Henry Blanco

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Henry Blanco

Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 12
Catcher
Born: August 29, 1971 (1971-08-29) (age 40)
Caracas, Venezuela
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
MLB debut
July 25, 1997 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics
(through 2011)
Batting average     .228
Home runs     68
Runs batted in     277
Teams

Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan professional baseball player.[1] He currently plays in Major League Baseball as a catcher for Arizona Diamondbacks. Although Blanco is a light-hitting player, he is regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball.[2]

Contents

[edit] Professional career

Blanco began his professional baseball career in 1989 when he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent.[1] He didn't begin to play as a catcher until 1995.[2] After 7 years in the minor leagues, he finally blossomed in 1997 when he hit for a .313 batting average in 91 games for the Albuquerque Dukes of the Pacific Coast League.[3] Blanco made his major league debut with the Dodgers on July 25, 1997.[1] He returned to play for Albuquerque in 1998 and was granted free agency in October of that year.[1]

In December 1998, Blanco signed a contract to play for the Colorado Rockies and won the starting catcher's role for the 1999 season.[4] Hitting for a .232 batting average, he embellished his defensive credentials by leading National League catchers with 39 baserunners caught stealing.[5] In December 1999, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a three-team trade.[6] Blanco caught the majority of the Brewers' games in 2000, posting a .236 batting average with 7 home runs, 31 runs batted in.[7] He led National League catchers with a 58.2% baserunners caught stealing percentage, the highest percentage since 1982 when Bob Boone also had a 58.2% success rate.[8] His batting average fell to .210 in the 2001 season and, in March 2002, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Paul Bako and José Cabrera.[1][9]

While Blanco served as a reserve catcher with the Braves working behind Javy Lopez, he also became known as Greg Maddux' personal catcher, a role he inherited from fellow Venezuelan catcher, Eddie Pérez.[2] Although he only produced 22 runs batted in, he had 5 game-winning RBIs and provided solid defense, helping the Braves win the National League Eastern Division title.[10] Blanco was the starting catcher for the Braves in Game 3 of the 2002 National League Division Series and was a late-inning replacement in Game 5 as the Braves were defeated by the San Francisco Giants.[11][12] In January 2003, Blanco signed a $1.3 million dollar, one year contract with the Braves.[10]

Blanco reacts after striking out in 2009, during his tenure with the San Diego Padres.

The Braves repeated as Eastern Division champions in 2003 however, Blanco's batting average dropped to .199 and he was left off the post-season roster in favor of catcher Johnny Estrada as, the Braves lost to the Chicago Cubs in the 2003 National League Division Series.[13][14] When the Braves assigned him to the Triple-A Richmond Braves at the end of the season, Blanco opted for free agency and, in December 2003, he signed a one year, $750,000 contract to play for the Minnesota Twins.[15]

Blanco became a valuable member of the Twins when rookie catcher Joe Mauer was injured early in the 2004 season.[16] He was credited for helping the Twins pitching staff with his game-calling skills, guiding them to the lowest team earned run average in the league.[17][18] Twins pitcher, Johan Santana, gave Blanco credit for helping him win the 2004 American League Cy Young Award.[19] He caught the majority of the Twins' games helping them to clinch the American League Central division title.[20] Blanco posted career-highs with 10 home runs and 37 runs batted in, while leading the American League catchers with a 49.2% caught stealing percentage.[1] He started all four games of the 2004 American League Division Series, hitting 1 home run along with a .250 batting average as the Twins lost to the New York Yankees.[21]

After failing to reach a contract agreement with the Twins after the 2004 season, Blanco opted for free agency again and, in December 2004 he signed a two year, $2.7 million contract to play for the Chicago Cubs.[22] He worked as a back up catcher to Michael Barrett although, many of the Cubs pitchers preferred pitching to Blanco as his 2005 catcher's earned run average of 3.58 was almost 1 run lower than the 4.45 average posted by Barrett.[23][24]

In the 2006 Caribbean Series, Blanco had a walk off double off the top of the opposing shortstop's head in the championship game to give the Leones del Caracas the series championship win over the Tigres del Licey.[25] In the 2006 major league season, he hit for a .266 batting average with a career-high 37 runs batted in and, in November, signed a two-year contract for $5.25 million to remain with the Cubs.[1][26] Blanco appeared in only 22 games for the Cubs in 2007, missing two months of the season due to a herniated disc.[27] The Cubs went on to win the National League Central division although, Blanco did not appear in any post-season games. In 2008, Blanco posted career-highs with a .292 batting average and a .325 on base percentage while serving as back up and mentor to rookie catcher Geovany Soto, who went on to win the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year Award.[28]

After the 2008 season, Blanco's option was declined making him a free agent. In January 2009, he signed a $750,000, one-year contract to play for the San Diego Padres.[29] During the 2009 season, he was a pinch-hitter, late-inning defensive replacement, and a mentor for Padres starting catcher Nick Hundley.[30] Blanco signed a one year, 1.5 million dollar contract with the New York Mets on December 3, 2009. On May 8, 2010, Blanco hit a walk-off home run to help the Mets defeat the San Francisco Giants 5–4.[31]

Blanco signed a one year contract on December 15, 2010, with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[32]

