
The Amherst College Baseball Program is recognized by players, coaches, fans and professional baseball men as one of the finest and most successful collegiate programs in the Northeast. Since 1966, the Amherst teams have won 611 games and lost only 296 for close to a 70% winning percentage. Since the New England rating poll began in 1980, Amherst has been ranked in the top-3 twelve times, and in the top-8 sixteen of those 19 seasons. The 1980, '81, '84 and '88 were ranked No. 1, and the '82, '95and '99 clubs were ranked second in New England. Since 1970, The Lord Jeffs have won 21 Little Three Titles.
Since 1973 when the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)
began sponsoring post-season New England Tournaments, Amherst has
been selected a remarkable 19 times, seeded No. 1 nine times, and
hosted the tournament ten times. Amherst has emerged as the ECAC
Champion five times. In 1993, the Presidents of the NESCAC
schools voted to allow team to participate in NCAA post-season
championships. Amherst was selected in four of the six years, but
in 1995 couldn't participate due to final exam conflicts.
The Amherst Baseball Program and coaching staff is structured and
committed to teaching and developing individual skills and
techniques so that a player may advance in baseball as far as his
desire, potential and ability permits. As with the students'
academic endeavors, the goal is excellence, in individual as well
as team performance. Over the years, many Amherst players have
received All-America and All-New England recognition. While the
majority of graduates of the Amherst baseball program pursue
careers in law, medicine, business, and education, nineteen
Amherst players have signed professional baseball contracts. Only
three had been previously drafted out of high school. Two
players, RHP Rich Thompson '80 and LHP John Cerutti '82, were
major league pitchers. Fifteen other former Amherst players have
been or are currently in the administrative or operational sector
of Major League Baseball, including a general manager, club vice
president, major league coach, minor league manager and coach,
player development men, scouts, marketing and public relations
personnel. This record clearly demonstrates the Amherst players'
love, interest and respect for the game. Many other former
Amherst players have stayed in the game as college and high
school coaches.
To maintain a consistently competitive program, the coaching
staff is committed to continuously searching for and recruiting
top scholar-athletes who seek a rigorous academic education and a
top-notch instructional and challenging baseball program. The
primary goal of all Amherst student-athletes is to obtain a
first-class academic education and Amherst College degree.
* Amherst College won the first intercollegiate baseball game
ever played when it defeated Williams College in Pittsfield,
Massachusetts by a score of 73-32 in 1859 *