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Blair’s dedication, patience yield first victory
- Updated: September 20, 2016
NEW YORK — Aaron Blair was taking it all in stride, but his phone was buzzing.
“I’ve probably got 70 messages and 10 calls,” the 24-year-old right-hander said on Monday night, a few minutes after the Braves’ 7-3 win over the Mets went into the books as his first Major League victory. “I’m sure I’ll be up all night returning calls.”
It had taken a while to get to this point. This was Blair’s 13th big league start, and there had also been four trips to the Minor Leagues this year. He had plenty of frustration, an ERA that sat at 8.23 before Monday (it’s 7.71 now) and a new delivery.
Yes, it was all worth it.
“All the hard work he put in, making changes, it’s nice to see him rewarded,” manager Brian Snitker said.
Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell had gone to Blair after the righty gave up five runs over four innings to the Giants on Aug. 28 upon returning from two months with Triple-A Gwinnett. McDowell suggested eliminating a turn in Blair’s delivery and finding a way to stay more upright to keep his …
