Marcus Stroman was part of Duke's graduation ceremonies on Sunday after finishing the work required for his sociology degree last year while rehabbing from the ACL tear that sidelined him for much of the regular season.

"I never thought I'd say I was thankful for tearing my ACL, but I am, because I grew so much as an individual," Stroman said. "I was able to get my degree and I got stronger mentally, physically, through it all. I'm in a great position now, and that has a large part to do with the summer I had at Duke University."

Stroman got his degree while his Toronto Blue Jays teammates engaged in a brawl with the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

"It's quite an honor," John Gibbons said. "It probably helped distract him a little bit. He put in a lot of long hours. But I admire the kid. That was his original goal. His parents wanted him to get an education. That was important to him, and it really opened up the perfect opportunity to finish up. If that doesn't happen, who knows when he gets a chance to go back."