Jan Blažek

Jan Blažek

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 165 lb.

• Born February 16, 1988 in Trutnov Czechoslovakia

Biographical Information

Jan Blažek got his first regular season in the Extraliga in 2008 for the Tempo Titans. He was 3 for 35 with a double and six walks, but pitched well (3-4, 3.48). He was 0-1 with two saves and a 2.20 ERA for the 2009 Titans, allowing a .216 average. In the 2009 Baseball World Cup, the 21-year-old made his debut for the Czech national team. In his lone outing, he relieved Boris Bokaj with a 11-4 deficit against Australia entering the 9th. He was pounded for 5 hits, a walk and 6 runs (5 earned) in that inning, including doubles by Andrew Graham, Mathew Kennelly and Luke Hughes. He had the worst Czech ERA in the event, over double Jakub Toufar, the next-worst.

In 2010, the righty was 3-6 with two saves and a 3.69 ERA, tying for 4th in the Extraliga in losses. He played for the Czechs in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, going 2 for 4 with two runs as a backup at 3B to Jakub Hajtmar but did not pitch. He hit .260/.327/.320 as a part-timer for Kotlářka Praha in 2011 but excelled as a pitcher (10-3, 2.00, .198/.266/.279 opposing batting line). He finished among the league leaders in ERA (third after Pat Ahearne and Marek Červenka, right ahead of former major leaguer Roger Deago), innings (5th, between Jakub Toufar and Deago), opponent slugging (3rd after Marek Červenka and Ahearne), tied for the lowest opponent average (with Marek Červenka), strikeouts (73, 9th), wins (tied for third with Ahearne, behind Shelby Robertson and Červenka) and opponent OBP (third after Ahearne and Červenka).

Blažek fell to 3-3, 4.09 with two saves for Praha in 2012, while hitting .410/.477/.513 in limited time at the plate. He turned in two solid starts in the 2012 European Championship. Against the favored German national team, he allowed 3 runs in 7 innings, including a solo homer by Max Kepler, to battle minor leaguers Luke Sommer and Martin Dewald with a no-decision; the Czechs lost, 5-4, in extra innings when Phillies farmhand Marek Minařík allowed a run. In his next start, against eventual Bronze Medalists Spain, he allowed one run in six and entered the bottom of the 7th with a 2-1 lead over Leslie Nacar, but he allowed two men on with two out in the 7th. He was relieved again by Minařík, who served up a 2-run double; the Czechs took a 6-5 loss.

In the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, he started against Great Britain but was roughed up for six hits, three walks, two hit batsmen and six runs (five earned) in 2 1/3 IP in taking a 12-5 loss against Jacob Esch. He was 2-2 with three saves and a 4.34 ERA in 2013, tying John Wiedenbauer for third in the Extraliga in saves. He only pitched 5 2/3 IP in 2014 (2 R) and was 1-1 with a 5.48 ERA in 2015. He did not pitch for Praha in their playoff run to their first title.

Despite his recent track record in the Extraliga, he returned to the Czech team for the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He did not pitch, but neither did 5 of their other hurlers as they only used 7 of their 13 pitchers.

Sources

• CEB website
• Czech Baseball Federation
• Defunct IBAF site
• WBC Qualifiers