“There’s Nothing Like…” as Fatherhood Nears, Blake Snell Reflects on Slow Start Due to Lack of Spring Training

Who’d have guessed that the Cy Young winner of 2023 would be struggling immensely this season? But then, is it surprising? In his bid to get a big contract, Scott Boras let his client Blake Snell wait till the very end of Spring Training. Though the 2x Cy Young winner couldn’t get a long-term deal, he found a good home in the San Francisco Giants. But until then the Spring Training had ended and with it ended Snell’s chance to get himself back in shape.

So while pitchers enter the season on the back of a great ramping up during Spring Training, Snell was forced to do that during the main season. The result of all of that? Blake Snell has a 10.42 ERA and hasn’t won a game yet. So when he was interviewed about his recent bad form, the Snellzilla had to accept that missing Spring Training wasn’t the best of decisions.

“So, I didn’t face a big league hitter until I pitched my first game in the big leagues this year. It’s tough. You just don’t have nothing to go off of,” Snell said to the reporters. “It’s kind of like let’s see who we have got, faced 18-year-olds but yeah so, it’s all excuses but it’s the truth.” Snell also noted how he hopes everyone understands the importance of Spring Training. 

“There’s nothing like…You have to go to Spring Training. So hopefully for me, our whole team sees that,” Blake Snell then remembered Jordan Montgomery. “I don’t know what Montgomery is doing. It’s tough for him, it’s not easy.” Both Snell and Montgomery missed the entire Spring Training and as of now, both are struggling. While Snell is doing significantly worse, Monty’s 4.69 ERA is his lowest since 2020. 

One can’t call this a surprising confession. Experts had wondered for a long time that something like this might happen. Position players and hitters can afford to miss the Spring Training, but pitchers need it the most. However, for Snell things are slowly but gradually getting better both in personal and professional life.

Blake Snell remains positive prior to embracing fatherhood

Blake Snell and his girlfriend, Haeley Mar, are just about ready to welcome their first baby. For Snell, that is a huge development, but the San Francisco Giants star knows that focusing on baseball is equally important. “I think I’m in a good place,” Snell said via AP News. The star noted that he and his girlfriend are prepared for the big change in their life. “Whatever happens, I feel like we’ll be ready for. She knows how focused I am on pitching and how much it means to me.”

So while professionally Blake Snell is struggling, at least personally he’s soaring high. As for his bad form, one can imagine he’ll level it out soon. The star is almost one and a half months behind other pitchers. One can imagine that as the season progresses and he gains some momentum, Snell will return to his best. Still, it’s quite weird how both the defending Cy Young winners have had issues this season (Gerrit Cole’s injury and Snell’s bad form).