Henry Blanco

[Michael Trzinski]

Henry Ramón Blanco was born in 1971 in Caracas, Venezuela and was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in November 1989. Blanco was a third baseman in his first six seasons as a Dodgers farmhand, playing 587 games at third base, along with 36 games at first. At the end of the 1995 season, Blanco appeared in one game at catcher for Double-A San Antonio. That was the genesis of his catching career.

The stocky (5-foot-11, 220-pound) Blanco made his big-league debut on July 25, 1997 as a pinch-hitter and singled on the first pitch he saw from Philadelphia pitcher Scott Ruffcorn in an 8-1 Los Angeles win. Blanco hit his first big-league homer off Colorado’s John Thomson in the last game of the year.

After recovering from shoulder surgery and later a broken hand, Blanco played only 55 games at two minor league stops in 1998 and was granted free agency after the season.

After signing with Colorado, Blanco was the main catcher for the 1999 season before getting traded to Milwaukee in December in a three-way deal that included Jamey Wright, Jeff Cirillo, Scott Karl, Justin Miller, and Jimmy Haynes.

Blanco split time with Raúl Casanova for two years, slashing a combined .222/.303/.368 with 42 doubles and 13 home runs across 598 at-bats. Known mostly as a defensive star, Blanco threw out 50% of 138 runners over two seasons, including the 2000 season in which he caught an NL-leading 58.2%.

The Brewers traded Blanco to the Atlanta Braves during spring training 2002. The veteran backstop would go on to play 12 more seasons with nine teams. His career numbers include a slash line of .223/.288/.361 over 2,761 at-bats, including 145 two-base hits and 72 HRs.

Blanco has been a part of the coaching staffs for the Diamondbacks, Cubs, and Nationals. He received a World Championship ring with the Cubs in 2016.

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