YOU come out of college where it’s Aluminum Bat City and it’s natural that you’re going to struggle when you start swinging wooden bats.
Then there’s Blake Whealy, who’s doing for minor-league lumber what Tiger Woods is doing for titanium. Fresh out of Evansville, the Brooklyn Cyclone infielder has exploded into the NY-Penn League by becoming his team’s most consistent hitter. No struggles. No adjustments. Nothing. What gives?
“I played the last couple summers in wooden-bat leagues,” Whealy says. “You use your hands a lot more, and you can’t rely as much on just your swing. It makes you actually hit, not just swing.”
Smart thinking, right? Of course, that Whealy (pronounced “Whaley”) would make that kind of advanced effort isn’t really surprising, considering that Mets amateur scouting director Jack Bowen compares the scrappy gamer to Joe McEwing for his versatility and love of the game.
“You could sense that he had a lot of passion,” says Met director of scouting Gary LaRocque of what he saw in Whealy coming out of college this June. “He’s just a guy you wanted in your system.”
Now that he’s in, there isn’t much chance of his getting out. At 5-11 and 190 pounds, the slightly-built 13th-round draft pick leads Brooklyn in batting averge (.336), home runs (nine), RBIs (30), slugging percentage (.594) and on-base percentage (.378). I mean, anything else?
The modest Whealy will be the first to tell you that stats can be overrated (“You can hit the ball five times in one game and get five outs,” he reasons), but hey, you’d rather have the good numbers than not.
Now add a charming personality and the fact that he’s raking at a .338 clip at KeySpan Park, and try to feign surprise that Whealy is one of Brooklyn’s most popular players.
“I like hitting here at KeySpan,” he says, scanning the packed bleachers. “You’ve got 8,000 people in the stands, so it’s kind of hard not to get excited to play a game.”
Growing up in the Chicago suburb of River Forest, Ill. – he’s a Cubs fan, so don’t bother complaining about the Mets’ troubles this season – Whealy knows a thing or two about loyal fans. He also knows a thing or two about pro ball. Patrick Whealy, Blake’s dad, spent several years in the Dodgers’ minors, and Blake credits his father for being his “baseball guidance counselor,” while at the same time never mandating that he had to play ball.
No worries there. Whealy fell in love with the game, landing a scholarship to Texas A&M. Soon after, though, he transferred to Evansville to get more playing time. He got that and more, earning Honorable Mention All-Conference honors as a senior.
What Whealy didn’t do was hit many homers, topping out at 13 round-trippers. Truth is, even he can’t explain where the power’s coming from here in Brooklyn.
“I guess the pitchers are generating most of it,” he says with a laugh, “because it’s not my doing.”
Then Whealy heads over to the dugout to sign a few autographs. No, the KeySpan fans might not confuse Whealy with Mark McGwire or mistake him for Jim Thome.
They just know he’s a guy they want in their system.