[edit] Career statistics

In a 14 year major league career through the 2011 season, Blanco has played in 900 games, accumulating 584 hits in 2,563 at bats for a .228 career batting average along with 68 home runs, 277 runs batted in and an on base percentage of .293. He has a .994 career fielding percentage. Although he is a light-hitter, Blanco has had an extended major league career due to the value of his excellent defensive abilities.[2] He has credited former catcher Mike Scioscia, who was the catching coordinator during his time with the Dodgers, with helping him develop his catching skills.[33]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Henry Blanco statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blanche01.shtml. Retrieved 23 January 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c d Doyle, Al (November 2002). Sustaining A Long Career. http://books.google.com/books?id=4i4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=PA60&dq=sustaining+a+long+career+by+al+doyle#v=onepage&q=sustaining%20a%20long%20career%20by%20al%20doyle&f=false. Retrieved 23 January 2011. 
  3. ^ "Henry Blanco minor league statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=blanco001hen. Retrieved 23 January 2011. 
  4. ^ "1999 Colorado Rockies". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/COL/1999.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  5. ^ "1999 National League Fielding Leaders". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1999-fielding-leaders.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  6. ^ "Henry Blanco Trades and Transactions". Baseball Almanac. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/trades.php?p=blanche01. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  7. ^ "2000 Milwaukee Brewers". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2000.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  8. ^ "Yearly League Leaders & Records for Caught Stealing Percentage". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/caught_stealing_perc_leagues.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  9. ^ "Braves land Blanco, deal Bako, Cabrera". The Fayetteville Observer. Associated Press: p. 6. 21 March 2002. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rm05AAAAIBAJ&sjid=eykMAAAAIBAJ&pg=867,18374405&dq=henry+blanco&hl=en. Retrieved 10 January 2011. 
  10. ^ a b "Maddux asks for $16 million". mlb.mlb.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030117&content_id=192378&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  11. ^ "2002 National League Division Series Game 3 box score". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200210050.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  12. ^ "2002 National League Division Series Game 5 box score". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL200210070.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  13. ^ "Large crowds expected at Turner Field". The Albany Herald. Associated Press: p. 3. 30 September 2003. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5h5EAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9rAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5100,5079325&dq=henry+blanco&hl=en. Retrieved 10 January 2011. 
  14. ^ "2003 National League Division Series". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2003_NLDS2.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  15. ^ "Twins sign ex-Brave Blanco". Rome News-Tribune. Associated Press: p. 2. 19 December 2003. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=q_ouAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ATwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4257,827538&dq=henry+blanco&hl=en. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  16. ^ "Twins no longer interested in Blanco". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 24 November 2004. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1931314. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  17. ^ "Twins decline option on Guzman". mlb.com. 15 October 2004. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20041015&content_id=895741&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  18. ^ "2004 American League Pitching Statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2004.shtml#teams_standard_pitching::7. Retrieved 19 March 2011. 
  19. ^ "Back up Blanco is perfect catch for Mets". newsday.com. 21 February 2010. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/backup-blanco-is-the-perfect-catch-for-mets-1.1773683. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  20. ^ "2004 Minnesota Twins". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2004.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  21. ^ "2004 American League Division Series". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2004_ALDS2.shtml. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  22. ^ "Garciaparra sticking with Cubs". USA Today. Associated Press. 7 December 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/cubs/2004-12-07-garciaparra-signs_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  23. ^ "2005 Henry Blanco advanced fielding statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blanche01-field.shtml#advanced_fielding_c::none. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  24. ^ "2005 Michael Barrett advanced fielding statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/barremi01-field.shtml#advanced_fielding_c::none. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  25. ^ "The whole country celebrates together". ESPN.com. ESPN. 14 February 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/columns/story?id=2323567. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  26. ^ "Blanco renews deal to stay in Chicago". mlb.mlb.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061115&content_id=1740928&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  27. ^ "Cubs place Blanco on DL". UPI.com. United Press International. 2 June 2007. http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2007/06/02/Cubs-place-Blanco-on-DL/UPI-39881180816378/. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  28. ^ "2008 National League Rookie of the Year Award voting". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_2008.shtml#NLroy. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  29. ^ "Padres, Henry Blanco agree to $750K, 1-year deal". USA Today. Associated Press. 21 January 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/2009-01-21-1615665443_x.htm. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  30. ^ "Padres agree to terms on a one-year contract with catcher Henry Blanco". mlb.com. http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090121&content_id=3761810&vkey=pr_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  31. ^ "Platoon paying dividends for Mets". USA Today. Associated Press. 8 May 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5174072. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  32. ^ "D-Backs reportedly add depth to team". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5926482&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  33. ^ "There’s No E in Blanco, Even After Two Years". The New York Times. 23 July 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/sports/baseball/24citifield.html. Retrieved 16 February 2011. 

[edit] External links

Arizona Diamondbacks current roster
Active roster
Coaching Staff

Manager 23 Kirk Gibson | Bench Coach 3 Alan Trammell | 1st Base Coach 7 Eric Young | 3rd Base Coach 9 Matt Williams | Hitting Coach 25 Don Baylor | Pitching Coach 50 Charles Nagy | Bullpen Coach 53 Glenn Sherlock | Bullpen Catcher 82 Jeff Motuzas | Coach 80 Wilson Valera
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