June 11, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - La Salle junior TJ Chism has been selected by the New York Mets in the 32nd round of the 2009 Major League Draft on Thursday afternoon. Chism was taken with the 974th pick and was the first Philadelphia area college player selected and the 11th from the Atlantic 10 Conference.
"The coaching staff along with the La Salle administration and his teammates would like to congratulate TJ on his selection and are very proud of him," said Head Baseball Coach Mike Lake. "As one of my recruits, I am really excited for him, and no matter what decision he makes, we support him. We know that he will make his family, his teammates, the coaching staff and La Salle University proud."
The Sun Valley, PA product put up some incredible numbers at the plate this season, which helped him earn a Philadelphia Big 5 First Team selection, however the Mets took the southpaw as a pitcher and would use him on the mound.
Chism, who is working towards a degree in business management, still has one year of eligibility left and will have to decide whether to return to the Explorers for one more season or sign with the Mets.
During the 2009 season, he pitched in 10 games, made seven starts and was 1-3 with a 7.80 ERA. He did save one game while throwing 30.0 innings and striking out 34 batters for a strikeout per nine inning rate of 10.2 - the best on the team for pitchers with at least 10 IP.
In his three years on the mound in the Blue and Gold, Chism is 4-8 with a 6.69 ERA in 35 games, with nine starts. He had the one save, threw 76.2 innings and struck out 82 batters.
Chism joins former teammates Craig Muschko, Gerard Breslin, and Rich Prall as MLB draftees, who were all selected during the 2007 draft.
It was a historic three days for the Atlantic 10 Conference as 10 of the schools had at least one player selected and 16 student-athletes were taken overall. To see the complete list and release click here.
KYW's Matt Leon caught up with Chism and spoke to the latest Explorer draft choice. To hear the entire interview click here, the link is on the left side near the bottom of the page. Pieces of the interview can be heard Friday on 1060 AM during midday sports.
On Sunday, June 14, Chism signed with the ballclub and is currently playing for the Kingsport Mets. Follow the now former Explorer on the team's website.
