Woodbridge Baseball Phenom Will Play For Staten Island Ferryhawks

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A young man who was a stand-out baseball player at Woodbridge High School just signed to play with the Staten Island FerryHawks, a minor-league professional baseball team.

Many in town will recognize Harry Rutkowski: Harry played four years of varsity baseball at Woodbridge High School, where he was a left-handed pitcher, very rare in the sport.

He finished his high school career tied as the winningest pitcher in Greater Middlesex Conference history, compiling a 27-6 record, with an incredible 348 strikeouts over 244 innings. Rutkowski was awarded the Greater Middlesex Conference Cy Young award, the highest honor the league can give.

After high school, Rutkowski was actually drafted in the 28th round (pick 827) by the Cincinnati Reds, but he made the unusual decision in the professional sports world to defer and instead go to college.

Rutkowski played baseball for Rutgers University, where he is tied for third in program history with 44 career starts, third with 221 strikeouts and 10th with 249.2 innings pitched.

He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays before being picked up by the Gastonia Honey Hunters and then traded to the Staten Island FerryHawks.

So now Rutkowski is back playing on his home turf, literally: He just signed Thursday with the FerryHawks. If Woodbridge residents want to see him, all they have to do is drive over the bridge to the Staten Island University Hospital Community Park baseball stadium right next to the Staten Island ferry.