Travis Jarred Blackley (born 4 November 1982) is an Australian former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, and Texas Rangers. Blackley also played in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

, in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

, in the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

(LMB) for the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

, in

Liga Mexicana del Pacifico The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

on the Aguilas de Mexicali and the

Naranjeros de Hermosillo The Naranjeros de Hermosillo ( en, Hermosillo Orange Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Hermosillo, Sonora. The Naranjeros are one of the most successful teams in the league with 16 titles and they we ...

and the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark w ...

Melbourne Aces The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. History On Friday, 20 August 2010 it was announced that ex ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

(ABL). Travis currently plays club ball for the Twin City Baseball Club in the Gold Coast Baseball Association Division 1 winter league.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Blackley was signed by the

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on 29 October 2000. He began his professional career with the Single-A

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity ...

in . He had a 6–1 record with a 3.32

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 14 starts. He also had 90

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in 78⅔ innings and held opponents to a .211

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He pitched for the Single-A San Bernardino Stampede in , going 5–9 and 3.49 in 21 games, starting all but one. He had 152 strikeouts in 121.1 innings, second among all Mariner minor leaguers. He was promoted to the Double-A San Antonio Missions in , the most impressive of his minor league career. He led the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

with 17 wins; was second in ERA (2.61), fourth in strikeouts (144) and fourth in innings pitched (162.1). His 17 wins were the most by a Texas League

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

since

Jeff Reardon Jeffrey James Reardon (born October 1, 1955) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1979–1994 with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta B ...

of the

Jackson Mets The Jackson Mets were a professional baseball team based in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson metropolitan area. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, t ...

in . He pitched in the Texas League postseason All-Star game and was named to the World squad in the 2003 All-Star Futures Game at

U.S. Cellular Field Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and is owned by the state ...

on 15 July. The Mariners also named him their minor league pitcher of the year. In , '' Baseball America'' designated him as #63 out of the top 100 minor league prospects, the third best prospect in the Mariners' system behind pitchers

Félix Hernández Félix Abraham Hernández García (born April 8, 1986), nicknamed "King Félix", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2019. On August 15, 2 ...

and Clint Nageotte and their top left-handed prospect. He began the season with the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

. The Mariners, after trading

Freddy García Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976), is a former Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. He is best known for his many seasons with seven Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, including the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and ...

to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, needed another starter and purchased Blackley's contract on 1 July 2004. He made his major league debut on that same day against the Texas Rangers and beat them, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits in 5⅔ innings. He became just the sixth Mariner pitcher in the team's history to start and win his major league debut. After spending a month with the major league club going only 1–3 with a 10.04 ERA in 6 starts, Blackley was optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma on 1 August 2004. He had an 8–6 record with a 3.83 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) with Tacoma in 2004 before ending the season on the disabled list with left shoulder tendinitis. He missed the entire season recovering from left shoulder surgery. In March , Blackley was slated to play in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Lea ...

with team Australia but was scratched to continue rehabbing his shoulder. He spent most of 2006 with Double-A San Antonio. After going 8–11 and 4.06 in 25 starts in Double-A, he was promoted back to Triple-A Tacoma at the end of August where he made 2 starts going 1–1 and 4.09.

San Francisco Giants

On 1 April 2007, after

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, he was traded to the

for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Jason Ellison Jason Jerome Ellison (born April 4, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He attended Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, and made his major league debut on May 9, . As of the season, he was an area scout for the Los Angeles An ...

and was immediately optioned to Triple-A

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, pitching the entire season in the minor leagues with the Grizzlies. He went 10–8 with a 4.66 ERA in 28 starts. He was recalled on 21 September, and on 23 September made his first major league start since 31 July 2004 against the Cincinnati Reds. He won his Giant debut, giving up two runs in the first inning and three hits in five innings, walking four and striking out five.

Philadelphia Phillies

After being outrighted off the San Francisco roster on 6 December 2007, Blackley was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Philadelphia put him on waivers towards the end of spring training. The Giants did not reclaim him, and the Phillies outrighted him to Triple-A

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On 19 December , he signed a major league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. On 1 April 2009, the D'backs outrighted him to Triple-A Reno.

New York Mets

Blackley began the 2010 season with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

' AAA affiliate Buffalo Bisons, but the Mets released him on 2 May.

Oakland Athletics

On 13 May 2010, he signed with the

who assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate, the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

Kia Tigers

He ended up with the Kia Tigers in the KBO League in 2011. In 25 appearances, he had a record of 7 wins and 5 losses with an ERA of 3.48.

San Francisco Giants (second stint)

On 16 February 2012, he signed a minor-league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training. On 1 May, the Giants purchased his contract and called him up from Triple-A Fresno. He pitched 4 games in relief for the Giants before being designated for assignment on 13 May.

