Winter is finally over--at least for baseball lovers who are happy about the start of spring training. Fans at MIT can now follow one of their own--Jason Szuminski (S.B. 2000)--as he tries to make the major-league roster of the San Diego Padres.
Szuminski, who attended MIT on an ROTC scholarship and received his degree in aerospace engineering, is a right-handed pitcher. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in June 2000 and went to the Padres in December 2003 as a Rule V draftee, meaning the Padres must keep him on the major-league roster all season if he makes the team out of spring training. (see MIT Tech Talk, Jan. 14, 2004).
The Alumni Association's web site has a story about Szuminski (http://alum.mit.edu/ne/noteworthy/szuminski.html) that includes links to a weblog containing short, periodic updates on his progress, as well as a page where alumni can offer their own opinions and comments about whether Szuminski's MIT education will give him an advantage as a major-league pitcher.
Szuminski's complete minor-league statistics can be found at http://www.sports-wired.com.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 3, 2004.
