 'class act.'"

An All-America shortstop in 1974, LaRocque played varsity basketball in addition to baseball while attending the University. He played in the Milwaukee Brewers organization from 1975-1978 and joined the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 1979. He was appointed Mets' director of amateur scouting in 1997 and, a year later, assumed the duties of assistant general manager.

A secondary education major at the University, LaRocque fondly remembers the professors, especially Dr. Ed Weinswig, who helped shape his life. "He was a professor and then some," he says of UofH's popular education professor whom he has always called "Doc." "I don't know that I've ever met any one who didn't think highly of him. He always makes you feel that you're an important part of the University family."

LaRocque, indeed, is an important part. He was voted into the UofH's Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. A member of the Diamond Club, the University's baseball booster organization, he continually helps promote the school's baseball program. He was instrumental in making January's Hot Stove League Dinner a reality and has invited multiple members of the University community to Mets' games at Shea Stadium.

Doc Weinswig clearly recalls the student-teaching days of LaRocque. "The girls adored him, the boys admired him, and everybody worshipped him," Weinswig recalls. "He's still the same person today. No glitter. No glitz. He is just a gentle, kind, caring person who loves the University and everyone associated with it."

The Name Game: Playing through the Fame

What's in a name? For Javier Marichal, both benefit and burden. Javier, the starting shortstop for the University of Hartford Hawks baseball team, is the nephew of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. He has had to deal with the reflected fame of his uncle and the challenges that situation presents for many years, but he has come to terms with it.

"Sometimes I liked the attention it brought, but sometimes it was too much," said Javier, a senior who hails from Lynn, Mass. "I didn't like it in high school. I wanted my own identity. But now I wear my uncle's old number (27), and it has made me work harder to represent a name like that."

Baseball seems to run in the Marichal family. In addition to his uncle, Javi's younger brother, Miguel, is an infielder who recently transferred to Hartford from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and his father, Francisco, played baseball on the Dominican Republic Olympic team. When Javier visits the Dominican Republic with his family, the mention of the Marichal name elicits special treatment and courtesy.

Before joining the University as head baseball coach last year, Harvey Shapiro coached the offspring of several famous fathers during his nine years in the prestigious summer Cape Cod League, including the sons of Hall of Fame relief pitcher Bruce Sutter and former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee. Shapiro led the Falmouth Commodores to the playoff finals and was named Cape Cod League Manager of the Year in 1996.

"I've dealt with kids in the league whose fathers were very notable, and it puts pressure on them," said Shapiro, "but I try to let them know that it's supposed to be a game. Take it one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time. I try to get them to see themselves being successful, to set realistic goals such as three good at bats in a game, not to try to get a hit each time up."

"Interestingly, most of our UofH players didn't know anything about the Marichal name until they saw the article in The Hartford Courant (May 16) on Javi," said Shapiro. "Juan Marichal was before their time."

"Javi doesn't put added pressure on himself because of his name because he is just that type of easy going personality," said assistant baseball coach Bill Gross. "He is very coachable. After every at-bat, he asks me what he did wrong, so his hitting has improved. He finished the 1998-99 season batting around .260, and he was the most consistent hitter on the team the last half of the season. He's exciting to watch. You can tell he loves the game."

While Javier was both a pitcher, like his famous uncle, and a shortstop in high school, by the time he came to the University of Hartford, he was only a shortstop. "I stopped pitching when I went to junior college (Community College of Rhode Island) because I didn't think I could compete at that level," said Javier.

Javier, who is a senior this year, remembers his time at the University with fondness. "Things have been great. I wish I had gone here all four years. My first day here, it was so nice to be on a true campus. The teachers really work with you to help you understand your studies, and Candee Stillerman (former academic coordinator for the Department of Athletics) was always ready to help when needed."

Javier wants to play baseball at the next level, and he took a big step in that direction last summer, according to Gross, playing for the Rome, N.Y., team in the select collegiate Northeast League. Javier was named to the league's All-Star team.

"The biggest difference between pro ball and college ball is that in pro ball, they expect you to play when you are injured and tired, and they expect you to play well," said Gross, who played minor league pro ball with the Florida Marlins organization. "The Northeast League is the best summer baseball league next to the Cape Cod League. Javi will have to adjust to travel and playing every day, and using wooden bats instead of the aluminum bats we use in college, but Javi has the tools and can showcase them there. This year he matured as a player -- he has his emotions under control and acts like a professional."

Javier says he is prepared for the possibility that his dream of a professional baseball career might not become a reality. "I will always have my criminal justice major to fall back on. I would like to be a probation officer some day and move on from there."

The 1999-2000 edition of the Hawks baseball team has a lot of freshmen who will be starters, according to Gross, and the team will need Javier to be a leader and to take control of the middle of the field.

Shapiro said the team may struggle at first because the new kids coming in need to gain experience. "I do hope Javi will be able to lead us. He's a good kid who works as hard as anybody."

"I know I need to be a leader on the team now, and I think I'm ready for that," said Javier. "My offense needs more focus, and I need to concentrate more on the routine ground balls on defense, but the competition in the wooden bat league this summer should be great. You have got to be conditioned because you play 45 games from June 5 through July 28. It really gets you ready for the future."

The name game is over for Javier, and he's on the winning side.