Former Reds infielder Alex Blandino reinvents himself as Daytona Tortugas knuckleballer

DAYTONA BEACH — Alex Blandino’s dad didn’t let him throw a breaking ball.

That’s where this story begins. A kid in love with baseball who was pretty good at it, too, for 10 years old, and his dad wanting to protect the young boy’s arm.

So he learned a knuckleball.

It turns out Alex Blandino wasn’t just good on the mound, where he played through high school in California’s Bay Area.

He could hit a little bit, too. So much so, he went to Stanford as a third baseman, became a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2014 and made the major leagues for three seasons.

But it’s that arm and that special pitch that brought him back to Daytona Beach.

Alex Blandino lived his MLB dream for three seasons

Alex Blandino noticed a few improvements at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The field is AstroTurf now, not the natural grass and dirt he starred on in 2015. The area around the stadium looks better, he said.

Nine years is a long time.

2015 was the first year the Reds controlled Daytona’s minor-league franchise and the first season it went by the name “Tortugas.” They were a High-A affiliate then.

Blandino was 22. He was single. He didn’t own a home. It was only him, chasing a major-league dream.

In 80 games, he hit .294 with seven home runs before a promotion to Double-A.

“I didn't have any responsibilities,” he said. “I was just out here trying to make a name for myself.”

Now, he’s engaged. He bought his first house in Santa Monica, California. He has two dogs.

And there’s that big-league experience.

Blandino arrived in The Show in April of 2018. He had torn up Double-A and Triple-A the previous summer. He played a career-best 69 games as a rookie and batted .234 while lining up at myriad positions for the Reds.

He played in 23 games during his second season (.250 batting average), and after not appearing in the Major Leagues during the 2020 COVID year, he suited up 43 times for Cincinnati in 2021 (.200 batting average).

That fall, Blandino elected free agency and signed a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants. They traded him to the Seattle Mariners midway through the 2022 campaign. He never made it out of Triple-A before being released in August.

In the spring of 2023, Blandino participated in the World Baseball Classic for Team Nicaragua. He had two hits in four games.

That was the end of his career as a position player.

He didn’t receive any job offers after the WBC and spent the rest of the year out of baseball.

Charlie Hough praised Blandino's knuckleball

Blandino didn’t know what he wanted next. Maybe a foreign league. Maybe a summer at home. He chose the latter, staying in shape at a facility by his new place in Southern California in case an organzation called.

He started throwing with his friend, Erik Goeddel, a former major league pitcher who was attempting a comeback following a few rounds of arm injuries.

As he had throughout his pro career, Blandino mixed in a few knuckleballs just for fun during their daily sessions. The right guy noticed.

In Blandino’s words, former professional pitcher Chris Nowlin has “dedicated his whole life to the knuckleball.” Nowlin worked at the training facility and taught the pitch. He learned it from Charlie Hough, a knuckleball legend whose pitches danced in the big leagues for 25 years.

Blandino began three sessions a week with Nowlin.

“I was throwing a lot of knuckleballs just because I knew it was something I could do,” Blandino said. “I didn't really know how good it was or how good it wasn't.”

Pitching wasn’t completely unknown to Blandino. He floated that knuckleball to hitters throughout Little League and high school.

Then, during his major-league career, the Reds utilized him five times to save their relievers’ arms and mop up on the mound during blowouts. He tallied 4⅔ innings and a 7.71 earned run average.

His fastball hit 90 miles per hour. He struck out three batters. And he used a couple of swing-and-miss knuckleballs that circulated in short social media clips.

So Blandino improved quickly with Nowlin. After a while, Nowlin invited Hough to watch Blandino.

“Chris was constantly asking me, ‘What do you want to do,’ because he thought it was good,” Blandino said. “He was like, ‘Are you going to play? Are you going to do this?’ I was like, ‘I don't know. I'm just enjoying this and seeing where it goes.’

“Then, Charlie really was the one who gave me the stamp of approval and told me this was good and something I should pursue. I could think I have a good knuckleball or whatever, but hearing it from Charlie Hough, who had one of the best knuckleballs ever, (meant a lot).”

Late last summer, Blandino phoned his old bosses with the Reds. He said he wasn’t necessarily looking for a job, just information. Does the pitch still have a place in modern baseball? Was his transition from infielder to pitcher feasible?

