Jason Szuminski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jason Szuminski in 2004

Jason Szuminski (born December 11, 1978 in San Diego, California, United States), was a right-handed pitcher who has the distinction of being the first person from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the only United States Air Force reservist (as a First Lieutenant) to play in Major League Baseball.

Szuminski was a 27th round draft pick in 2000 by the Chicago Cubs and was signed by Cubs' scout Tom Shafer. He was a Rule 5 draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 2004 and earned a spot on the 25-man Major League roster through a strong showing in spring training. During his brief stint in the Majors, Szuminski, on account of his military background, was selected to toss out the ceremonial first pitch for the Padres on their first ever "Military Appreciation Nignt" (April 15, 2004) to honor the large armed forces community in the San Diego area. In his first major league appearance, a nationally televised Sunday night game against the San Francisco Giants, Szuminski pitched a scoreless inning, in the process recording the third out against home run champion Barry Bonds on a long fly ball to the warning track.

Due the Padres' early-season successes, Szuminski, a long reliever out of the bullpen, saw limited game action. In May 2004, he was dropped from the Padres' 25-man roster and returned to the Cubs (per terms of Rule 5) after incurring just 37 days of Major League service. After one more year with the Cubs' Triple-AAA affiliate in Iowa, Szuminski injured his throwing shoulder and was released by the organization. He has since been out of baseball.