Blackford On Comeback Trail
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Pitching for the Chicago Cubs' highest single-A team, the Daytona Cubs, last season, Blackford sustained his injury in the third game he pitched. After two more games, the decision was made to go under the knife on May 31 for Tommy John surgery.[[In-content Ad]]"I'm close to 100 percent," Blackford said. "I'd say I'm at about 95 percent right now."
The procedure consists of replacing the injured ligament in the medial elbow with a tendon from elsewhere in the body.
Other major league pitchers to have the ever-increasingly common procedure are the Atlanta Braves' John Smoltz and Chicago Cubs' Ryan Dempster, Jon Lieber and Kerry Wood.
Even though he's not at full strength, he's shown enough for the coaches to call him up from the Peoria Chiefs to the Daytona Cubs.
"I'm coming back a little fast, compared to others that have had the surgery," Blackford said in a phone conversation while waiting for his plane to Daytona Beach Tuesday. "I haven't had any problems and my arm feels good."
After going 10-9 in a team-high 27 starts for the Chiefs in 2006, Blackford was called up to the Daytona Cubs to begin the 2007 campaign. After pitching a few games there, the injury-bug bit, but a lot of physical therapy almost has him back to where he was prior to the injury.
"Getting the flexibility back was the toughest part," he said. "Once you get that flexibility back, you're able to do all the other stuff."
Returning to the game as a reliever, Blackford has pitched 17-1/3 innings, carrying a 2.60 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .239 batting average.
"Things are going good," he said. "I mean, I did get called up today. I've pitched well in 15 innings, and kind of got hit in two. But I feel good when I'm out there."
While still attempting to get to full strength, he's gone from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
"I won't start at all this year," he said. "I go two or three innings, because the coaches don't want me going too many innings. They say you're not fully healed from the surgery for 18 months, so I still have about five months to go."
His first appearance on the mound this year actually came in a familiar area - South Bend.
Pitching in Peoria's May 3 game against the South Bend Silverhawks, Blackford helped secure a 4-3 win for his team at Coveleski Stadium.
"It was kind of an ironic thing to make my first appearance back in South Bend," he said. "It was good to make my comeback in front of my family and friends, in front of a hometown crowd."
That win was a welcomed one for the Chiefs, who currently sit at 24-34 in the Midwest League's Western Division, 17 games out of first.
Blackford now joins a team that's in a similar situation, standing at 27-31 in the Florida Summer League's East Division, 10 games out of first.
Outside of their records, the two Chicago Cubs affiliates also share another similarity - well-known Cubs players.
Blackford will prepare to be managed by Jody Davis in Daytona, just a couple days after being managed by Ryne Sandberg in Peoria.
"He's great to have as a manager," Blackford said of Sandberg. "He's a hall of famer and been in the game forever. Talking to him, I learned a lot. He was a hitter, and as a pitcher, he talked to me about how to approach hitters."
Sandberg may have been able to talk to him about life in the minor leagues, but that's a lesson Blackford's learned all too well since graduating from Triton in 2004.
While on a four-game road trip to play the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Blackford received his call-up to Daytona Beach. So with the four days of clothes he packed for the trip to Wisconsin, he repacked those for his trip to Florida. In time, his roommate will be able to send him more apparel, but that's a sacrifice he's more than happy to make if it means climbing the minor league ladder.
"It's crazy," he said about the minor league lifestyle. "One day you're here, and the next, you're somewhere else."
He's been moving around a lot, but he's still got a strong connection to his hometown of Tippecanoe, as well as Triton High School.
"I usually go back each offseason, but didn't this year because I was rehabbing in Arizona," he said.
With his sister, Brooke, graduating this year, he's also kept up with the Trojans sports program, which won a football sectional, basketball state championship and a baseball sectional this year.
"It's great to hear," he said. "I know the baseball team's been down the last couple of years, and got off slow this year, but they've pulled it together. In football, I know I would have loved to been the first team to win a sectional and the basketball championship is great. But I'm lucky to have a baseball state championship (2001). So I'm happy with that."
