Baseball in Fort Wayne

In 2004, Travis Chick appeared in seven games with the Fort Wayne Wizards. He went 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA while striking out 55 in 42.1 innings pitched. Yes, a bright future looked to be in store for the youngster who had originally been drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 14th Round (413rd overall) of 2002 Draft. He came to the Padres’ system via a trade that sent RHP Ismael Valdez to Florida.

But in 2005, he began the year at Double-A Mobile, where he went 2-9 with a gaudy 5.27 ERA before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds with Jason Germano in exchange for Joe Randa. Iin 2006, the Reds flipped Chick to Seattle for Eddie Guardado and cash.

That year, he made his MLB debut with Seattle despite never playing about Double-A ball. In three relief appearances with the Mariners, he pitched 5 innings that produced a 12.60 ERA . . . 7 earned runs on 7 hits with 2 strikeouts.

2007 saw Chick perform better back at Double-A West Tennessee, where he went 6-6 with a 4.62 ERA before a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma. He began 2008 much the same way he did the prior year, at Double-A West Tennessee. He’d gone 4-5 with a 3.98 ERA before again being promoted to Triple-A Tacoma.

And maybe that’s where the story will take a turn for the better. His first appearance at Triple-A resulted in three runs on five hits and four walks with six strikeouts for a no-decision. But the next time out saw the 24-year-old right-hander hurl a two-hitter and struck out nine en route to a 3-1 victory over the Las Vegas 51s.

“When you go out and have a game like this, it builds confidence,” he said. “But I’m not going to read too much into it. My next start, I’m going to go out hungry and try to compete” [source: MiLB.com]

It was his first career complete game at any level, and he also retired the first ten batters he faced.