When 27-year-old CJ Blowers took the mound for the Seattle Blackfins at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas on Saturday, July 27, no one thought he’d go 10 2/3 innings and throw 161 pitches. No one, except maybe for CJ.
Going against the Santa Barbara Foresters, a team who had won six of the previous 10 NBC World Series tournaments, and whose roster boasted a heavy lineup of DI players, was exactly the kind of opportunity that CJ was in Wichita for.
At 27, CJ was trying to jump start a career that he almost gave up on – that he did give up on for three and a half years – and what better way to do it than to leave it all out on the field against one of the best summer collegiate programs in the country.
Wichita wasn’t his first opportunity to play baseball and be noticed. A high school prospect and the son of Major Leaguer Mike Blowers, who spent 11 years in the big leagues from ‘89-’99, CJ has the pedigree to make his own name in baseball. Scouts were giving him looks in high school, and he spent two years at Edmonds Community College and one season at Cal State San Bernardino, but never felt like he found his people, himself, or his place in the game. So, after his junior year in college he hung up his cleats, called his parents and headed home.
At home, he stopped thinking about baseball and got a job at a pizza joint. That wasn’t his passion. He found a different job building houses, then working at a desk doing truss design, but that wasn’t it either. Even as he worked a 9-to-5, he felt himself called to the game again. First it was umpiring on the side, then giving pitching lessons, and then one day one of his students brought their older brother along to a lesson to watch, and the next thing he knew, CJ was being offered a chance to pitch in the Pacific International League, a league made up mostly of summer collegiate players in Washington state.
“I had barely picked up a baseball in the last three and a half years, so I didn’t think they’d actually want me. But then I just thought. I owe it to myself, family, & community to give myself a chance.”
This summer, Seattle Blackfins manager Dave Snell recruited Blowers to be a part of the Blackfins team travelling to compete in the NBC World Series in Wichita.
“He (Snell) told me prior to the NBC there would be people I want to be pitching in front of, so I went. And he was right.”
Back on the mound against the Foresters, the Foresters got on the board first, with a run in the first and a run in the second, but CJ battled his way through the Foresters lineup and held them scoreless through the 9th. His teammates did their part, playing solid defense and scoring a run in the top of the 7th and the top of the 9th to push the game in to extra innings.
As the 9th ended with the game tied 2-2, Blowers, the game’s starter, was still on the mound.
“I wasn’t ready to give it up, I knew I could still compete.” When the Blackfins head coach started walking his direction in the dugout, Blowers turned and walked to the bullpen effectively saying, “you are not taking the ball out of my hand.” When he looked back, no one was following him, so he went back out for the bottom of the 10th. After a scoreless 10th, he once again headed back out for the 11th. After 161 pitches – 103 of them strikes – and 10 2/3 innings, the game ended with the Blackfins on the losing end, 3-2.
“I knew I grinded it out, and pitched well, but I felt I didn’t do enough,” said Blowers. But fans in the stands, and the opposing manager, disagreed.
Bill Pintard, NBC Hall of Famer and manager of the Foresters approached Blowers after the game to tell him how impressive his outing had been. When he asked C.J. what he was looking for, CJ’s answer was simple – a shot. So, Bill made a call.
On August 6th, 10 days after his monstrous outing on the field at Eck Stadium in Wichita, CJ signed a contract with the Ottawa Titans in the Frontier League, and by August 8th he was in Canada, ready to take the mound.
“I’m not sure if guys appreciate the opportunity that the NBC World Series is,” said CJ, “I knew there would be eyes on me, but I didn’t realize how many, or that the people who could help me take the next step in my career would be there in the stands.”
Now, CJ is ready to keep making the most out of every opportunity that comes his way.
“I know the odds are against me, but I don’t care. No matter what happens I want to know I gave my dream everything I had. And to show others you can fall into a trap, make a mistake (even a couple), and work your way back to happiness, opportunity, & success. My story is meant to show others you can defy the odds if you work hard enough, and make friends along the way. Everyone has a purpose in life, but that gift isn’t just given to you. You have to search for it like your life depends on it. Because it does.”
The NBC Baseball Foundation is proud to announce CJ Blowers as the 2024 recipient of the Eric Pintard Most Inspirational Player Award. To support the NBC Baseball Foundation, and baseball dreams like CJ’s, visit nbcbaseball.com/donate.
CJ won the Triple Crown in the Pacific International League prior to competing in the NBC World Series with the Seattle Blackfins, with his home team the Northwest Honkers going 7-0 with a 0.77 ERA, 82 strikeouts and 21 walks over 58.2 innings.
In the regular season with the Ottawa Titans, CJ was 0-1 with a 0.87 ERA and has walked 11 and struck out 16 over 31 innings.
Pitching line vs. Santa Barbara: 10.2 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 10 SO
