Ty Blach Baseball Cards: A Look at the Career of the Former Giants Pitcher
Ty Blach was a starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants from 2016 to 2018 who put together a respectable major league career despite never being a top pitching prospect. While he didn’t have the name recognition or hype of other Giant hurlers, Blach made 58 starts for the club in his time in San Francisco. As a result, he has a growing collection of baseball cards available for fans and collectors. Let’s take a deeper look at Ty Blach’s playing career and the baseball cards that were produced to commemorate his time in the majors.
Blach was drafted by the Giants in the 30th round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Creighton University. As a later round selection, he didn’t generate much buzz heading into pro ball. He steadily climbed the minor league ranks by posting solid numbers in Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A over the next few seasons.
After starting 2016 with Sacramento, Blach got his first big league call up in June of that year. He made his MLB debut on June 16th against the Miami Marlins, allowing one run over five innings in a no-decision. It was a promising start for the rookie and set the stage for a longer look in the Giants rotation. Blach would go on to make 15 starts and compile an ERA of 3.61 over his first taste of major league action.
Cards from Blach’s rookie season in 2016 include base inserts from brands like Topps, Panini, and Donruss. His rookie card debut is generally considered his 2016 Topps Series 1 base card. Other notable early issues include his 2016 Donruss Optic pink refractor parallel and 2016 Panini Contenders rookie autograph card. While not numbered, the autograph cards from his first MLB campaign hold added value as his debut autograph product.
After showing promise as a rookie, Blach entered 2017 as depth in the Giants rotation. He made 30 starts on the year, easily eclipsing his rookie innings total, and posted a respectable 4.22 ERA. Cards documenting Blach’s sophomore season built upon the ones from 2016 by showing him more integrated with the Giants big league squad. Highlights include his base cards in 2017 Topps Series 1 & 2, Donruss, Stadium Club, and Leaf Heroes of Baseball.
Injuries limited Blach to just 13 starts in 2018, his final season with the Giants before being released. Even while battling health issues, he continued putting up serviceable numbers like a 3.97 ERA. The cards reflecting Blach’s final year with San Francisco provide a bookend to his tenure there. Notable 2018 issues are his base cards from Topps, Panini Prizm, Stadium Club, and Topps Chrome. Following the season, he briefly joined the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets organizations on minor league deals before retiring.
While not a star, Ty Blach proved to be a valuable starter in San Francisco from 2016-2018. His on-field contributions and three-year Giants tenure resulted in a nice timeline of baseball cards for collectors to track his career. For a player who flew under the radar as a later round draft pick, Blach’s story of persevering to stick in the majors for close to 100 games makes his cardboard collecting that much more interesting. Even years later, fans of the pitcher can look back on and acquire the various cards made during each step of his time in the bigs.