Wild Things pitcher aces first exam
Playing minor-league baseball is much like going to school. You learn something every day, and it’s never good to be sent to the office.
For Shawn Blackwell, being called into the spring-training office of the Texas Rangers’ minor-league player personnel director in late March was like a nightmare. Blackwell, a right-handed pitcher, was told he no longer had a future in the Rangers’ organization.
Blackwell was released. Out of work at age 22. No plan for the future.
“In the back of your mind, you’re always thinking that can happen, but I had pitched really well this spring,” Blackwell said. “The Rangers are stacked with young pitchers. They have a lot of guys who throw hard and throw strikes.
“The Rangers usually made their cuts in the morning, before practice. I remember, the day I was released, they cut 13 to 15 players that morning. Some of them were good players; some were my buddies. When practice began, I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought I had survived a round of cuts. Then, after practice, they call me and two other guys into the office. I knew this couldn’t be good.”
What made the situation worse was Blackwell didn’t do anything that made him an obvious candidate for release. After being drafted in the 24th round in 2009 out of Clear Creek High School in League, Texas, Blackwell pitched well, threw strikes, compiled a 12-5 career record and moved up from the rookie leagues, earning a promotion late last year to full-season Class A team in Hickory (N.C.). He expected to start there this spring.
Instead, he drove from spring training in Surprise, Ariz., back home to eastern Texas, wondering if he should go to college or try to hang onto a baseball career. These days, Blackwell can be found in Washington attempting to earn a roster spot with the Wild Things.
Blackwell was one of the few bright spots Friday morning in Washington’s 9-0 exhibition loss to the Lake Erie Crushers at Consol Energy Park. The night portion of the day-night doubleheader was rained out.
A 6-5 right-hander, Blackwell started and threw three scoreless innings. He allowed only two bloop singles, did not walk a batter and struck out five.
“I thought he did a very good job,” Washington manager Bart Zeller said. “He attacks the strike zone. He doesn’t seem to pitch in fear.”
Blackwell seems to be on course for a roster spot, either as a starter or reliever, when Washington opens the regular season May 17 at Schaumburg. How Blackwell ended up in Washington was a round-about trip in itself.
While at home last month and trying to figure out where his career path would take him, Blackwell was contacted by several independent teams, though none of them from the Frontier League. He opted to sign with the El Paso Diablos of the American Association. Five days later, Blackwell was traded to Washington for pitcher Chandler Barnard.
“I got a phone call from someone with El Paso and was told I was traded to Washington. I said, ‘Great! I played in Spokane last year. I know the area,’ ” Blackwell recalled. “Then the guy told me I wasn’t going to the state of Washington. I was traded to Washington, Pa. I said ‘Where’s that?’ “
It’s a 21-hour drive from Texas when you’re forced to make an unexpected pit stop in Cincinnati.
“I had a tire going low, so I stopped to put air in it. That’s when I saw a piece of metal sticking out of the sidewall,” Blackwell said. “I stopped at a Firestone store and expected to be in and out with the tire patched. But they can’t patch a sidewall, and they didn’t have a tire my size in stock. They had to call around to find one. I sat there for 2½ hours.”
That journey didn’t go as planned, much like Blackwell’s baseball career. After being drafted, he was set to delay professional baseball and pitch in the Big 12 for Kansas. Three days before classes started, the Rangers offered him a signing bonus, reportedly of $300,000, and agreed to pay his college tuition.
“That was a tough decision. I was born in Kansas, I’m a Jayhawk fan, I have my Paul Pierce throwback jersey and my mother’s family is from Kansas. I had to ask God for some help in making that decision. It was the same as when I was released by the Rangers. I needed some help figuring out what to do next. I’m glad I’m (in Washington). I think we have some talent on this team. There are a lot of good pitchers.”
Extra bases
After producing 11 runs and 18 hits in a win Thursday night over Lake Erie, Washington was held to five hits Friday. The Wild Things’ Mike August led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple but was thrown out two batters later while trying to score on a ground ball to first base. … Lake Erie starting pitcher David Middendorf threw six shutout innings, did not walk a batter and struck out five. During one stretch, Lake Erie pitchers retired 12 consecutive batters. … The Wild Things and Crushers will play a doubleheader this afternoon in Avon, Ohio, and a single game Sunday. Frontier League teams must be down to 28 active players by Sunday night. Washington has 36 players on its roster after placing outfielder Rogelio Noris on the 14-day disabled list (visa problem) and acquiring former Villanova outfielder Matt Fleishman from Long Island of the Atlantic League. It was the third time in five months that Fleishman has been traded between Washington and Long Island. … The Wild Things are still in need of host families for their players. If interested, contact the team’s office at 724-250-9555.