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It took Blackburn a while to find his pitching arm

The new Twin didn't pitch much until his senior year in high school. He progressed from Class AA in '06 to the starting lineup Wednesday.

By PATRICK REUSSE, Star Tribune

Last update: April 2, 2008 - 11:27 PM

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Chuck Blackburn was getting ready to book a flight from Dallas to Minneapolis-St. Paul to be in attendance for his son Nick's first major league start for the Twins on Wednesday night.

"A couple of Nick's college teammates called and said they wanted to be at the game,'' Chuck said. "They didn't have the money for a flight, so I said, 'I'll pick you up and we'll drive it.' "

That meant stopping in Oklahoma City for the former teammates early Wednesday, then completing the long drive on Interstate 35 to the Metrodome.

There were a half-dozen other people in the Blackburn delegation that came in from around the country, including Nick's mother, Debbie, and his older brother Nate.

The Blackburns started their family in Ada, Okla., where Chuck was an assistant football coach at East Central Oklahoma State. Debbie and Chuck were divorced. He's now the golf coach at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas.

Football. Golf. Where did this baseball pedigree come from?

"I was coaching Nate in Tee ball in Ada, and Nick was right out there with the rest of them at about at age 3,'' Chuck said. "Nick was a competitor even then.''

Nick pitched at Seminole State Junior College in Oklahoma. He was the Twins' 29th-round selection in the 2002 draft. He started with Elizabethton in the Rookie League that summer and still was in Class AA at New Britain in 2006.

Blackburn was 7-8 with a 4.42 ERA that season. He turned 25 in February 2007, and you couldn't find a list of Twins' top 30-40 prospects with his name included.

Then, he started well last season at New Britain and was promoted to Class AAA Rochester. He was 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA in 17 starts and earned a September call-up to the Twins.

All of which led to this question for his father: How did Nick go from nowhere to the Twins' starting rotation in a period of fewer than 12 months?

"Nick didn't pitch very much until his senior year in high school,'' Chuck said. "He had a lot of catching up to do when it came to pitching experience. He always had a strong arm, but he couldn't hit a wall with the ball.

"He was at a camp at Oklahoma State as a younger high school player. John Farrell, now Boston's pitching coach, was the pitching coach there.

"Farrell saw Nick throwing and said, 'Do you pitch?' When he said no, Farrell said, 'Why not?' "

That question was repeated to Nick on Wednesday after his first major league start.

"I didn't pitch as a kid, because when I tried, nobody knew where the ball was going, including me,'' Nick said.

There were a couple of pitches with that look to them in the early going. The first two curveballs attempted by Blackburn floated wildly toward the right-handed batter's box.

"It usually takes a while for me to find my curveball,'' he said. "It turned out to be an OK pitch for me. I got a few outs with it tonight.''

The curveball also was the culprit that cost Blackburn his lone run allowed -- and also the ballgame.

Blackburn and Joe Saunders, the Angels' rising lefthander, exchanged zeroes for six innings.

Howie Kendrick opened the seventh with a bouncer to the shortstop hole and beat it out. A sacrifice moved him to second, and then a ground out advanced him to third.

Blackburn followed by retiring Chone Figgins, but first there was a curveball that hit the ground (or a corner of the plate), bounced away from catcher Mike Redmond, and Kendrick hustled home.

The fearsome Twins' attack responded by hitting into three 4-6-3 double plays in the final three innings and presented Blackburn a 1-0 loss.

It was mentioned to Nick that his father left his seat several times in tight moments and headed for the corridor.

"He gets a little nervous when I pitch,'' Nick said. "I'm sure tonight he was as nervous as you can get.''

Looked like Dad had a couple of beers to calm his nerves.

The hard-luck loser smiled slightly and said: "I can believe it. That's believable.''

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com

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