Blaise Francis Ilsley (born April 9, 1964), is an American former professional baseball

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played in with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, and was

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Early and personal life

Ilsley was born on April 9, 1964, in

Alpena, Michigan Alpena ( ') is the only city and the county seat of Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The population was 10,197 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populated city in the Northern Michigan region, after Traverse City and Cadillac ...

. He was drafted in the 4th round by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

in the

1985 Major League Baseball Draft The 1985 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1985. The draft saw the Milwaukee Brewers select B. J. Surhoff first overall. Also picked in the first round were future stars Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin and Rafael Palmeiro. First round dr ...

after three seasons at

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

Playing career

Illsley gained notice as a future big league prospect when he won 20 games in the minors during the 1986 season. Subsequent arm injuries hurt his career and he was released by the Houston Astros organization. Ilsley spent seven seasons in the Astros farm system being signed as a free agent by the

in December 1991. In the fall of 1992 Ilsley again became a free agent and signed with the Cubs in October of that year. Ilsley was on the Cubs 1994 Opening day roster and appeared in 10 games that season. After being demoted to the minor leagues on July 7, 1994, Ilsley played four more years of professional baseball but never made it back to the Major Leagues. Ilsley spent 14 seasons in the minor leagues, accumulating an overall record of 113–73; winning 3

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

(1991 -

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

, 1993 -

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

and 1997 -

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

). He finished his career by winning the Northern League championship with the 1998

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Lea ...

Ilsley was a pitching coach in the minor leagues from 1999 to 2012, mainly in the

organization. He won league titles with the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: * Bluefield, Virginia, US * Bluefield, West Virginia, US * Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also * Bluefields, Nicaragua * Bluefields, Jamaica {{geodis ...

in 2001, the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

in 2004 and with the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

in 2009.

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, Ilsley has worked as a minor league pitching coach for the

organization. After five seasons as pitching coach for the Cardinals Triple-A

, Ilsley was promoted to bullpen coach for the Cardinals in November, 2012. He replaced

Dyar Miller Dyar K. Miller (born May 29, 1946) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. A graduate of Utah State, Miller pitched 13 seasons in professional baseball between and , including seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, who served one season in the position.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilsley, Blaise 1964 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Asheville Tourists players Auburn Astros players Baseball coaches from Michigan Baseball players from Michigan Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Astros players Columbus Mudcats players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Indiana State Sycamores baseball players Iowa Cubs players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Ottawa Lynx players Osceola Astros players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players St. Louis Cardinals coaches Tucson Toros players 20th-century American sportsmen