MANKATO — When Mike Orchard was hired to manage the Mankato MoonDogs for the 2009 season, he could have looked a more seasoned pitching coach to tutor his college-aged players. Instead, he opted for 23-year-old Jason Belk and he’s had no second-thoughts.
“Jason was the first guy that popped into my head,” said Orchard. “I worked with him when I was at Eau Claire (in the Northwoods League) and I also worked with him at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona.
“I know his attention to detail and his commitment to make pitchers better. I knew there was a risk hiring someone that close in age to the players, but I kept my eye on it at the start of the season. If Jason had crossed the line I would have pulled him back, but he’s been nothing but professional and the players respond well to him.”
If Belk’s name sounds familiar, it should. Three years ago he pitched for the MoonDogs and put together a decent season with a 1-1 record and a 2.33 earned-run average in 20 appearances. He had 28 strikeouts over 38 2/3 innings.
Belk would have liked to have pitched more while he was in Mankato but was having tendonitis issues with his arm and had to limit his workload. He went back to the University of Iowa and pitched two more seasons before graduating in the spring of 2008.
Like many Division I players, Belk dreamed of getting a shot at the pros after leaving Iowa. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he made some contingency plans in case he didn’t.
“It’s always in the back of your mind when you play D-1 but there was an opportunity for me to coach with (fellow MoonDogs coach) Kurt Elbin with the Tradewater Pirates in Kentucky last summer and I took it in case the pro thing didn’t work out. If I had been drafted I would have given it a shot, but that didn’t happen so I headed south.”
Belk is now at St. Ambrose College in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, working on his masters. He expects to get his postgraduate degree in business, but baseball coaching is what he hopes will become his career.
“I love coaching and I’ve found that my experience with it helps a lot in my graduate classes. Running a team or a pitching staff is a lot like running a business, there are a lot of parallels.”
As most MoonDogs fans know, the team won the first-half North Division title in the Northwoods League and that success was due in large part to a strong pitching staff. At present the ‘Dogs boast two of the three lowest ERA’s in the league in Ryan Demmin (1.39) and Tim Griffin (1.44). Griffin is also second in the league in strikeouts with 48.
“Jason is a very organized person and he finds the time to work with the pitchers individually,” Orchard said. “Whether it’s mechanics, or tweaking something or just the mental approach, he’s always trying to make them better players.”
Belk says he’s been fortunate to work with some very talented players this summer. He’s also glad they’ve been receptive to his coaching.
“All these guys are going back to college ball again and they want to improve. They’re hungry to learn and to fine-tune things.”
Orchard said Belk’s relentless work ethic makes him an asset to the MoonDogs.
“I believe Jason is the most thorough, most prepared pitching coach in the league. You can’t ask for anything more.”
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