Thursday, August 11, 2005

Eric Jones Bruins Online

Aberdeen, Md. - Go back for a moment and remember the years of your misspent youth. It’s the end of the summer, first day of school and one of your first assignments involves writing down what you did on your vacation.

For one former Belmont student-athlete, it’s been a summer to remember. Blake Owen, a soft-spoken native of Cross Plains, Tennessee, is having the time of his life and doing something that he truly loves. Owen signed with the Baltimore Orioles roughly a week after he was drafted and was assigned to short-season Class A affiliate Aberdeen (MD) of the New York-Penn League where he was dubbed as the Ironbirds’ closer. Closing games out isn’t a new job for Blake who set the Belmont University single-season record this year with 13 saves and represented the Bruins on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team.

“I honestly look at this as a job,” explained Owen who was selected as the sixth overall pick by the Orioles in the June amateur player draft. “Some people will probably think that I’m crazy for saying that, but I am playing baseball for money. My day is just a 3-to-11pm job, not the normal 9-to-5.”

Like any new job, Blake Owen has had to learn what his role is, what is expected of him and what he needs to do to earn his paycheck. With 32 teammates who range from 20-to-23 years old and hail from 16 different states and five countries, it might appear to be an overwhelming task.

“I think that Blake thought he was in Latin America for the first couple of days,” jokes fellow pitcher Reid Hamblet who hails from Olympia , Washington and was selected in the fifth round this year.. “His locker was right in the middle of our Latin teammates who are always having fun, but generally speak very little English. I decided to move my locker over and we became friends. Now we all have a good time and although we still don’t have much of an idea of what is being said.”

Both Owen and Hamblet were taken by the Orioles after their junior years of college. Hamblet, who anchored the pitching staff for Biola University, has spent a summer in the Alaskan Summer League and gives credit to his summer league experience for easing his transition from college to professional baseball.

“I had some long bus rides in summer ball and had to learn to live on my own even through college,” said Hamblet who rooms with Blake on the road. “It is a lot tougher if you don’t make some friends. It is a big jump competitively and you realize quickly that you work hard every day to move up, hopefully ending up in the major leagues.”

“You are always learning from each other and especially for me as a pitcher, it is good to have someone that you can trust to be honest with you when things don’t go well. I am fortunate that my family has been up to see me play a couple times and I talk to my family and girlfriend constantly. When I get the chance to pitch, I want to make sure I do well. That isn’t always easy,” added Owen whose red SUV with omnipresent Belmont parking sticker serves as transportation for Hamblet and other friends. With gas prices averaging $2.34 per gallon in the surrounding area it certainly pays to carpool, especially on a daily per diem of $30 per day after taxes.

“You really have to be creative and spend your money wisely,” cautioned Owen. “When people hear that you got drafted, they automatically think of bonuses and big paychecks, but that isn’t at this level. It is tough enough for a single guy like me. I can’t imagine what it must be like for guys that have families depending on them or some that are from Latin America where their families rely on them to help out.”

Of the $30 each day, there is a $5 plus tip mandatory clubhouse fee that goes to the attendant who keeps uniforms clean, provides a daily pre-game meal and a light snack after the game. Daily necessities such as transportation and something as simple as a cellphone to talk to families are expenses that eat away at the daily stipend. The Ironbirds, like some other entry level minor leagues, do offer to place players with volunteer host families who live in the community. These host families can provide food, clothing and transportation at no cost to the player.

“My host family is incredible,” said Owen of his adopted family residing in nearby Abingdon, MD. “These are people that provide us food out of the goodness of their hearts and really support us in so many ways. They ask for nothing in return and make the adjustment to being away from home much easier to deal with.”

If Blake Owen has had any trouble being away from his family, it hasn’t shown up in his performance. Owen has picked up where he left off at Belmont allowing just 11 hits in 19 innings while striking out 24. He is tied for third in saves in the New York-Penn League with seven, despite Aberdeen’s 13-25 last place record. It has been enough to warrant talk of making the New York-Penn League all-star team.

“Blake was talking about making plans for the upcoming all-star break in August and I told him that he might be playing in it the way he has pitched,” said Hamblet who has also found success in the bullpen striking out 23 in as many innings of work with a 3.91 ERA. “We have some good pitchers on this team and Blake has certainly been there all year.”

Things could happen quickly for Owen as the Baltimore Orioles have developed a reputation of graduating minor leaguers to Camden Yards after little time in the minors. Current O’s set-up man Chris Ray was brought up from AA Bowie this season along with 20-year-old starter Hayden Penn who made a brief stop in Aberdeen this summer. Even former Belmont nemesis Jeff Fiorentino, a Florida Atlantic Owl turned Single-A outfielder, came up from High-A ball when injuries riddled the Orioles outfield.

The Aberdeen Ironbirds complete the 2005 season at Ripken Stadium on September 8th. With his summer job over two-thirds of the way complete, Blake seems focused on his future.

“I’m looking forward to my life as a baseball player,” Owen says with a smile. “When the Orioles signed me, I made sure that there were provisions for completing my college degree, but right now I consider myself a baseball player. I’m going to listen to my pitching coach Dave Schmidt and work on my approach since the strike zone is smaller and the hitters don’t swing at bad pitches. This has been a great time for me, a great experience and I have learned a lot. It’s fun and I just look forward to every day.”