When left-hander Blake Weiman makes his big-league debut, it will have a special meaning for him and his Colorado hometown.
Weiman is a product of Columbine High in Littleton. No one from that school has reached the majors since the tragic mass shooting in 1999.
“It’s who I am,” Weiman said. “I grew up in that community and have a lot of teachers that impacted me and coaches that are still there. Being a part of that community forged who I am, for sure. I carry that with me every day. I’m just grateful I have that as a foundation.”
Weiman was 4 years old at the time of the shooting, so he has no memory of it. But it was a part of the community’s culture, especially at the high school.
His journey to the big leagues was not smooth. Weiman played at the University of Kansas and was drafted in the eighth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017. He got as high as Triple-A in 2019, and that’s when thoughts of making the big leagues began.
But it never happened.
“It’s a struggle,” Weiman said. “I remember getting released by Pittsburgh and going to Double-A, and you feel like you’re taking a step back and the light gets further and further away. Deep down, you have to keep showing up every day and believing that the work you’re putting in is going to pay off. Just never lose faith that you’re capable of being in a big-league locker room and showing up every night to pitch against the best hitters in the world.”
Weiman passed through several organizations before the Angels signed him to a minor-league deal late in the spring. He quickly tore his oblique, putting him on the shelf for months. Weiman had a 2.30 ERA in 15 games with the Angels’ Double-A team, when he got the call he was going to Triple-A.
On Monday, Weiman was in the Denver airport, on a layover on his way to Salt Lake City. That’s when he got a call.
“Hey, can you get your bags off that plane?” Double-A manager Joe Kruzel asked him.
The Angels were re-routing him to Baltimore instead.
“It was a pretty incredible moment,” Weiman said. “I froze in my tracks for sure.”
Weiman couldn’t get his bags, so he ended up taking the connecting flight to Salt Lake City, then getting his bags and boarding a new flight to Baltimore.