Yesterday, Tom de Blok made another start for the West Michigan WhiteCaps. After several bad starts, he seemed to have found his groove again as he lasted seven innings and did not allow a run.
After being transformed into a starting pitcher, Tom de Blok put up some promising numbers as he mowed down the lineups he faced. But then, all of a sudden, on August 3rd, Tom hit a snag. In one outing he gave up six earned runs. In the next outing he gave up four earned runs, in the next one seven and his previous outing before last night’s he gave up three earned runs.
As a Dutch baseball fan, I got a bit concerned. What was happening here? Did the opponents figure him out? Was he trying some new pitches which didn’t pan out yet? Or was he injured? I decided to contact the play-by-play announcer of the West Michigan WhiteCaps, Dan Hasty. Many of those play-by-play announcers get a lot of inside information, so I decided to give it a try. This is what Dan answered on my e-mail:
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Tom from a health perspective. I think this is the learning curve that most guys have to go through at this level.
He was dominating when he got to us, and when he pitches from the wind up, he’s outstanding. Lately, he’s let a few base runners on, and having to pitch from the set has been a real challenge for him.
You can certainly see the talent, and the frame to support it, but he’ll have to continue to work at it. He’s an outstanding kid, and one of my favorites in our clubhouse.”
After last night’s outing, it looks like Dan Hasty is right.
Tom pitched seven innings last night vs the Bowling Green Hot Rods on of the contenders for a playoff spot in the Midwest League. In those seven innings, Tom gave up two hits and a walk and struck out eight. Tom threw 77 pitches of which 55 were called for a strike.
In the top of the eighth, Tom was replaced by John Schreiber. Tom took a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning but Schreiber blew that lead in the eighth, so Tom got a no-decision. Eventually the WhiteCaps scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth for the win.
Thanks to his good outing, the website of MiLB.com headed:
“De Blok, Sedio lead West Michigan to 3-1 win over Bowling Green”
Dutch Baseball Hangout 
Really happy to read this and thanks a lot for the inquiry!!! I was looking at his stats the other day before this game and was quite worried to see him being really low when comparing his ERA and WHIP with other frequently used pitchers. Great he bounced back and let’s hope he will continue to improve himself and make a great impression in the play-offs.
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