MAKING AN IMPACT.

And like his role models, Farkes is not all jock. Not surprisingly, the English and American Literature concentrator lists reading and writing among his interests, which accounts for the presence of Hemingway, Thoreau and even W.P. Kinsella on that list.

But it’s the jock side—or, more accurately, the baseball side—that makes Zak Farkes so important to Harvard baseball. They don’t hand out Rookie of the Year awards to just any Boston-area kid who makes a splash in college, even if coming in that kid was a four-year starter who won a total of 108 games in his high school career.

But Farkes was able to translate his prep success at Cambridge’s BB&N into early collegiate brilliance, starting every game for the Crimson and batting .308 his rookie season. He led the team with eight home runs and 89 total bases, finished third in the league in runs scored with 42 and was also the team leader in base-on-balls with 25.

That last statistic is a testament to his ability to work an at-bat, battling away until he either comes across something he likes or the pitcher caves and walks him.

“He’s one of those guys who’s incredibly focused throughout the entire game,” says fellow sophomore Lance Salsgiver. “But at the same time he has the ability to smile and laugh and have a good time.”

Salsgiver would know.

In addition to playing with Farkes for the Crimson, the two shared a field last summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League playing for the Torrington Twisters. The intense schedule and high caliber of play was a new but not unwelcome experience for Farkes.

“I think just facing the best pitching in the country day in, day out, with a wood bat, makes you a better player,” he says.

Harvard coach Joe Walsh noticed the improvement.

“I think that knowing how hard he’s worked over the offseason, the kid is so much stronger this year,” Walsh says. “Coming out of a small high school where he really hadn’t faced good pitching, you know he’s seen that [now]. He’s got the look and the desire right now that he can’t wait to get up to the plate.”

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

But adapting to play in the summer league was not the only adjustment Farkes had to make.

The offseason marked the first instance that he had been away from home for an extended period of time. Being close to his family has always been important to him, and was a major factor in his decision to go to Harvard, just a long fly ball’s distance from his own high school.

“The fact that Harvard’s such a good school, and they were recruiting me to come here, and it was so close to home, it was just a big bonus for me,” Farkes says.