St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Pitcher Jim Wladyka Signs Free Agent Contract with New York Mets
6/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 15, 2005
Queens, NY - St. John's University senior pitcher Jim Wladyka (Rutherford, NJ) has signed a free agent contract with the New York Mets, it was announced today.
Wladyka was a baseball fan growing up in Northern New Jersey. Like most kids, he pulled for his father's favorite team, in this case the Los Angeles Dodgers. Upon receiving a call from the Mets on Wednesday afternoon, the right-handed pitcher said he'd be making the Mets his favorite team after the team just down the road from the University offered him a contract.
Wladyka is the seventh Red Storm baseball player to have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft or signed to a professional contract this year.
Red Storm junior All-American pitcher Craig Hansen (Glen Cove, NY) was selected by the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox with the 26th pick of the first round, the highest a St. John's player had been selected since C.J. Nitkowski was taken with the ninth pick of the first round in 1994.
Hansen was one of five St. John's players selected in the first day of the draft. Other St. John's players selected in the first day of the draft included junior pitcher Anthony Varvaro (Staten Island, NY), who was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 12th round, the third pick of the round and the 353rd overall. Junior center fielder Greg Thomson (Levittown, NY) was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the first pick of the 15th round (the 441st overall), senior shortstop P.J. Antoniato (Levittown, NY) was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 16th pick of the 15th round (the 457th overall) and senior catcher Joe Burke (Brooklyn, NY) was selected by the New York Yankees with the 16th pick of the 18th round (the 559th pick overall). Sophomore pitcher Anthony Sullivan (Arlington, MA) was the last player drafted, taken in the 19th round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
For Wladyka, it had been a tense seven days. While he hoped he might hear his named called during the two days of the draft, he wasn't really expecting anything. It was after the draft that he figured something might happen. "It wasn't tough," Wladyka said from his home in Rutherford. "Every time the phone rang, though, I was just hoping. It wasn't really hard on me because I had no say. I did what I could this year and hoped that would be enough. I just wanted an opportunity."
He got that on Wednesday, as a regional scout for the Mets called Wladyka and asked him if he was still interested in playing ball. "They asked me if I was interested, and I just asked where they wanted me and when I needed to be there," he said as he packed for the trip to Florida. "If they wanted me there today, I would have found a way."
One of the team's four captains, Wladyka finished the 2005 season with a 7-3 record and a 3.20 earned run average. A third-team All-BIG EAST selection, he finished fifth in innings pitched (90.0), seventh in strikeouts (74) and seventh in opponent batting average (.220). He earned his degree in finance, carrying a 3.47 grade-point average and earning BIG EAST/Aeropostale Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.
Wladyka will report to the Mets spring training home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he will work out with some of the team's draft picks and free agent signees.
He will be assigned to one of two short-season A level teams, either in Port St. Lucie or with the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League. "I call everyone and they're crying," he said. "I'm trying to figure out why because it's the best moment you could ask for. They're tears of joy, I guess."
Wladyka is the fifth St. John's player to sign a professional contract. Antoniato is currently in Clearwater, Florida and is expected to play with the Batavia (NY) Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League. Burke signed with the Yankees and is currently training with first-year players in Tampa and will open the season with the Staten Island Yankees next week. Thomson signed on Tuesday with the Diamondbacks and will report to their training camp in Montana, where he expects to play with either the Missoula Osprey in rookie ball or the Yakima Bears of the A League . Sullivan signed with the Angels and is at their training complex in Mesa, Arizona. He will open the season on June 21 with the Orem (UT) Owlz of the Pioneer League.
