Future Bright As Blood Makes Giant Impression

Darin Blood major-league hopeful Darin Blood is ready to start apartment hunting since he is done starting.

After an outstanding first full season season as a professional baseball player, Blood was given the ultimate compliment.

The Post Falls native and Central Valley High School and Gonzaga University graduate was told to go fishing.

That means no fall instructional league or winter league.

“The way I understood, it was a compliment,” Blood said. “The pitching coach told me. He said, ‘You have nothing to prove by going there. We want to make sure your arm stays healthy. Go home and rest and come into spring training ready to work hard.”’

The downside is winter ball is in Hawaii, not a bad tour of duty for Blood - or at least his wife, Joey Asan, whom he married last Christmas. That’s especially true after a summer of knowing few people in San Jose and the ticket already punched for Shreveport, La., of the AA Texas League next season.

“I think it was a good idea to take (the) winter off,” Blood said. “As many innings as I ended up getting, I think it’s a good idea to rest and stay in shape.”

The orders came down from the San Francisco Giants after Blood, who just turned 22, led the Class A California League in wins (17, with 6 losses), earned run average (2.65, best by almost a full run) and strikeouts (193 in 170 innings). That’s baseball’s triple crown for pitchers, only the third in the Cal League’s 55 years, and earned Blood Rookie of the Year and a first team all-star spot for the San Jose Giants.

“I try to stay away from the stats part of it whenever I can and just go out and throw,” said Blood, four times the league’s Pitcher of the Week. “I didn’t set any number goals going into the season. Being in the playoff race (was) a big factor in helping to stay away from the statistical part of it. (I was) playing for the championship, the chance to get a ring, and not the ERA title.”

Even driving back home after the season, Blood reflected more on the pain than the gain.

“It was obviously disappointing from the standpoint we went down to the last day … and came up short both years,” said Blood, who played for the Bellingham Giants in the Northwest League last year after being drafted in the third round by the Giants. “It’s still a matter of winning, especially when you get that close. You forget about numbers and try to win a championship. But it was a good year.”

Blood went 1-1 in the playoffs, winning against Stockton (Brewers), losing to Lake Eisinore (Angels) in the championship round. Lake Eisinore was so hungry to win the championship after making the playoffs as a wildcard team, the Angels sent a Triple-A pitcher down to start the third game.

“We lost some close games,” said Blood, who made a relief appearance in the finale. “They were on a roll and we couldn’t shut them down.”

Still, as the numbers, which include a team record of 88-51, suggest, Blood had a good year.

“It’s really been a fun league,” he said. “There are so many different stadiums, from real short stadiums the ball flies out of, to our stadium, which is a good pitchers’ stadium. You have to adapt how to pitch for that stadium.”

Despite the impressive statistics, Blood noticed the difference between the Cal League and Northwest League, where he debuted last year, going 6-3 with a 2.54 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 74-1/3 innings.

“The hitters (are) tough,” he said. “You notice it especially if you get behind in the count or make a mistake pitch. You’re not going to get away with it too often.”

In typical fashion, Blood deflected credit for his numbers.

“More than anything, it is good defense and playing in the park you play in,” he said. “There’s a lot of field and our defense has played great all season. That’s a huge difference over the course of a long season.”

Not so fast, according to San Jose pitching coach Dave Schuler.

“He has just been a coach’s dream,” Schuler said. “His last five or six starts he really put his package together. He’s going to be effective from now on.”

Schuler, who coached the New York Yankees Triple-A team in Columbus last year, and Blood, both said the key to the third-round draft pick’s success is the fastball. In Schuler’s estimation, Blood went from 80 percent curve balls to 60 percent fastballs.

“The biggest thing is getting away from college and throwing against aluminum bats, you almost had to pitch away from (aluminum) bats,” Blood said. “In the pros, with wood bats you can get inside. … The big thing is to trust throwing the fastball and getting it in on guys. The hitters are bigger and stronger. If you don’t establish that you’re going to go inside, it’s going to be tough to own the outside part of the plate and they’re going to start diving out.”

Schuler still thinks Blood needs to develop a changeup, but said his breaking stuff is better than the average major league pitcher with an adequate slider and curveball few major leaguers throw better.

“He can get hitters out two or three ways. It used to be one way,” Schuler said.

“He’s got a lot of future to look forward to.”

He’s got the demeanor. He should be able to use the package he has now all the way to the big-league level.”

Even that dream is something Blood tries to put out of his thoughts.

“So much movement in an organization is out of your control; there’s even luck with injuries,” he said. “This game is a long-term game. If you keep putting up numbers consistently, it might be next year, it might be five years, but sooner or later you’re going to make it.”

That means he’ll keep renting - for now.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo