DURHAM – Former Duke baseball pitching coaches Pete Maki and Dusty Blake have been promoted as the MLB pitching coaches for their respective clubs. Maki was elevated to the Minnesota Twins pitching coach back in July, while Blake was recently promoted to the big-league club by the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Incredible thrill to see another Duke pitching coach take the reins of an MLB staff,” head coach Chris Pollard she said. “So very proud of both Pete Maki and Dusty Blake for all that they have accomplished. I am also grateful for the mark they left on our Duke Baseball program. The roots in the Duke Baseball Family run far and deep.”
Pete Maki | 2016-17 | Pitching Coach
In his two seasons with the Blue Devils, Maki’s staff recorded 859 strikeouts, including the seventh most all-time at Duke with 438 in 2017. In 2016, Duke baseball appeared in the Columbia regional, after an impressive 3.79 ERA from Maki’s staff. The 2016 MLB Draft saw three Blue Devils selected, highlighted by right-handed pitcher Bailey Clark, who was picked up by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round.
Maki had four pitchers in total selected during his two-year tenure at Duke, as James Ziemba was selected in the 22nd round by the Los Angeles Angels later that year.
Dusty Blake | 2018-2020 | Pitching Coach
In the three seasons with Blake at the helm of the pitching staff, the Blue Devils hurlers posted 1,356 strikeouts, including 183 in the pandemic shortened season in 2020. During that abbreviated season, Blake helped coach a staff that posted a 2.39 ERA and saw former Duke pitcher Bryce Jarvis toss the 31st perfect game in NCAA history against Cornell. Jarvis recorded 15 strikeouts on the night, as the Blue Devils defeated Cornell 8-0. Jarvis was drafted in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks at pick 18 later that year, moving the total of MLB prospects drafted under Blake to eight during his tenure. The Blue Devils appeared in back-to-back NCAA Super Regionals in both 2018 and 2019.
In 2018, the Duke pitching staff tallied 575 strikeouts on the year moving that total into first all-time in program history for strikeouts in a season. The tally didn’t last long, as in 2019, Blake’s staff upped that number to 598 strikeouts. During Blake’s time in Durham, the Blue Devils recorded two of the six top-10 strikeout tallies in program history under head coach Chris Pollard.
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