[ BASEBALL ]
Darren Blakely did not mince words when discussing his fifth year in professional baseball. Blakely hit worst
slump of career
First in a series
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.com"I probably had my worst season ever this year," said the former Hawaii Rainbow center fielder.
Blakely was productive in spring training and the San Diego Padres were set to assign him to Portland, Ore., of the Pacific Coast League, but there was a snag. The Padres had another center fielder, Kory DeHaan, on Portland's roster.
"They didn't want me playing the corners. They wanted me in center and that wasn't possible with him there. He's a great outfielder," said Blakely. "It's a numbers game, my luck of the draw.
"I was disappointed because spring training was great. I hit .500 in big-league camp. I felt I was going to get a chance to do what I want to do, but I have no control over that."
He was assigned to Mobile (Ala.) in the Class AA Southern League, where he finished the 2001 season after San Diego obtained him in a trade.
Blakely played well most of the first half and was selected to play in the Southern League All-Star game. He was charged with just one error in the first half. Then he went into a terrible slump.
"For some reason, I hit the wall in the second half. I couldn't hit water if I fell out of a boat," said Blakely. "People get hot and cold, but my cold period was way too long. The rest of the season was an uphill battle."
He thought about giving up switch hitting. The BayBears coaches made suggestions. Blakely made little adjustments. Nothing seemed to work. His batting average kept falling, ending up at .217, a career low for a full season. The strikeouts mounted and totaled 132 at season's end, although he did draw 70 walks.
"Toward the end I started to put it back together. I was 2-for-5 in the last game and have to build off that," Blakely said. "I can't do anything about it now. I'm taking a couple of weeks off to visit family in North Carolina, then start preparing for next season."
Blakely will be a six-year free agent after next season and knows if does not generate interest from the Padres, he must have decent numbers in the 2003 campaign to be noticed by other organizations. His defense and ability to run the bases (10-for-14 in stolen bases) is not the problem.
"My offense is what's keeping me out of the big leagues. I need to find someone to help me in the offseason. I've got no excuses. I've got to get it done next year," he said.
