Biography
By Jim Hague
When Matt Lingo arrived at Rutgers-Newark to begin his baseball career three years ago, he was basically a player without a position.
“He was an outfielder that we were converting into a first baseman,” Rutgers-Newark head baseball coach Mark Rizzi said. “And he really didn’t a chance to play much his first two years here. He maybe had 10 or 15 at-bats for his first two years (actually 22 plate appearances). A lot of other guys would have quit, but Matt stuck with it. He was getting squeezed out of playing time, but he never let that get to him.”
“Because I knew I was playing behind good players, I never let it get to me,” Lingo said. “I enjoyed my role and understood my place on the team. The coaches told me that I wasn’t going to play right away. I knew that I would eventually get my chance.”
After patiently waiting his turn for two years, Lingo finally had a chance to get some playing time in 2009 as a junior.
“I honestly didn’t know how good he was going to be, because he really never got the chance to play,” Rizzi said. “But he finally got the chance and he earned the right to play every day.”
Lingo responded by hitting .331 with five homers and 33 RBI as a junior. This season, it’s been more of the same, hitting .317 with five dingers and 32 runs batted in. That’s called consistency.
“I knew that I could be consistent if given the chance,” Lingo said. “That’s the hardest part about being a ballplayer, being consistent. It’s pretty funny how it all turned out.”
Rizzi is also impressed with the way Lingo hits the ball with authority into the gaps.
“In the beginning of the season, we had a base running drill, where the players run according to the hit,” Rizzi said. “Well, instead of calling them doubles, I started calling them ‘Lingos’ because of the way he hits the gaps. Every so often, he puts one out, but he constantly finds the gaps.”
Rizzi likes the way Lingo carries himself as a player.
“He’s definitely professional with his approach,” Rizzi said. “He’s very quiet and works hard. He knows what he has to do and goes about his business. It works for him. He’s improved tremendously. He’s also still learning, since this is only the second year he’s played first base. He’s still in that learning process.”
Rizzi wishes he had more time with the senior, who hails from Mechanicsburg, Pa.
“He now knows what pitches he can hit and which ones he can’t,” Rizzi said. “It’s made him a better all-around player. He tries his best to lay off the bad pitches and he has a tremendous amount of power.”
Rizzi said that Lingo worked hard in the off-season to get ready for his final year.
“He came in so much stronger and bigger this year,” Rizzi said. “It’s really been an amazing transformation. His work in the weight room has physically helped him to be a better player. It’s helped him a great deal.”
“It’s paid off tremendously,” Lingo said. “When I was a freshman and a sophomore, I weighed 180 pounds and could barely get the ball out of the infield. But the work in the weight room really paid off.”
Lingo said that he knew that he had become so much stronger during the Scarlet Raiders’ off-season trip to Italy, playing several games there.
“I hit one there about 420 feet with a wood bat,” Lingo said. “That’s when I knew I could do it.”
Lingo also began his junior year with a 400-foot blast at Rutgers University in Piscataway, another sign that he had increased strength.
Rizzi said that Lingo has been working hard at becoming a better defensive first baseman as well.
“Lou Politan (the Scarlet Raiders’ assistant) has worked with Matt a lot with his footwork,” Rizzi said. “Lou was a first baseman when he played, so he knows. He has worked with Matt to be more aggressive in the field. That’s his only problem. He waits for the ball to come to him. He’s improved, especially moving laterally. He’s going after ball he never even tried to get before. He still has a lot to learn, but by just being comfortable in the position, he’s better and he’s better by being aggressive.”
“I played a lot of positions in high school, but playing first base was a little different for me,” Lingo said. “At first, I had to get used to the foot work, but I had the help of some good coaches. I eventually got used to it.”
Lingo grew up in a part of central Pennsylvania that is known for football. Mechanicsburg was the home of Shawn Abner, the first overall pick in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft, taken by the Mets, but never lived up to the billing. But football was the main sport in Lingo’s hometown.
“It’s definitely a football town, but I was strictly a baseball player,” Lingo said. “Mechanicsburg is so close to Harrisburg, so I was used to city life when I came to Newark. It wasn’t too bad for me.”
Lingo is a criminal justice major with a minor in psychology at R-N. He hopes to become a police officer after graduation next month.
“I would eventually like to work for the DEA,” Lingo said. “I’ll start off as a police officer and work my way up.”
Much like he did as a baseball player at Rutgers-Newark. It’s safe to say Lingo has made the most of his collegiate career and college life.
“I definitely wouldn’t change a thing,” Lingo said. “I am happy to be a part of this team and proud of my teammates. I hope we can accomplish something good this year.”
“He’s a bat I’m going to miss a lot,” Rizzi said. “He developed into a legitimate college power hitter from the left side. You don’t find that often. He will be missed. We really didn’t reward him with a starting position. He just stuck it out.”
