New Red Sox pitcher Adam Ottavino ‘a sense of pride’ at Northeastern University
Former Huskie hurler comes home
By JASON MASTRODONATO | Boston Herald
![[Image: 050615huskypw007.jpg?w=879]](https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2015/05/06/050615huskypw007.jpg?w=879)
Whether or not Adam Ottavino becomes a key member of the Red Sox’ bullpen this year won’t matter to a group of ballplayers in Brookline.
He’s already made his presence felt in Boston.
At Northeastern University, the Huskies have produced 20 MLB draft choices since Ottavino was taken in the first round in 2006. There had been just 26 Huskies chosen in the draft in the previous 41 years combined.
At Parsons Field, the Huskies’ home park nestled in the tree-lined streets a mile from Fenway, Ottavino’s return to Boston marks a significant moment.
“I told him that my phone, once he got traded, I got 20-30 texts,” said Mike Glavine, younger brother of Hall of Famer Tom Glavine and a Northeastern coach since 2006. “Just a bunch of alumni, supporters of the program, which is great. I told him we were pumped to have him back in Boston.
He’s been great to us. He’s a quiet guy around me, very humble. Hopefully once he gets settled in here we’ll get a chance to get him around the team.”
Glavine took over as head coach for Neil McPhee after the 2014 season, McPhee’s 29th year leading the Huskies. It was under McPhee that Ottavino tossed a no-hitter, became the school’s all-time leader in strikeouts and was drafted 30th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006.
Ottavino has made 463 big league appearances with the Cardinals, Rockies and Yankees, compiling a 3.53 ERA while striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings of work.
Since Ottavino was drafted, the Huskies have been able to become more of a force in the local recruiting scene. They landed Aaron Civale from The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., in 2014. After three years at NU, Civale was a third-round draft pick by the Indians and is now a fixture in the Indians’ rotation.
Ottavino’s career has made the program a more desirable destination, Glavine said.
“It definitely helps,” the coach said. “Even though I wasn’t coaching (Ottavino at Northeastern), you get those moments of pride as an alum, seeing a first-rounder coming out of Northeastern. Really the second one because Carlos Pena was the first. So it was really a sense of pride.”
Pena was drafted out of Northeastern 10th overall by the Texas Rangers in 1998 and went on to hit 286 big league homers over a 14-year career. Ottavino is the only other first-rounder from the program.
“When I got there as a coach, I heard a lot about Adam and how talented he was, but also how generous he was giving back to the program,” Glavine said. “Nothing but great things to say about everything I’ve heard about him. I had a chance to meet him, got to talk to him a little bit when I became the head coach. Went to his Hall of Fame induction at Northeastern when he was inducted.
“I invited him to be a guest speaker at a leadoff event a couple years ago. He’s been around and it’s great to have him back in Boston.”
Glavine said he’s hoping to get Ottavino to Brookline as soon as the right-hander gets back to Boston.
Civale was there this week and threw live batting practice to Huskies’ hitters.
“I’ve had a lot of old college friends, and my old college coach, a lot of people texting me that are very excited about this,” Ottavino said when he was traded from the Yankees to the Sox on Monday. “So it’s nice to know I have support from New England on this one and just looking forward to it.”
During his time at NU, Ottavino went to Fenway Park regularly “to get the standing room tickets after practice, especially if Pedro (Martinez) or (Curt) Schilling was pitching, to try to watch those guys from behind home plate and up the stairs.”
The Red Sox recently drafted pitcher Sebastian Keane out of North Andover in the 11th round of the 2019 draft, but Keane chose to go to NU, becoming the first Northeastern pitcher ever to forgo his draft selection to go to school.
Said Glavine, “To see a lot of our guys get drafted and signed in the last 10 years has been pretty awesome.”
