Bucknell University Athletics
2004 Bucknell Graduate Matt Daley Called Up to Colorado Rockies
4/23/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Less than five years after being signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies, 2004 Bucknell graduate Matt Daley was called up to the Rockies active roster on Wednesday. The right-handed pitcher will be in the bullpen on Friday when Colorado plays the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Daley, who was a member of two Patriot League championship teams while at Bucknell, has a chance to become the first Bucknell player to appear in a Major League Baseball game since Eric Junge '99 saw action in six games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003. A total of 22 Bison alums have appeared in the major leagues, including Hall of Fame member Christy Mathewson.
Daley, who hurled a seven-inning no-hitter while at Bucknell, owned an impressive 1.13 ERA in five appearances with the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox this season. In 60 games with the Sky Sox in 2008, Daley was 4-6 with a 3.75 ERA.
The strong start to the 2009 campaign for Daley followed a spring training where he went 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 6.1 innings.
Daley's six-year minor league career in the Rockies' farm system has spanned five levels and he has produced a 20-18 career record with a 3.65 ERA in 226 appearances.
A native of Garden City, N.Y., Daley was an Academic All-District selection as a senior at Bucknell when he produced a 6-2 record with a 2.82 ERA. He went more than 30 innings without allowing an earned run that season and finished with 49 strikeouts in 51 innings.
Daley is not the only Bison baseball alum to be playing professionally this season as Jason Buursma (Batavia Muckdogs - New York-Penn League), Junge (Orix Buffaloes - Japanese Pacific League) and Mathew Wilson (Rockford Riverhawks - Frontier League) will also be on active rosters in 2009.
Bucknell Alumni in Major League Baseball Name Pos Debut Years Harold McClure OF 1882 1 William H. Rhines P 1890 9 Harvey Smith 3B 1896 1 Christy Mathewson P 1900 17 James D. Sebring OF 1902 5 Moose McCormick OF 1904 5 Mickey Doolan SS 1905 13 Henry Mathewson P 1906 2 Walter Blair C 1907 7 Robert G. Vail P 1908 1 Bert Daniels OF 1910 5 William Parson P 1910 2 Jim Clark OF 1911 2 John W. Wyckoff P 1913 6 Sandi Piez OF 1914 3 Howard R. Kauffman 1B 1914 2 Dean Sturgis C 1914 1 Jake Northrup P 1918 2 Joseph J. Buzas SS 1945 1 Thomas H. Upton SS 1950 3 Robert C. Keegan P 1953 6 Eric Junge P 2002 2
