Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen was born to his parents, Tim and Grete Treinen, in the small town of Osage City, Kansas.
The former Washington Nationals pitcher has a career record of 44 wins and 39 losses, with a 2.82 ERA and 591 strikeouts in 507 games as of September 2025.
He has achieved notable success in MLB, including winning two World Series Championships in 2020 and 2024. In addition, he was named an All-Star in 2018.
Simply put, there are only a few humans who can throw a baseball faster than Blake. Given his skills and achievements, one might assume that he was trained from a young age and worked hard to reach the major leagues.
However, in reality, his journey was far from that; he faced more struggles than successes in his early baseball career. Not only that, but he had to quit baseball several times before he finally made it.
Blake believes that his journey from a small town to the major leagues became possible because of his faith in God and the support of his parents.
Blake Treinen’s Father, Tim, Coached Him In His Youth Baseball league.
The Dodgers pitcher’s journey in baseball started with challenges long before he became a professional pitcher. As a toddler, he suffered a serious accident.
According to his parents, he fell while carrying a clay pot and badly cut his thumb on his right hand so severely that it had to be re-attached. He uses the same hand to throw the ball at a speed as high as 97 mph.
A few years later, his father, Tim, began to wonder if young Blake was suited for sports at all. But back then, Blake struggled even to catch a baseball. It made Tim worried.
But everything changed after Blake got his first pair of glasses. Suddenly, Tim noticed that his son could do almost everything his way.
After that, Blake’s skills grew quickly. He gained recognition in his youth leagues as a strong pitcher with a mighty arm. His dad often took on the role of coach, guiding him through practices and games.
However, Tim made sure not to push his som too hard. He placed limits, such as keeping Blake to about 30 pitches per game.
Tim wanted his son to develop steadily and without burnout, so he even turned down chances for Blake to play in more competitive travel-ball leagues.
All those efforts of the baseball player’s father showed results. As a freshman in high school, Blake pitched a no-hitter in his very first game.
His Mother Helped Him Turn His Health And Career Around
The MLB star’s love for baseball started to fade in high school because almost all the kids in his town played basketball. He was the only ninth grader to try out for the baseball team. So after one year, he also quit.
With more free time, Blake spent long winters indoors, drinking two-liter bottles of Dr. Peppers, and gained a lot of weight.
Eventually, as a teenager, he was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disorder) and was also diagnosed with borderline Type 2 Diabetes.
This time, his mom, Grete, stepped in to guide him. She told Blake, “You’ve got to get this in check. You are getting close to being diabetic. You need to make changes.”
Blake took her advice seriously. He improved his diet and started running long distances around his neighborhood. He lost a few pounds and grew six inches during his junior year of high school.
One day in P.E., while playing dodgeball, he noticed the ball leaving his hand with greater velocity. This gave him the idea that he might have a future in baseball after all.
Soon after that, he rejoined the Osage City indians baseball team and quickly regained his pitching form.
However, college opportunities were still limited. He didn’t receive any scholarship offers and ended up at Baker University, a small NAIA school located about 100 miles from his hometown.
Even there, he struggled, appearing in only three junior varsity games as a freshman. At 18, the future MLB All-Star was still facing significant challenges, showing just how far he would need to go to reach the top.
After playing college baseball at Baker University and South Dakota State University, Treinen was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2011. He made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2014 and earned an All-Star selection in 2018 with the Athletics.
Finally, he secured World Series championships with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 and 2024.
In Case You Don’t Know
- Blake Treinen is married to his wife, Kati, who is an assistant women’s basketball coach at Walla Walla Community College.
- The couple shares four children. In addition, they also have a bulldog named Maxx “C.”
- The baseball pitcher is a devout Roman Catholic Christian.
- On Friday, September 13, 2024, during a game against the San Francisco Giants, Blake Treinen paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, a political commentator who was shot and killed earlier that week.
