BY MIKE SEITZ, STAFF WRITER
With the 395th pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers select Cole Peterson, a shortstop from St. Bonaventure University. Peterson had now met a lifelong goal of his, playing professional baseball.
Peterson played his high school baseball at Johnsonburg Area High School in north-central Pennsylvania. He earned the Small School Player of the Year award following his sophomore, junior and senior seasons and was named First Team All-State following his junior year. Peterson was nearly unstoppable both on the mound and at the plate during his senior year at Johnsonburg. He notched a .473 batting average and pitched to a 10-0 record with a 0.90 earned run average.
He arrived on the campus at St. Bonaventure in the fall of 2014 before beginning his freshman season in the spring of 2015. “I graduated high school with 50 other students, so I wanted a smaller environment. This, among other reasons, made Bonaventure the perfect fit from both an educational and baseball standpoint,” said Peterson. As a freshman, Peterson was only one of three players to start all 47 games. He posted a .277 average notching 49 hits and 14 RBIs in 177 at-bats. His sophomore year, the shortstop earned Atlantic 10 Second Team honors hitting .289 with a team-high 11 doubles, three triples and 26 RBIs.
Peterson entered his junior season as one of the top shortstops in the country. He would take home All-Atlantic 10 First Team honors and help the Bonnies clinch its first Atlantic 10 Tournament birth in nearly a decade. “My favorite baseball related memory definitely has to be making the A-10 Tournament my junior year. It was very special to us since the team had not been there in a long time,” said Peterson. He would hit .335 with 21 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs in 2017. Peterson also showed his speed and defensive abilities by swiping a league-high 24 bases and posting a .965 fielding percentage.
Peterson had to wait until day three of the MLB Draft to be selected but missed his name being called. “I wasn’t nervous. I was antsy. I actually went outside to shoot hoops and my family came running out to tell me I had been drafted, so I missed the actual announcement,” said Peterson.
After being drafted, Peterson would play a short season with low-A level Connecticut before his first full season in 2018. He would split time between Low-A West Michigan and High-A Lakeland where he hit .257. 2019 saw Peterson play at three different levels including AA Erie and AAA Toledo. After a lost year in 2020 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, he spent the majority of 2021 with AAA Toledo.
Life in the minor leagues took its toll on Peterson, though. “It wasn’t a real fun lifestyle. Once you got to high-A, you were on your own for living. There were four or five of us in a little apartment and I had to sleep on an air mattress,” said Peterson. The quality of living did improve as Peterson stayed with a cousin during his time in Erie and then in a nicer apartment when he was promoted to Toledo.
After four season in the minor leagues, the shortstop decided to hang the cleats up for good following the 2021 campaign. “The wear and tear of the last four years was a lot to take in. Traveling everywhere via bus was tough,” said Peterson. Physical and mental exhaustion was not the only reason he cited for retiring. “I feel like baseball is starting to focus on money and politics just like the rest of the world. I understand baseball is a business, but it started to get to be too much,” said Peterson.
So, what’s next for Cole Peterson? Not only are him and his wife are expecting their first child in December, but he is also finishing his senior year at Bonaventure. “I made the trip back to campus a few weeks ago and met with my advisor. I am all set up to begin classes this winter and finish my degree,” said Peterson. He plans on graduating with a sports management major and a business minor via an online route through the university.
seitzmr19@bonaventure.edu
