Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Welcome to the Blue, Chris Nunn!


I doubt there is another team more active than the Dodgers when it comes to pursuing seemingly unknown or over-the-hill ballplayers. Their willingness to take risk is the reason they've been able to find 'diamonds in the rough' -- like Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, Charlie Culberson and Brandon Morrow. So, this unheralded announcement discovered earlier today should come as no surprise. We have found out, through a tweet by the ballplayer himself, that the Dodgers have signed 28-year old lefty hurler Chris Nunn.
Nunn is a former 24th-round draft pick of the Padres in 2012 and a recent employ of the Independent St. Paul Saints of the American Association. He is also a ballplayer who was originally noticed due to the efforts of a 'Pitching Ninja' name Rob Friedman. BTW, you can follow Chris on twitter here: @thenatural515.

So, who's this ninja dude and why did this guy get noticed?

Well, to answer the latter question first, Chris Nunn is now throwing 100 mph fastballs, per a tweet by the Pitching Ninja:
As for the Pitching Ninja, he is the reason Chriss Nunn got noticed in the first place -- first by the Rangers (who had him in their spring camp) and now the Dodgers. Per Scott Orgera at Forbes.com:
The main goal of FlatGround is two-fold, as developing ballplayers can utilize its already-growing community of coaches, front office personnel and even current and former big leaguers to solicit analysis and feedback on their form while pitchers at any level looking for additional exposure can present their best sessions to a large audience at no charge. 
"I want to showcase as many young pitchers as I can. I want to prevent pitchers from falling through the cracks," Friedman said.
...
"It was amazing for me to realize that two guys (Chris Dula and Taylor Grover) were throwing 102 mph and couldn’t get noticed by MLB teams. I mean, if you throw 102 and can’t get noticed, what about the high school kid who throws 88 mph and may have a ton of upside with little money to go to showcases?," Friedman asked. "I don’t think baseball should be just a rich kid sport. I think that hurts the future of baseball and is fundamentally unfair."
It has always occurred to me that making it in Baseball (or any professional sports league, for that matter) sometimes includes a bit of luck. You've got to hope that the right person sees you when you are at your best, and even then there's no guarantee you'll get noticed. This initiative by Friedman, called FlatGround, is one program aimed at helping those who have fallen through the cracks.

As for more info on Chris Nunn, below are links to various stories about him.
Apparently, he had signed with the Rangers earlier this year and attended their spring training, but got released in late-March. Oh... And one other thing... He was once a male model.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

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