Todd Peterson: At the Top of His Game
How Todd Peterson went from a kid from Orlando, to an internet sensation at LSU, to the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ most clutch closer.
Katie Francis | April 26, 2024
Today, Todd Peterson is the MiLB leader in saves with six at the beginning of his third season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Growing up in Orlando, Peterson enjoyed mixed martial arts, golf, and dominating his opponents in soccer. As a young kid, he never expressed interest in playing baseball, let alone choosing the sport as his career path.
That is, until one fateful day at Target, one that the right-handed pitcher recalls quite vividly.
“I remember I was walking around Target, and I saw this bright green bat,” Peterson says. Nine years old at the time, he was awestruck and bought the bat with little to no hesitation. “Then I started swinging and I was hitting balls really far, and then started playing baseball.”
From then on, the game was in his life. He continued with other hobbies like playing basketball with his dad and friends, but baseball quickly became Peterson’s top priority. Despite being 6’5” heading into high school, he decided not to try out for Lake Mary’s basketball team and instead pursued the school’s baseball team, focused solely on becoming the best he could be.
Once he made the team, Peterson faced another decision that would determine the course of his adult life and professional career. Lake Mary’s varsity coach gave him the option: to become strictly a pitcher on varsity or play on JV with opportunities to pitch, bat, and field.
“At that point, I kind of knew that pitching was what I was going to do,” Peterson says. In his four years, he was named a 2016 Perfect Game All-American and was rated among the country’s Top 400 College prospects by Baseball America.
Despite not hitting in games, his choice to become a varsity pitcher didn’t mean that he completely threw away the thing that got him into the sport in the first place. Peterson would hit batting practice often with his teammates, but it wasn’t until college that he got a rare opportunity to step up to the batter’s box.
He attended Louisiana State University studying interdisciplinary studies and was a valued member of the LSU baseball team’s bullpen.
Looking back, Peterson recalls memories with the team’s accomplishments, as well as his personal achievements that led him to professional ball. He looks back fondly on his entire experience at LSU, from the Zombie movie classes he took every Thursday his junior year to the lasting impact that LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri had on him in three years.
“Through my college career, he didn't want to just make you the best baseball player, but wanted to make you the best man that you could be, you know, really make you a good person and taught a lot of life lessons.”
Despite all of this, many people don’t focus on his pitching career at LSU but rather harp on the only collegiate at bat he ever had.
Louisiana State took on South Carolina in the third round of the 2018 SEC Tournament, and the game was tied at three to force extra innings. Peterson, a sophomore, pitched the final five of twelve innings for LSU, but he also had a chance to contribute on offense – an opportunity he did not take lightly. With two runners on and two outs in the top of the 12th, Peterson stepped up to the plate with one goal in mind, “Go yard.”
Meantime, Coach Mainieri had just told him to do the exact opposite. “I told him, ‘Don’t swing…Stand there and don’t get hurt, you’re still in the game,’” he told ESPN reporters postgame. After stretching the truth about his previous batting experience and risking injury, it all paid off. Peterson hit an RBI double off the left-field wall to put the Tigers up two and then took the mound to finish off the 6-4 win.
Even now, Peterson says he still gets recognized and asked about it from time to time. “Can’t live it down,” he says. “It was a great moment.”
The following year, when Peterson was a junior and LSU was preparing for the Super Regional series against Florida State, he was selected in the 2019 MLB Draft. Peterson watched from his friend’s laptop surrounded with friends and family in his college apartment. He received “the phone call” from his agent, and was selected by the Washington Nationals in the seventh round.
“It was pretty exciting,” he recalls. “You know, I was really looking forward to getting going from there. I knew it was gonna be a great opportunity and a great organization to be a part of.”
Six years and five seasons later, Peterson is still working in the Nationals organization. 2024 is his third season with the Blue Rocks, and the 26-year-old says that his out-of-the-gate start is very different than previous years.
“I've always had a rough start, didn't know what it was and then postseason comes around and I'm always at the best of my game. You know, I'm always throwing the hardest that I've thrown my stuff is the sharpest it'll be. Mentally I'm just locked in ready to go.”
So, what’s changed? How did he go from consecutive slow starts to leading the league in saves?
Peterson says that it’s all about his mindset.
“It's almost like I was doing circles for the last couple of years, and then I finally broke out of that circle, and now I'm in a really clear headspace. I'm having a great time pitching and playing baseball.”
He is undoubtedly one of the biggest personalities on the Blue Rocks, but Peterson’s new ability to switch from fun to business in a snap applies immediately when he hits the mound. The team is performing well and leads the South Atlantic League and a lot of that has to do with the clutch performances he has demonstrated in final innings.
When asked about his personal goals for season, “Just dominate,” he says bluntly. So far, so good.
Yay or Nay for Pay to Play?
Katie Francis | November 10, 2019
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has received scrutiny due to treatment of their athletes for a while – but now more than ever. This is because of the recent law passed that gave hope to people wishing that these athletes would be compensated for their play.
According to NBC New’s Alex Johnson, California Governor Gavin Newson signed legislation “allowing college athletes to hire agents and to be paid for endorsements and the use of their images.” Newsom’s support for players to be paid for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) sparked an uproar of agreement from dedicated NCAA sports fans.
