Newsom Gets The Nod

Tufts graduate and former baseball standout Randy Newsom is taking aim at the big leagues after getting signed by the Boston Red Sox.

Boston [07-09-04] After a record setting season with the Tufts Jumbos, Randy Newsom is getting his shot at the big leagues. Shortly after signing a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox, the recent Tufts graduate recently took to the mound and earned his first professional save for the Sox’s Gulf Coast League team in Fort Myers, Florida.

“The Red Sox really think I can be a contributor,” Newsom said via telephone from Fort Myers. “They look at me as a prospect, not just someone to fill out the roster.”

In his first outing last week, the right-hander pitched three innings and earned a save to shore up a 14-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins. He allowed four hits, one run and struck out two.

That’s exactly the kind of results the Red Sox wanted when they added Newsom to their roster.

“He’ll be a good addition to our minor league pitching staff,” Ben Cherrington – director of player development for the Red Sox -- told the Boston Herald. “He’s somebody we had been looking at, and we liked him.”

Though his first weeks with the organization have been hectic, Newsom says he’s thrilled to be part of the team.

“The experience has been a dream come true so far,” Newsom said. “To play pro ball is really something special, especially coming from a Division III school.”

While the Tufts graduate has a lot of work to do before he gets a shot at joining the Sox’ major league roster, Newsom knows what it feels like to throw strikes from the mound at Fenway Park. The right-hander threw a scoreless second inning at the NESCAC All-star game at the historic ballpark in May.

That pitching performance was just one highlight in a very accomplished collegiate career.

In his last year with the Jumbos, Newsom lead the NESCAC with 57 strikeouts and was named to the All-NESCAC First Team and All-New England Second Team. He also maintained an impressive 6-1 record with a 3.10 ERA, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer – Newsom’s hometown paper.

Off the field, Newsom made his mark as well. During his four years as an undergraduate, Newsom was a Special Olympics volunteer, a three-term TCU Senator and a cofounder of the Tufts chapter of Why Me? – an organization dedicated to global awareness.

Newsom is also not the first Jumbo to be given a chance at the major leagues: in 2002, Dan Callahan was selected by the then-World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the 21st round of the MLB draft; after a record setting season at Tufts, Jeff Tagliente was drafted by the Red Sox in 1997.