Nick Blackburn

Nick Blackburn
Minnesota Twins — No. 53
Starting pitcher
Born: February 24, 1982 (1982-02-24) (age 29)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 3, 2007 for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics (through 2011 season)
Win-Loss	39-46
Earned run average	4.50
Strikeouts	346
Teams
Minnesota Twins (2007-present)

Robert Nicholas Blackburn (born February 24, 1982 in Ada, Oklahoma) is a Major League Baseball pitcher in the Minnesota Twins system. He graduated from Del City High School in Del City, Oklahoma. He attended Seminole State College. The 6-4, 227 pound right-hander was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 34th round of the 2000 amateur entry draft. The Minnesota Twins then drafted him in the 29th round of the 2001 amateur entry draft. The Minnesota Twins signed him on May 21, 2002. From 2002 to 2007, he pitched 6 seasons for the Minnesota Twins minor league system. In 138 minor league appearances, he pitched 702 innings, posting 40-40 record with 434 strikeouts and a 3.68 ERA. His best season in the minors came in 2007, and after the season Baseball America ranked him as the Twins' No. 1 prospect.^[1][2][3] Since 2008 Blackburn has pitched for the major league Minnesota Twins.

Pitching style

Blackburn’s repertoire consists of a 2-seam fastball, sinker, 4-seam fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider. His fastball is not overpowering, usually in the high 80’s to low 90’s; however, his 6-4 stand makes his fastball “appear to get on batters faster than the miles per hour would indicate.” He normally uses his fastball to get hitters off-balance before he pitches his four breaking balls. He throws a nice curveball and tight slider. When pitching at his best, he can locate all five of his pitches for strikes, which can make him nearly unhittable.^[4]

File:Blackie.jpg

2007 season

Blackburn started his 2007 season with the Rochester Red Wings, where he pitched in 17 games. In those 17 games, he pitched 110.2 innings, posting a 7-3 record with 57 strikeouts and a 2.11 ERA. He was called up by the Twins in September.^[2] He made his major league debut on September 3, 2007, in a home game against the Cleveland Indians. In his major league debut, he pitched 1 inning of perfect baseball as a relief pitcher. He went onto pitch 6 games in 2007, all as a relief pitcher. He picked up his first hold on September 10, 2007, in a road win against the Kansas City Royals. Through his first 4 games as a Twins relief pitcher, he posted a 2.70 ERA; however, he gave up 8 earned runs in his last two appearances, raising his season total ERA to 7.71.^[5]

2008 season

Blackburn pitched 9 innings in spring training for the Minnesota Twins, posting a 3.00 ERA, earning him a starting spot on the 2008 rotation.^[6] He picked up his first major league win on April 19, 2008, in a home game against the Cleveland Indians, pitching 7.2 innings of shutout baseball.

On June 1, 2008, Blackburn was hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of New York Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu;^[7] however, he did not miss any time.^[8]

Through July 27, 2008, he had the lowest ERA for Minnesota Twins starting pitchers with a 3.69 ERA.^[9] He finished the season with an 11-11 record, an ERA of 4.05, and 96 strikeouts.

After the Twins and the Chicago White Sox ended the season with 88-74 records to top the AL Central, Blackburn started the 1-game tiebreaker to determine the division winner. Blackburn gave up just 4 hits, including a Jim Thome home run, but this home run proved to be the only scoring, as the Twins posted just two hits against starter John Danks.

2009 season

Nick Blackburn was in the starting rotation for the entire season. His record was 11-11 and he had an ERA of 4.03.

2010 season

Blackburn started the 2010 season relatively strong, going 6-1 in April and May, with a 4.28 ERA. However, he struggled after that, going 1-6 with a 9.20 ERA over his next nine starts. On July 21, 2010, Blackburn was demoted to the bullpen and replaced in the rotation by Brian Duensing. In one relief appearance, Blackburn surrendered three earned runs in two innings. Through July 29, Blackburn was 7-7 with a 6.66 ERA.^[10]

On July 29, the Twins optioned Blackburn to triple-A Rochester to make room on the active roster for newly acquired closer Matt Capps.^[11] He was recalled on August 21, 2010, after Kevin Slowey was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a triceps injury.

On August, 29th in his second start since being recalled, Blackburn retired 21 batters in a row. After walking Chone Figgins in the bottom of the ninth, he was relieved and Brian Fuentes struck out Russell Branyan.

2011 season

Blackburn was in the starting rotation for much of 2011. He made several strong starts and pitched well until the end of July, when his pitching became much more erratic. Blackburn made his final 2011 appearance on August 21st, leaving after 1.1 innings with a forearm injury. He finished the season with a 7-10 record and a 4.49 ERA.

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ ^{a b} Nick Blackburn Statistics - The Baseball Cube
3. ^ ESPN - Nick Blackburn Stats, News, Photos - Minnesota Twins
4. ^ Scout.com: Scouting Twin Prospect #29: Nick Blackburn
5. ^ ESPN - Nick Blackburn Stats, News, Photos - Minnesota Twins
6. ^ ESPN - MLB Spring Training Stats - Major League Baseball Spring Training Stats
7. ^ Blackburn hit in face by Abreu liner
8. ^ ESPN - Nick Blackburn Stats, News, Photos - Minnesota Twins
9. ^ ESPN - Minnesota Twins Pitching Statistics - MLB Baseball
10. ^ Baseball-Reference.com
11. ^ Punto hits DL; Star Tribune: Plouffe promoted; Blackburn sent to Rochester; Capps arrives; Morneau update

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Persondata
Name	Blackburn, Nick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 24, 1982
Place of birth	Ada, Oklahoma
Date of death
Place of death