Collin Balester

Early life

Collin Thomas Balester was born on June 6, 1986, in Huntington Beach, California, to Tom and Sally Balester. He has two sisters, Lauren and Jenna. His father runs a surfboard shop and makes "Balestar" surfboards.

Collin surfed regularly as a child. In Little League, he threw an 83 mph pitch, leading his father to believe he might become a major league prospect. At Huntington Beach High School, his velocity dropped during his senior year, but he responded with multiple shutouts, finishing with a 6–4 record and a 1.63 ERA, striking out 63 batters in 64 innings.

Professional career

Balester was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the fourth round of the 2004 MLB draft and signed on July 10, assigned to the Rookie-level GCL Expos, where he went 1–2 with a 2.19 ERA. After the Expos relocated to Washington, Baseball America named him the 10th best prospect in the Nationals organization. In 2005, he pitched for the Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats, going 8–6 with a 3.67 ERA in 24 games. He was later ranked the second-best prospect in the system.

In 2006, he started with the High-A Potomac Nationals, struggling to a 1–3 record and 6.91 ERA in nine starts, then was called up to Double-A Harrisburg in late August, where he went 1–0 with a 1.83 ERA in three starts. By 2007, he was considered a top prospect and participated in the All-Star Futures Game. He made his MLB debut on July 1, 2008, winning his start, and finished the season with a 5.51 ERA in 14 starts. In 2009, he split time between Triple-A Syracuse and Washington, making 27 combined starts.

Converted to a reliever in 2010, he continued to split time between Syracuse and Washington through 2011. On December 9, 2011, the Nationals traded him to Detroit for Ryan Perry. In 2012, he started the season on a major league roster for the first time but was designated for assignment in May. After signing a minor league deal with Texas in 2013, he underwent Tommy John surgery.

He returned to the majors in 2015 with the Reds, posting a 7.47 ERA. He made three starts for the Samsung Lions in 2016 before elbow pain led to his release. He played his final professional season in 2017.

Pitching style

Balester threw three pitches: a fastball, a curveball, and a cutter. His fastball, his primary pitch thrown over 60 percent of the time, averaged 93 mph and topped out at 95 mph in the majors. He threw his curveball 20 to 30 percent of the time, averaging 78 mph, though in 2010 he used it 35.5 percent of the time.

His changeup, thrown less than three percent of the time with the Nationals, averaged 84.9 mph. His back leg tended to drop too low during his delivery. Earlier in his career, he yelled at umpires but had become more docile by 2007.

Personal life

Balester married Ashley Sterling in 2009, and they have multiple children. In 2016, the Balesters moved to Perrysburg, Ohio, where they started Local Roots Juice Co., selling smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and snacks. His sister Jenna won several surfing competitions. At various times with the Nationals, he had a mustache, which he re-grew in November 2010 for Movember to raise awareness about cancers affecting men.