ENDING WITH A BANG: Clint O’Brien takes a swing in action this spring in his senior season with the Gettysburg College baseball team. The former Princeton Day School star athlete saved his best for last in his college career as he hit .382 in 2012 with 50-hits in 131 at-bats and one homer and 23 RBIs. Over his first three years with the program, O’Brien had posted a .250 batting average with a total of 38 hits in 152 at-bats. Ending his career in style, O’Brien banged a homer in his final college at-bat.
(Photo by David Sinclair, Courtesy of Gettysburg College’s Office of Athletic Communications)

Some 52 years ago, Ted Williams ended his Hall of Fame career with the Boston Red Sox in style, clubbing a homer in his last major league at-bat.

This spring, former Princeton Day School star athlete Clint O’Brien took a page out of Williams’s book, culminating his Gettysburg College baseball career with a home run in his final plate appearance.

For O’Brien, that finale will be a moment he’ll never forget. “That felt great; that is how I wanted to end it,” said O’Brien, reflecting on the blast which came on May 1 in a loss to York (Pa.) College.

“That was incredible; I couldn’t believe it. Ask any of my teammates, I was trying to do that. Outside of winning a championship, that was the best way to end things.”

O’Brien’s career-ending heroics were made even sweeter considering that things didn’t always go well for him during his time at Gettysburg.

After starring in football, ice hockey, and baseball at PDS, O’Brien struggled in freshman year. He was a back-up receiver in football and went hitless in one plate appearance for the baseball team. A year later, he played his final season of football and did progress in baseball, hitting .283 with 13 hits in 46 at-bats.

In reflecting on his first two seasons at Gettysburg, O’Brien acknowledged that it was tough juggling football and baseball.

“I was still playing football as a freshman and didn’t have fall ball for baseball,” recalled O’Brien.

“In the football preseason, I went from quarterback to wide receiver and I went without throwing for a long time. After winter ball, I developed tendinitis in my shoulder and elbow and that shut me down for most of my freshman baseball season. Sophomore year was my last season of football. In baseball, I was the utility guy that year. I played left field, right field, center field, third base, and first base. I got back into the swing of things. My arm was healthy and I could throw.”

Focusing solely on baseball by his junior year, O’Brien was able to contribute more as he hit .229, going 24-for-105 with a homer and 16 RBIs.

“I had fall ball that year,” said O’Brien. “As a team, we were not as successful as I would have hoped. We had three juniors and five seniors on that team so it was a really young team. By the end of my junior year, we showed a lot of progress.”

As O’Brien looked ahead to this spring, he was primed to take a key role in building on that progress as a team captain and the lone senior starter.

“It felt good to be captain, that alone made me more ready to step into a leadership position,” said O’Brien.

“Every game, I was the only senior on the field, so I had to be the guy who set the example. I had that experience in the past so it was nothing new for me. My goal was to hit around .400 the whole year.”

O’Brien’s senior year nearly turned into a frustrating experience as he suffered a hand injury early in the season. The 6’3, 205-pound O’Brien, though, didn’t let the pain keep him from producing a banner season as he hit .382, going 50-for-131 with one homer and 23 RBIs.

“In our second-to-last day in Florida, I put a tag on a runner and hurt my left thumb,” said O’Brien, who was the team’s starting first baseman.

“I missed only one game and was the designated hitter in a few games. My swing was OK; it affected my power. Squeezing the glove was the toughest thing.”

The Bullets got into the swing of things this spring as they went 25-13 to post the fourth-highest win total in program history, a marked improvement on the 2011 season which saw them go 12-23.

“It was a great way to go out,” asserted O’Brien, reflecting on the season.

“We had really good guys and a great team chemistry. It was easy for me to rediscover my passion for the game.”

Igniting that passion helped O’Brien regain his status as a star performer. “Not being able to show up and contribute was something that was completely foreign to me,” said O’Brien, who is currently working in media sales for an internet start-up in New York City. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it.”