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Pitching for the Chicago Cubs' highest single-A team, the Daytona Cubs, last season, Blackford sustained his injury in the third game he pitched. After two more games, the decision was made to go under the knife on May 31 for Tommy John surgery.[[In-content Ad]]"I'm close to 100 percent," Blackford said. "I'd say I'm at about 95 percent right now."
The procedure consists of replacing the injured ligament in the medial elbow with a tendon from elsewhere in the body.
Other major league pitchers to have the ever-increasingly common procedure are the Atlanta Braves' John Smoltz and Chicago Cubs' Ryan Dempster, Jon Lieber and Kerry Wood.
Even though he's not at full strength, he's shown enough for the coaches to call him up from the Peoria Chiefs to the Daytona Cubs.
"I'm coming back a little fast, compared to others that have had the surgery," Blackford said in a phone conversation while waiting for his plane to Daytona Beach Tuesday. "I haven't had any problems and my arm feels good."
After going 10-9 in a team-high 27 starts for the Chiefs in 2006, Blackford was called up to the Daytona Cubs to begin the 2007 campaign. After pitching a few games there, the injury-bug bit, but a lot of physical therapy almost has him back to where he was prior to the injury.
"Getting the flexibility back was the toughest part," he said. "Once you get that flexibility back, you're able to do all the other stuff."
Returning to the game as a reliever, Blackford has pitched 17-1/3 innings, carrying a 2.60 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .239 batting average.
"Things are going good," he said. "I mean, I did get called up today. I've pitched well in 15 innings, and kind of got hit in two. But I feel good when I'm out there."
While still attempting to get to full strength, he's gone from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
"I won't start at all this year," he said. "I go two or three innings, because the coaches don't want me going too many innings. They say you're not fully healed from the surgery for 18 months, so I still have about five months to go."
His first appearance on the mound this year actually came in a familiar area - South Bend.
Pitching in Peoria's May 3 game against the South Bend Silverhawks, Blackford helped secure a 4-3 win for his team at Coveleski Stadium.
"It was kind of an ironic thing to make my first appearance back in South Bend," he said. "It was good to make my comeback in front of my family and friends, in front of a hometown crowd."
That win was a welcomed one for the Chiefs, who currently sit at 24-34 in the Midwest League's Western Division, 17 games out of first.
Blackford now joins a team that's in a similar situation, standing at 27-31 in the Florida Summer League's East Division, 10 games out of first.
Outside of their records, the two Chicago Cubs affiliates also share another similarity - well-known Cubs players.
Blackford will prepare to be managed by Jody Davis in Daytona, just a couple days after being managed by Ryne Sandberg in Peoria.
"He's great to have as a manager," Blackford said of Sandberg. "He's a hall of famer and been in the game forever. Talking to him, I learned a lot. He was a hitter, and as a pitcher, he talked to me about how to approach hitters."
Sandberg may have been able to talk to him about life in the minor leagues, but that's a lesson Blackford's learned all too well since graduating from Triton in 2004.
While on a four-game road trip to play the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Blackford received his call-up to Daytona Beach. So with the four days of clothes he packed for the trip to Wisconsin, he repacked those for his trip to Florida. In time, his roommate will be able to send him more apparel, but that's a sacrifice he's more than happy to make if it means climbing the minor league ladder.
"It's crazy," he said about the minor league lifestyle. "One day you're here, and the next, you're somewhere else."
He's been moving around a lot, but he's still got a strong connection to his hometown of Tippecanoe, as well as Triton High School.
"I usually go back each offseason, but didn't this year because I was rehabbing in Arizona," he said.
With his sister, Brooke, graduating this year, he's also kept up with the Trojans sports program, which won a football sectional, basketball state championship and a baseball sectional this year.
"It's great to hear," he said. "I know the baseball team's been down the last couple of years, and got off slow this year, but they've pulled it together. In football, I know I would have loved to been the first team to win a sectional and the basketball championship is great. But I'm lucky to have a baseball state championship (2001). So I'm happy with that."
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