Perserverance, resiliency, tenacity, determination, resolve.

Look up the definitions for any of those words and you just might find a photo of former Hoosic Valley standout John Rooney who’s seven-year journey through the minor leagues ended this weekend, when the big left-hander donned a major league uniform for the Houston Astros in a Sunday matinee at Fenway Park in Boston.

Rooney, a third-round selection by the Los Angelas Dodgers in the 2018 draft, spent six seasons with the organization working his way to the Triple A level in 2023 the same season he converted to becoming a full-time reliever.

This past off-season Rooney opted for free agency and was signed by the Florida Marlins where he spent this year with their triple A affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp pitching to a 2.45 ERA in 38 appearances with a 32.5% strikeout rate.

On Saturday evening Rooney was traded to the Houston Astros, who immediately put the Valley grad on their 40-man roster and a 7 a.m. flight to Boston on Sunday where John, wearing number 67, warmed up in the eighth inning at Fenway but did not enter the game.

Rooney led Hoosic Valley to back-to-back Class C state baseball titles in 2014 and 15, as well as a 2014 state championship in basketball where he was the Class C player of the year in the state.

John played collegiately for Hofstra from 2016-18, earning first team All -American status in 2018 a season where he set single season records in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. He finished his career with 15 wins, a 3.69 ERA and a .239 batting average against.

Rooney’s minor league stats include a 27-19 record in 204 appearances, (51 starts), pitching to a 3.85 ERA with 436 strikeouts in 414 innings.

The Astros play tonight in Miami against the Marlins for Rooney’s next opportunity to toe the rubber for the first time in a major league regular season game, and if that doesn’t happen in Miami, Houston comes into Yankee Stadium for a three-game set over the weekend.

When and where that first pitch happens, it completes a seven-year trek through countless minor league towns playing on fields far removed from The Show. Through it all Rooney has persevered. Well done John and know that most of upstate New York will be watching and pulling for the southpaw wearing number 67, with Houston on the front and Rooney on the back.