There are multiple factors that go into this complicated controversy, and it seems that nobody has an easy fix that will make everyone happy. However, something must be done in order to make things right for the hardworking players. Without them, the NCAA would not exist, let alone produce income.
The NCAA’s side of the story:
The NCAA’s firm stance is backed by their commitment to the purity of amateurism and members of the NCAA fear that the division between professional and amateur will disappear with college level salaries.
Multiple representatives from the NCAA have voiced their opinions on Newsom’s legislation.
The Pacific-12 put out a news release very quickly after the bill was ratified, claiming that it would have “very significant negative consequences” because it would “professionalize” college athletes in California. According to John Feinstein from the Washington Post, “Commissioner Larry Scott didn’t put his name on the release, but he did say that the law would somehow affect “Olympic sports,” which is the current NCAA euphemism for non revenue sports.”
The latter: NCAA players should be Paid
In the interviews I conducted in order for me to take a side on this topic, almost everyone I talked to told me that NCAA athletes should be paid in some way. Along with the information I have researched, it is clear that college athletes deserve compensation.
Although small sample sizes, majority believe that NCAA athletes should be paid, and with no limit.
Sports Director for Rowan University’s radio station Gary Erdelyi has strong opinions on the controversy. He agreed that players should get paid for use of their name, image, and likeness, but admitted that the situation gets tricky when deciding on salaries for particular players.
“I think players should get paid by what they bring in. So, Joe Borrow, the quarterback for Louisiana State University should make more than Jay Vandermark of Rowan soccer, because Borrow generates way more revenue.”
His point is proven here in this chart from Business Insider. NCAA football brings in much more revenue than soccer, so it would make sense that those players would deserve more money.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
When asked about how much money these athletes should make, Erdelyi said, “They aren’t going to make a ridiculous amount of money, but it’ll be enough for them to have some extra funds as most of these kids come from tough living conditions.”
Rowan University student Rylee Meyer shared a similar opinion regarding the welfare of college athletes. “Even with full scholarships, most of these athletes are coming from places that are under middle class…and that doesn’t mean I support them making hundreds of thousands of dollars like professional athletes, but at least make some form of compensation,” she said.
Much of this argument goes well with the heartbreaking story of Shabazz Napier, when he shared his struggles with affording food after leading his UConn basketball team to victory in the NCAA championship.
This CNN article highlights the fact that millions of dollars are being made off of him, yet he goes to bed starving some nights.
“They make so much money for their schools, that it blows my mind that they can’t get any of that revenue in return,” Meyer said. And she’s not wrong.
Even the experts are weighing in on the controversy. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas is all for the athlete’s gaining monetary compensation. “What the NCAA has done in the last 40 days is nothing based on principle…like they always do, they’re reacting…Their abandonment of any form of principle is frankly embarrassing,” Bilas told USA Today.
I made this blatantly obvious chart to prove why people like Larry Scott are not looking to change the way the NCAA is run.
Much like the difference in salaries between businessmen and athletes in the NCAA, there is a very unbalanced argument in this case. My findings made it evident that the only people who do not support paying college athletes are those that are catered to by the current system.
Kingsway’s 3-2 Win Over Shawnee at Kingsway’s Senior Night
Katie Francis | 2019
Kingsway Ice Hockey recognized their 12 seniors and came out victorious at their regular season game against Shawnee at Hollydell Ice Arena last Friday night.
Families and students from Kingsway Regional packed the stands to cheer on the Dragons and their dedication did not go unnoticed. Head Coach Chris Francis said “The crowd was awesome. It really gave us some good energy, and a nice tribute to the seniors.”
Even the players agreed that having fans there was motivating to pull out the win.
“We fed off of the energy and loved everyone’s passion,” junior Nicky Bellapigna said.
The game started off with two early points for Kingsway with goals scored by senior Chris Francis and sophomore Jason Player.
The 2-0 lead didn’t last, with Shawnee’s Bobby Falese and Tyler Murray putting their team on the board to tie it up 2-2 by midway through the second period. With 3 minutes left in the second period, Brian Barnett scored an unassisted even strength goal to return the lead to Kingsway.
Goaltenders Shay Perry (Shawnee) and Mike Lieze (Kingsway) each shut out their opponents in the third period, leaving the final score of 3-2, despite Shawnee’s attempt at adding a sixth skater towards the end of the game. Perry played 43 minutes and finished the game with 26 saves. Kingsway’s Coach Francis recalls, “Our goalies, Thompson and Lieze, played real well.” Senior Lynn Thompson played the first half with 11 saves and Lieze sealed the deal with 18.
Before Friday’s game, Kingsway was tied for third place, but the win helped them surpass the tie with Williamstown and into second place, while Shawnee is tied for first place with Egg Harbor.
Beating the first-place team was a morale boost for the Dragons, who were previously 3-5-0. As for the future and playoffs, Nicky Bellapigna (assist) is optimistic.
“This win collectively strengthens our team’s morale and ends us on a high note for the playoffs. We build from it and continue to move forward to reach our goal, the championship.”