It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been 35 years since Ken Lelek first heard his name called in the Major League Baseball draft, but last month\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s annual free agent selection bridged a more than three-decade gap to the Monroe Community College hall-of-famer.<\/p>\n
When the Oakland Athletics picked Chris Bostick in the 44th<\/a> round of the 2011 draft, it was the first time a graduate of Aquinas Institute was chosen since the Montreal Expos plucked Lelek in the second round of the 1975 January draft.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I got letters from teams interested in having me try out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lelek recalled. I know Montreal sent one, and I think Cincinnati. There was a kid named Kevin Newby. Montreal took us up to Jarry Park. I remember going up there with a scout and having us work with the team.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n The Expos offered a $500 bonus and monthly stipend, but Lelek decided to stay at MCC.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They would have put me on their rookie league team in Alberta, Canada,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lelek recalled. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready. I was just out of high school. I wanted to play professional baseball, but I wanted an education.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n The 6\u00e2\u20ac\u21222? right-hander, who grew up near St. Stanislaus church on Rochester\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s northeast side, tossed 44 innings in seven appearances for Dave Chamberlain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1975 Tribunes posting five wins without a loss and adding a save. Lelek led the Tribs to the Region 3 baseball championship hurling a complete game striking out six, walking three and allowing an unearned run as Monroe routed Broome Tech 9-1.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was really mixing up his pitches ,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Coach Chamberlain said after that triumph 36 years ago. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d throw some fastballs, some curves and then he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d throw knucklers up there. It was probably the finest ball he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitched in his life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n He earned a shot at redemption in the MLB draft when the Pittsburgh Pirates tabbed Lelek in the third round the following January.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wanted to stay at MCC,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lelek explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was a nationally recognized program, and we had a great team.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Lelek made good on his decision anchoring a Monroe staff that won its first of seven Northeast District Junior College championships. He became the first hurler in MCC history to toss a pitch in the World Series. He struck out 12 batters in that game but took the loss as MCC fell to eventual champion Arizona Community College.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We kicked the ball around behind him that day,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Chamberlain recounted. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help his cause, but you never saw Ken Lelek change his approach. He had a great career at MCC.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Over his two seasons with the Tribs, Lelek went 10-2 with an ERA of 1.57.<\/p>\n Major League clubs did not shy away from him. The Chicago Cubs chose Lelek in the fourth round of the June 1976 draft.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My dad always said if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re good enough to play, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to find you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lelek said.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wanted to get my degree.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n He chose to accept a scholarship to attend Bowling Green University thus spurning three Major League clubs in two years.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Cubs offered me decent money, but I wanted them to match what Bowling Green was giving me in scholarship.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Lelek\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s selection capped a seven-year span that saw 12 Tribunes earn 14 draft picks. Peter Castle led off for Monroe when the Pirates chose the right-hander in the sixth round of the June 1970 draft. Two years later, the reigning World Series champion Bucs took Al Dreschler in the seventh round. Charles Steffen heard his name called twice the following year \u00e2\u20ac\u201d first in January by the Bucos and then in June by the New York Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 The denizens of Three Rivers also took Bill Muoio in the 11th round of the January selection.<\/p>\n The Tribs made a splash in the 1974 when four MCC diamond men were taken. The Pittsburgh nine chose John Pilato (4th round), Robert Harold (5th), James Del Re (6th) and Randy Law (10th) in the January draft.<\/p>\n In 1976, the Cincinnati Reds chose Tom Dimino (17th), and the Cleveland Indians took James Johnson (11th).<\/p>\n In all, the Tribs have earned 29 draft selections<\/a> in the program\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 47-year history. This number does not include players like Greg Keagle and Cory Brownsten who went on to four-year schools before being drafted.<\/p>\n Keagle finished his college career at Florida International before the San Diego Padres <\/a>made him a sixth-round pick.\u00c2\u00a0 The native of Corning, New York made 23 starts and 46 appearances over three seasons for the Detroit Tigers.<\/p>\n The Atlanta Braves took Cory Brownsten in the 15th round of the 2010 draft<\/a>. As a rookie, he hit .287 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 34 Gulf Coast League games and earned a late season call-up playing one game with the Danville Braves of the Appalachian League. He went 3-4 with a team-high five RBI to close out the camapign. Currently, Brownsten plays with the Rome Braves in the Class A South Atlantic League<\/a>.<\/p>\n Further, a number of Tribs like Dave Brust and Patrick Urckfitz have signed free agent contracts with Major League teams.<\/p>\n Urckfitz signed with the Houston Astros in 2008 less than two months <\/a>after leading the Black and Gold to a third place finish in the 2008 JUCO World Series.\u00c2\u00a0 The left-hander from Penfield, New York pitches for the\u00c2\u00a0 Corpus Christi Hooks \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Astros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/a>Double-A affiliate in the Texas League.<\/p>\n Brust signed with the Atlanta Braves in 1989 <\/a>and played three years in the organization including two for the Durham Bulls under the direction of head coach Grady Little. He earned a third-team All-American nomination in 1987 leading MCC at the plate hitting .423 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. The Cardinal Mooney high school graduate went on to Ball State University where he was a two-time team captain and MVP.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/a>Brust is in his fourth season at the helm of the Webster Yankees <\/a>in the New York Collegiate Baseball League<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 A change in the NYCBL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s by-laws allowed Brust and Webster to sign Bostick for the summer season.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He raises the bar for everybody,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Brust about the AQ grad. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious he is talented, but he brings a level of confidence especially on the defensive side. He gives us a lot of versatility. His ability to make plays has already bailed us out a couple of times.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Bostick will have to choose between professional baseball or classes and diamond work at St. John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s University.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tossup,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bostick said when asked if he will sign with the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s or take advantage of a college scholarship. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even started negotiating.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There have been a lot of great players out of Aquinas,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bostick noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To be the one picked means a lot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Bostick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s high school coach, Mark Magliocco \u00e2\u20ac\u201c also an AQ and MCC alum, has no doubt his former player will succeed.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153From day one I have been telling people this kid is unbelievable,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the 11th-year coach of the Li\u00e2\u20ac\u2122l Irish.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He played every position in the field as a freshman. He is so fluid in his movements.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Like his predecessor 35 years ago, Bostick is in the enviable position of choice.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wish Chris all the best,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lelek added.<\/p>\n Lelek is the only Tribune who can boast being selected by three different big league clubs.\u00c2\u00a0 In the end, he never pitched an inning of professional baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 He tore the medial collateral ligament in his pitching elbow during his first semester at Bowling Green. While 21st century players need at least twelve months to recover from such a procedure, Lelek returned to pitch three months after surgery. He was pain free but lost his velocity.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any regrets,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lelek said when asked about his opportunity lost. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If I was to change anything, I would have redshirted my senior season to allow my elbow to heal.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been 35 years since Ken Lelek first heard his name called in the Major League Baseball draft, but last month\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s annual free agent selection bridged a more than three-decade gap to the Monroe Community College hall-of-famer. When the Oakland Athletics picked Chris Bostick in the 44th round of the 2011 draft, it was the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collegiate"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t