Blake McFarland - AFL, Surfing, & Wine Cork Art

Leading up to spring training, we'll check in periodically with Fisher Cats alumni to see how they are spending their off-season. To kick off the series, we visit with pitcher Blake McFarland to talk speeding up the game, surfing, and wine corks.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats: What was your experience like in the Arizona Fall League?

Blake McFarland: 1. I had a great experience in the Fall League.I was honored to be playing among some of the top players in the minor leagues and enjoyed making new friendships. It was cool to look around the locker room and see players from all different organizations playing on the same team. I was very lucky to get chosen to play there and want to thank the Blue Jays for giving me that opportunity.

NHFC: What did you enjoy the most, and did you feel you pitched as well as your numbers suggest (one of 2 pitchers who didn't allow a run)?

BM: I enjoyed playing the game and being able to work on new improvements, which are very hard to do during the regular season. What is special about the Fall League is there is not a whole lot of pressure, so you are finally able to work on things that you normally wouldn't under a high-pressure situation. I feel like I pitched very well. The only aspect that I would want to take back if I could is limiting my base on balls. Other than that, I was very happy with how I pitched.

NHFC: What did you think of the new pace of play rules? How did they affect the game and what kind of adjustments were there for you?

BM: I thought the pace rules were very interesting. They were mostly meant to speed up the games by giving the pitcher 20 seconds to deliver the ball, and only having two mound visits a game. I did not really notice a difference in game times while playing. I feel like 90% of pitchers can easily deliver the ball in less than 20 seconds. The only way to really get in trouble is if you step off the mound, the time is still ticking down. I can see how pitchers could have a difficulty with that rule.

NHFC: What do you think can or needs to be done to speed up games?

BM: I personally don't think that the game time needs to be changed. I would be interested to see how much time these rules have actually saved. If we are talking 5-15 minutes then I see no need to have these rules in place. 

NHFC: Now that you're in the off-season, what's the one thing you've been dying to do that you haven't been able to because of baseball?

BM: That's the easiest question ever. Surf. Surfing is my off-season passion and I spend pretty much seven days a week in the water.

NHFC: Now, with that, what's the first thing your wife, Jessica, wants you to do?

BM: My wife wants me to spend time with her and all our friends. She is currently getting her Master's Degree in human anatomy at St. Louis University, so even during the off-season we are apart for some time. The best time of the year is Christmas time because she will have a month-and-a-half break where we finally get to spend a longer time together.

NHFC: Any vacations planned for the off-season?

BM: Some friends, my wife, and I are actually going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for four days. Hopefully we can get some sun rays and some nice waves while we are there! We are all really looking forward to that.

NHFC: When does the off-season program ramp up?

BM: The very first day I got back from the Arizona Fall League I began my off season workouts at Paradigm Sport. I have been training very hard and consistent since then and I tend to start throwing here very shortly.

NHFC: Have you set goals for 2015 yet?

BM: My first goal would be to stay healthy the entire year. Last season I had a couple of weeks on the DL so staying healthy is a big one for me. I also want to continue to improve my game like I have been every year. Working on new things and trying different grips, etc. I would like to win a championship at whatever level I am at. Last, but not least, the obvious one, I would like to make my lifelong dream come true of getting called up to big league squad and helping them win.

NHFC: Any new art projects you'd like to tell us about?

BM: I have been working a lot on my art projects lately. I have been using the natural stain of wine corks and creating mural pictures with them. So far I have completed a total of 7 corkboards and will continue to work on more throughout the off-season.

For more on Blake's most recent cork projects, check out his photo gallery here.