Oakland Athletics (second stint)

Two days later, on 15 May 2012, the

claimed him off waivers and signed him. He made his first appearance for the A's on 18 May in relief against the Giants. On 28 May, he started his first game for the team, against the Twins, and was added to the starting rotation. He finished with a 6–4 record and a 3.86 ERA for the season with the A's.

Houston Astros

On 4 April 2013, the

traded Blackley to the

for outfielder Jake Goebbert. He was designated for assignment on 9 August 2013.

Texas Rangers

On 14 August 2013, the

traded Blackley to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later. Ironically, Blackley's first appearance with the Rangers was against the Astros on 20 August 2013. Blackley started and pitched 4 innings, allowing 2 runs, as the Rangers won 4–2.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Blackley signed with the

in December 2013.

San Francisco Giants (third stint)

On 12 January 2015, Blackley signed a minor league contract with the

Miami Marlins

On 25 April 2015, Blackley announced that he had signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins.

Pericos de Puebla

On 19 April 2016, Blackley signed with the

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

Detroit Tigers

On 20 December 2016, Blackely signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He was released on 1 April 2017.

Return to Puebla

On 10 April 2017, Blackley signed with the

of the

. After a rough start to the season, he was released on 7 May 2017.

Pittsburg Diamonds

On 6 July 2017, Blackley signed with the

Pittsburg Diamonds The Pittsburg Diamonds were an independent professional baseball team based in Pittsburg, California. Originally named the Pittsburg Mettle, the club changed their name to the Diamonds in 2015. History The Pittsburg Mettle began play as a me ...

of the

Pacific Association The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams. History During the initial season, two Hawaii-b ...

. He re-signed with the team for the 2018 season.

Australian Baseball League

Melbourne Aces

Travis made the 35-man roster of the

for the inaugural

season in 2010. On 2 December 2010, he was activated onto the 22-man roster and made his debut for the Aces on 5 December starting against the

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used ...

and pitching a rain-shortened one-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. He had previously played for the

Victoria Aces The Victoria Aces are an Australian baseball team who compete in the Claxton Shield Baseball Championship. One of the founding teams of the Claxton Shield in 1934, they competed until 1988. Thereafter the Claxton Shield was awarded to the winn ...

in the Australian semiprofessional

Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010� ...

Brisbane Bandits

Blackley signed with the

of the

for the 2015 season where he helped the Bandits to their first Claxton Shield victory since the re-establishment of the ABL in 2010. He resigned for the 2018 season.

Retirement

On February 6, 2021, Blackley announced his retirement from professional baseball via Twitter.

International career

Blackley was selected for the

Australian national baseball team The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand wi ...

at the 2007 Baseball World Cup, 2009 World Baseball Classic, 2017 World Baseball Classic, and 2018 exhibition games against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Blackley was first selected for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, but did not play due to an ongoing shoulder injury (as cited above). He debuted for Australia in the 2007 Baseball World Cup and went 0–1 and 1.64 ERA for the tournament, his only loss coming against the Japan when

Tadashi Settsu is a Japanese baseball player. He has been with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks since 2009, and plays as pitcher, wearing number 50. In 2009, he was voted Most Valuable Rookie. The next year, he became the first pitcher ever to make 70 or more appea ...

threw a shutout against Australia in the quarter-final, with Australia finishing 5th. He again pitched for Australia in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, earning a no-decision against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and a 1.59 ERA for the tournament. On 20 February 2018, he was selected exhibition games against Japan.

Personal life

Blackley has a son, Tristan (born 6 January 2005) from a previous marriage. Travis married Jenna Blackley on 14 November 2015. They have a son, Bodhi (born 29 November 2016.) His younger brother,

Adam Blackley Adam Blackley (born 22 February 1985 in Melbourne) is a former Australian pitcher. He is the brother of Travis Blackley. Career In 2003, Blackley was signed to the Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball t ...

, formerly played in the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

farm systemBlackley Out For 2005 Following Labrum Surgery
/ref> as well as for the Melbourne Aces in the ABL and the

L&D Amsterdam Amsterdam Pirates is a Dutch baseball and softball organization based in Amsterdam. It was founded as an expansion of the football club SV Rap on 17 February 1959 by Loek Loevendie. In the first years it was known as the RAP Pirates, but after ...

in the Dutch league

Honkbal Hoofdklasse The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softba ...

. He is an avid supporter of Essendon Football Club.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackley, Travis 1982 births Living people Águilas de Mexicali players Australian expatriate baseball players in Japan Australian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Australian expatriate baseball players in South Korea Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Brisbane Bandits players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dorados de Chihuahua players Everett AquaSox players Fresno Grizzlies players Houston Astros players KBO League pitchers Kia Tigers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Australia Melbourne Aces players Mexican League baseball pitchers Naranjeros de Hermosillo players New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Pericos de Puebla players Pittsburg Diamonds players Reno Aces players Round Rock Express players Sacramento River Cats players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players San Francisco Giants players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Melbourne Stockton Ports players Tacoma Rainiers players Texas Rangers players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players