He talked to Cincinnati assistant general manager Jeff Graupe, who asked Blandino if his knuckleball was good. Blandino possessed a trump card.

“I was like, ‘Charlie thinks it's good,’” he said.

The Reds invited him to Arizona for the Instructional League last fall. He threw for two weeks there. It served as a tryout.

In November, the team offered him a minor-league contract.

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Blandino's second stint in Daytona Beach

Of course, Julio Morillo already knew Alex Blandino. They occupied the same clubhouses for years.

As teammates in Single-A Dayton in 2014, as Tortugas teammates in 2015 and as colleagues in 2018 and 2019 while Blandino played and Morillo worked as an interpreter and baseball operations assistant for the Reds.

Blandino opened 2024 in Arizona, practicing at the team facility. In early June, he pitched twice for the Arizona Complex League Reds. He allowed one run in 2⅓ innings and impressed the organization enough to boost him to Daytona on June 19.

Blandino became the oldest Tortuga ever. At 31, he’s seven weeks older than his manager — Julio Morillo.

“We kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Well, I guess we're both here again,’” Morillo said with a laugh. “I'm really proud for him. It's hard enough to be a big-league player. He made it. Now, he wants to make it as a pitcher. I respect that.”

Blandino hasn’t gotten out much to re-explore in Daytona Beach yet. When he was assigned to the Tortugas, the club was in the middle of a road series in Dunedin. His car had to be shipped here, too.

But his return has evoked some déjà vu.

“It is not something I expected in my baseball journey,” Blandino said. “But it's bringing back a lot of memories, a lot of good memories, from being here. I had a ton of fun when I played here nine years ago.”

He simply likes being on a team again. His teammates enjoy him, as an ex-MLB player, too. They’ve been inquiring about what life is like at the level they desire to reach.

The pitchers, especially, can also help him with the drills, the routine, the quirks of life on the mound.

“The certain things that pitchers are doing throughout the day, I remember being a position player and looking at them and being like, ‘What the hell are they doing? Damn pitchers,’” Blandino said. “Now, I can't really say anything because I am a pitcher.

“It's a lot like your work is more focused. You definitely have less things to practice. You don't have to worry about hitting and fielding as much. But your job is pitching and mastering your pitches and executing. On the note of keeping me young, it's learning a new skill and trying to master a new craft. It's a challenge and something I'm taking on with fresh eyes and ears.”

Entering Monday’s contest against the St. Lucie Mets, Blandino had pitched only once for the Tortugas and struggled.

On June 23, he came in from the bullpen and failed to get an out against Dunedin. He faced three batters, walking two and hitting another.

“Hopefully, he can find find the strike zone with that pitch, and if he does, it's legit, man,” Morillo said. “That thing moves like crazy.”

A former minor-league catcher, Morillo caught only one knuckleballer during his playing days. He remembers being able to catch the pitch with ease.

“If you can catch the knuckleball, it's not as good as if you can not catch it,” Morillo said. “You can ask my (Tortugas) catchers if they like to catch (Blandino).”

What's next?

The current Major League Baseball world features only one knuckleball pitcher. Matt Waldron debuted last year and has performed well as a starter for the San Diego Padres.

The small community remains tight, though.

Blandino studied under Nowlin and Hough. Tom Candiotti, a knuckleball expert who played 16 years in the major leagues in the 1980s and ’90s, visited Blandino for a couple of days during spring training. Blandino recently got a phone call from former Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright.

Blandino never met Tim Wakefield, who died last October, but others have told him stories of the famous knuckleballer.

“Really anyone who has thrown a knuckleball at a high level is just super happy that someone else is trying to pick up the torch and they're happy to chat or help you in any way,” Blandino said.

A few days ago, David Fletcher messaged him. Fletcher is a former MLB infielder now in the Atlanta Braves system. He is attempting to become a two-way player, retaining his infielder duties while picking up some new ones on the mound.

He and Blandino chatted. Like Blandino, Fletcher lives in the Los Angeles area during the offseason. They also share a former teammate in catcher Chad Wallach — a 2015 Tortugas alum who currently is in Triple A with the Angels. They discussed some winter bullpen possibilities, and they would need a catcher.

“Maybe we'll be tormenting Chad this offseason,” Blandino said.

In other words, this isn’t a summer fad. Alex Blandino wants a knuckleball future.