St. John's University Athletics
Former St. John's Pitcher Jim Wladyka Named Kingsport Mets Pitcher of the Year
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 25, 2005
Queens, NY - Former St. John's University pitcher Jim Wladyka (Rutherford, NJ) lived the dream of a lifetime this summer. Despite not being selected in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, Wladyka signed a free agent contract with the New York Mets and was playing professional baseball.
He was signed a week after the draft, but Wladyka just wanted a chance. When he was given it, Wladyka took full advantage.
The right-hander has spent the season with the short-season A League Kingsport (TN) Mets of the Appalachian League. The Mets, who are 27-35 in the league's West Division with six games left in the season, named the rookie the team's Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday.
Wladyka has posted a 2-2 record with a team-best 2.15 earned run average, which ranks fourth in the league. In 17 appearances with three starts, he has thrown 46.0 innings, giving up 11 earned runs on 43 hits with 15 walks and 36 strikeouts. In his most recent outing, Wladyka threw six innings of scoreless relief in a 4-3, 15-inning loss, walking two and striking out seven in the process.
Wladyka was 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.
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.
