Talk about a baseball phenom.
Tristan Blum of the Fox Chapel Foxes 12U travel team went 10 for 12 at a recent weekend tournament in Fox Chapel, highlighted by a remarkable stretch in which he socked six consecutive home runs.
Tristan, son of Damian and Valerie, finished with seven round trippers in the two-day event with the longest traveling 250 feet and raised his batting average to .500 (39 for 78).
“I remember thinking to myself that there are more at-bats than this (one),” Tristan said, “and if I get out, I’ll have another chance to help my team out. I was really just concentrating on getting a hit and on base during each at-bat.”
The 12-year-old youngster is trained by his father at the BackYard Baseball Complex in Cheswick, located off Route 910. Damian Blum also is head coach of the Fox Chapel 12U travel team.
“The younger kids playing in the tournament and their families knew it was something special,” Damian said. “They were coming from all over the park to see Tristan’s fourth, then fifth, then sixth home run. After the game, players from other teams were coming up to Tristan in order to touch his bat before their own games.
“Tristan is a talented boy and, more importantly, he is kind and always keeps a positive attitude. He is a hard worker and a true team leader. He makes me proud as both a father and as his coach.”
Tristan, a pitcher/center fielder who can play anywhere he’s needed, is an avid baseball fan. He grew up loving the sport and following the Pirates and started watching the games at the age of 2.
“Tristan was born with an obvious love for the game of baseball,” said his dad. “From the time he could walk, he has been carrying around a ball and glove or swinging a bat … spending hours, when he was 2 and 3, on the baseball diamond in nothing more than rain boots, his Neil Walker Pirates jersey and a diaper. He was always ready to help me coach third base for his older brother.”
Tristan started playing T-ball at the age of 3.
“He just wants to play,” Damian said. “If he could, it would be all day, every day. I have a whiffle ball field cut into my yard along with a pitching area. He makes my wife or I pitch to him when his brother isn’t around. He is the only one of my kids, that from the time he was 2, who would sit attentively on the edge of his seat at a Pirates game from start to finish, then re-create, with his mini-baseball player figurine set, or reenact himself, the offensive and defensive plays of the game.
“When he isn’t playing himself, or is at one of his sibling’s, friend’s or cousin’s games, he loves to go with myself, his mother or grandfathers to a game at PNC Park.”
At BackYard, Tristan participates in various forms of training, focusing mainly on hitting, fielding, arm care, pitching and catching, strength, conditioning, speed and agility, as well as situational play.
“I love that in the game of baseball, I don’t have to worry about anything outside of it. I just lose myself in the game,” Tristan said. “I feel lucky every day to be able to play baseball as often as I do. I love the game, the challenges and the competition.
“And I have so much fun with all my teammates, on and off the field.”
Tristan, who said his favorite MLB players are Walker, Mookie Betts and Mike Trout, throws a fastball that hits 72 mph.
“I’ve dreamed of being in the majors since I started playing,” Tristan said.
Tristan also shines in the classroom; he is a straight A honor roll student.
His older brother, Damian Jr., is a shortstop/pitcher in the Fox Chapel High School baseball program, as well as the Rawlings Tigers 18U college showcase team. Younger sister Cora participates in softball in the Fox Chapel Baseball and Softball Association.
Their dad played high school and Legion ball in the North Hills, then continued for a short time in college until suffering an injury.
He has coached within various school districts and associations and is assisted on the Fox Chapel Foxes 12U Travel team by Rob Chiarelli, Derrick Fluhme, Brad Krushinski and Henry Seifried.
“This is a local association team that has trained together for several years, some since they were 4 years old,” coach Blum said. “We compete locally within travel leagues, and we compete in AAU, open, and A level local and regional tournaments against other associations, as well as the multi-community teams at the highest level of tournaments.”
After hosting its two-day event, Fox Chapel played in a large tournament at the Monroeville Sports Center and the UPMC All American Park in Trafford.
The Foxes recently won the lower bracket of the Atlantic Coast Cap Classic by beating the Illinois Celtics and are heading to Cooperstown N.Y., home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 12U squad will represent Fox Chapel from July 9-16 at the All-Star Village baseball tournament in Cooperstown. A total of 72 teams are expected to participate.
Fox Chapel’s 12U traveling club consists of Tristan Blum, Colton Chiarelli, Milan Fluhme, Elias George, Noah Hughes, Luke Krushinski, Joey McGivney, Drew Moyer, Eli Olifson, Sean Regan, Julien Sarra and Nick Seifried.
“My only expectation is to get within the top 40 teams,” Tristan said. “The Cooperstown experience is a new one for me and so is the Hall of Fame. I was supposed to go last summer, but covid stopped the trip.”
The Fox Chapel 12U team, along with the other squads competing in the AC Cap Classic, were recognized in June at a Pirates game at PNC Park.
Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.
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