Nate Bump's CT debut....
thanks to lc for the pic!
posted by greg8370 at 10:25 PM
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thoughts and pictures of my local minor league baseball team the New York Penn League Connecticut Tigers; a Detriot farm team. We'll still be looking at former Navigators/Defenders players along the way....
5 Comments:
http://www.thedailyreview.com
Local News
1 p.m. update: Nate Bump again pitching in pro baseball
By:
05/12/2008
Towanda High graduate Nate Bump returned to professional baseball Sunday night after nearly two years battling injuries.
Bump, a Penn State All-American and former major league pitcher with the Miami (sic) Marlins, has signed with the Connecticut Defenders, a San Francisco Giants AA farm team in the Eastern League.
In his on-field debute Sunday, he pitched one scoreless inning in relief.
See Tuesday's editions of The Review for more details.
--------------
I'll try to remember to check back for the follow up article.
12:14 AM
Nice pick up LC. I've always liked to follow these types of come back stories.
Bowker hit #4 last night off Roy Oswalt. No that's chicken salad, not chicken s... I'd love to see him end up around .280 to .290 with 10-15 dingers for the year. Should get him consideration for ROY.
7:22 AM
Bump makes return to pro baseball
BY BRIAN FEES
SPORTS EDITOR
05/13/2008
It had been a long time since Towanda graduate Nate Bump last stepped on the mound for a competitive baseball game.
The former Black Knights and Penn State star has seen it all before. He’s a former college All-America, a first-round draft pick and he pitched in 113 games for the Florida Marlins, but all of that was before the injuries started.
On July 15, 2005 the Marlins placed Bump on the disabled list. It would be the last time the pitcher would ever see the big leagues and after pitching in six games in Triple-A in 2006 Bump was out of the game.
After two years away Bump is back on the mound and Sunday night he made his first appearance since 2006 when he pitched one hitless, scoreless inning of relief, with one strikeout for the Connecticut Defenders in a 2-1 loss to the Binghamton Mets in Class AA.
“It felt good, I’ve been in extended Spring Training, trying to get my fastball back up,” Bump said by phone Tuesday. “It’s been probably two to two-and-half years since I pitched competitively, it’s good to get the kinks out.”
For Bump, the injuries stripped a lot of the speed off his fastball and it’s been a lot of work to try and start getting it back.
“In Spring Training it was way down, I guess they said yesterday it was back into the mid 80s, around 85 or 86,” Bump said. “It’s just a matter of time to see what happens. It could go either way. It takes some time to see if it comes back, to see if I can stay healthy.”
After spending a majority of his career in the Florida Marlins organization, Bump is back where it all started in the San Francisco Giants organization. The Giants are the team that drafted him out of Penn State with the 25th pick back in 1998.
“It’s pretty funny, I joke that I came back for my 10-year reunion,” Bump said. “It’s pretty amazing, there are some front office people still here. I thought this was the best fit for me. I knew some people here and a lot of the organizations were already filled up when I signed late in the signing period.”
After making it all the way to the majors Bump is back at work trying to go back through the minor league system.
“It’s tough, but this is where I need to be in order to get back and be able to move back up,” Bump said. “The way I have to look at is luckily I have been here before, I do have the experience.”
One other thing Bump will know is the area as he is pitching in an Eastern League that includes the Binghamton Mets.
“Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad that I’m in the Eastern League, but it is an area I know pretty well,” he said.
The one good thing these days is that the arm is feeling better and Bump is getting that competitive edge back on the mound.
“I kind of lost the competitiveness with the injuries,” he said. “Last year it started to come back a little bit. It’s nice to be back on the mound again.”
After pitching in Sunday’s game there were no problems with the arm, something that hasn’t bothered Bump in a while.
“Everything feels nice, no problems,” Bump said. “I pitched for months down in Scottsdale with no problems, so everything is going well.”
One of the other things Bump will need to adjust to is the travel of being back in the minor leagues, after spending two years at home with his wife and two children.
“We are working out the logistics of everything,” Bump said. “They are going to come up this way and I am looking for an apartment with a short lease. The one good thing is I really took advantage of the time when I was home the last two years. I spent a lot of time with my two kids.”
Bump will spend much of next month pitching in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as the Defenders play a series in Altoona from June 6-8 and then a three-game set in Trenton on June 10-12. Connecticut will be in Binghamton June 27-29.
7:29 AM
I was outbid on JP's pink uniform...just not meant to be(again)..thanks to Andy P. for placing the bid for me.
11:45 AM
Greg,
How did you find out about the shirt? I'm assuming I was outbid too or else someone would have called by now.
4:59 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home