Jaspers’ Cosgrove plucked by Padres in MLB draft  

Tom Cosgrove knew the call was coming. But as he would come to learn, the waiting was the hardest part.

The Major League Baseball amateur draft was beginning its third and final day last week and Cosgrove, a junior lefthander for Manhattan College, was sitting on pins and needles. The day before, when rounds three through 10 were announced, there were a couple of false alarms where Cosgrove, along with his family and friends, got word that several teams were jockeying to choose him.

Only those team’s picks came and went without a phone call to Cosgrove. 

“It happens all the time when people say they are going to take you and then they don’t take you, and that happened a few times to me (last Tuesday) with a few teams,” Cosgrove said. “So I wasn’t really relieved until I saw my name pop up.”

It was early afternoon last Wednesday when the call came. Tom Cosgrove, on his 21st birthday no less, was selected in the 12th round by the San Diego Padres. It’s the team that, geographically, is farthest from his Staten Island home. But for the kid who grew up a Mets fan, distance doesn’t matter — Cosgrove’s dream of playing professional baseball was one step closer to being realized.

“I pretty much had a feeling I was going to go anywhere from (round) 11 through 15,” said Cosgrove, who led the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in strikeouts this season with 105. That matched the school record held by Chris Cody. 

“But it was pretty stressful. There were maybe three or four times when I was expecting my name to be called next and it wasn’t. But that’s just how it goes. It’s nobody’s fault.

“There are a lot of good players in the draft, and it’s just the way things shake out sometimes,” Cosgrove said. “I wasn’t worried. I knew I’d hear my name at some point. But it was a relief when it was finally called.”

The call from the Padres put an end to what had been a day filled with emotional highs and lows for Cosgrove. 

“I think it was more nerve-wracking because it was the last day of the draft and a lot of names were being called,” said Cosgrove, who is the first Jaspers player drafted since Anthony Vega went to the Baltimore Orioles in the 30th round of the 2012 draft.

 “(Tuesday) I had some room that if I didn’t get picked I still had (Wednesday). But the names started popping up very quickly on the last day, and I was watching very closely and it was really a nervous time.”

Cosgrove said he had a small celebration after his selection with his mom, dad, sister and girlfriend, and planned to stage a much bigger shindig with more friends and family later. But after hearing his name called, Cosgrove said he reflected on all the work and all the games and all the practices that ultimately led to his dream day. Like being named the MAAC pitcher of the week twice this past season, and recording double-digit totals in strikeouts four times.

“A day like this definitely makes it all worth it,” Cosgrove said. “Even if I didn’t get drafted and didn’t go on to play pro ball, it was still all worth it because of the friends I’ve made along the way and the lessons I’ve learned. It’s been a good ride so far, and I’m glad it turned out like this. But I’m not done yet.”

Cosgrove was expected to fly to San Diego early this week to sign his first pro contract and find out where he will be assigned within the Padres organization. He’ll most likely end up with either the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League in Washington state, or one of the Padres’ two Arizona league rookie teams.  

Of course if the Padres’ contract offer isn’t to Cosgrove’s liking, he can still decline and return to Manhattan to pitch his senior season and enter the draft all over again. But the lefty with the Jacob DeGrom hair is only thinking positive about his baseball life going forward.

“This is definitely a great birthday present, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Cosgrove said. “I think being drafted by the Padres is a good spot for me. We’ll see how it goes when I start getting to work, but I’m sure everything will work out. 

“The goal is not (just) to get drafted. The goal is to make it to the big leagues. This is just the first step.”