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Princeton University Athletics
Chernoff '03 Named Recipient of Baseball Team's Peters Award
September 07, 2011 | Baseball
The Peters Award is given annually to an alumnus who has made significant contributions to the game of baseball at any level following his graduation or, having played baseball at Princeton, has distinguished himself after graduation in his chosen field of endeavor. Established by the Friends of Princeton Baseball in 1984 in honor of Bob Peters, who has provided inspiration to generations of Princeton student-athletes through his example as a gentleman, leader, patriot and competitor.
Chernoff was a part of three league championship teams at Princeton and went to three NCAA Regionals, including the 2001 regional at South Carolina where the Tigers defeated The Citadel. He became an everyday player for the Tigers as a junior and batted .281 over his two full seasons as a regular member of the Princeton lineup. Chernoff served as a senior captain on Princeton's 2003 Ivy League Championship team that played in the NCAA Regionals at Auburn.
The Livingston, N.J., native started with the Indians following his graduation in 2003, starting as an intern in the baseball operations department with projects like inputting minor league game charts. Chernoff loved the environment from the start and began to take on additional responsibilities like researching statistics and talking to scouts as he put in 80-plus hour weeks at the ballpark.
"I came in right after the draft and just hit the ground running," remembers Chernoff. "I would spend 40 hours a week doing my job, and then spend what seemed like another 40 hours just learning about the other parts of the business and it has allowed to me to make a progression in the baseball operations field."
Now an assistant general manager with the Indians, Chernoff is involved in many of the functions necessary to run the team. He works with the amateur scouting department in preparation for the June draft, the professional scouting department as the season continues and the trade deadline approaches, and then the offseason is all about team building and contract negotiation.
"I think everyone will tell you that Spring Training is their favorite part of the year," adds Chernoff. "It's the most exciting time in baseball. You've spent the offseason focusing on paper and that's when it's time to see if all the planning will pay off. It's a time of optimism and it's just like that first road trip of the season for the Princeton guys when you're finally out of the pit and on the field in the sun."
Chernoff is one of several Princeton alumni currently involved in the game of baseball. Aside from the likes of Chris Young, Ross Ohlenforf and Will Venable, who are playing in the Majors, Chernoff is close with his former teammate Jon Miller, the Assistant Director of Minor League Operations with the New York Mets, and Mike Hazen, the Vice President of Player Development and Amateur Scouting with the Boston Red Sox.
"They are two of my closest friends in baseball," says Chernoff. "When I first came to Cleveland, Mike was working here and we became close. It's just great to stay connected with those guys and keep up with what's going on with our teams and with the baseball team at Princeton."