Hank Blalock

Infobox MLB player
name=Hank Blalock

---

width=250
position=First baseman
team=Texas Rangers
number=9
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|11|21
birthplace=city-state|San Diego|California
debutdate=April 1
debutyear=2002
debutteam=Texas Rangers
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.274
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=127
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=469
teams=
*Texas Rangers (by|2002-present)

Hank Joe Blalock (born November 21, 1980 in San Diego, California) is a Major League Baseball first baseman who currently plays for the Texas Rangers.

High school

Blalock attended Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, California, was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 3rd round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft.

Minor leagues

Blalock broke into professional baseball with the Gulf Coast League Rangers of the Rookie League in by|1999. Blalock ended '99, and spent all of by|2000 with the Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats. Blalock burst into the public's consciousness with a huge by|2001 season. Splitting time between the Charlotte Rangers of the Florida State League and the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League, Blalock put up huge offensive numbers and hit for the cycle twice in one week, establishing himself as one of the top prospects in the game.

Blalock started the mlby|2002 season as the Rangers' starting third baseman, but after a slow start was sent back to the minors, and spent most of the year playing for the Triple-A Oklahoma Redhawks of the Pacific Coast League.

Major leagues

In mlby|2003, Blalock had a breakthrough hitting 29 home runs and 90 RBI with a .300 batting average. A combination of being able to hit for power and for average drew early comparisons to George Brett and helped him to get voted to the All-Star Game in his first full season as a Ranger, where he hit the game winning home run off Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagné.

Blalock finished the mlby|2004 season with 32 home runs and over 100 RBI and was voted to his second All-Star Game. A disappointing mlby|2005 season made Blalock the center of many trade rumors. He was not traded, however, and he played mlby|2006 with the Rangers.

On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Blalock was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the [http://www.komen.org Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation] . He hit his 100th career home run on June 23, 2006, in the sixth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies.

Blalock's decreasing performance since his breakout 2003 season led many to believe that he would be traded to make room for Mark DeRosa to take a full-time position in the Rangers' infield. However, the hiring of new manager Ron Washington, who was credited with improving the play of Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez, seemed to guarantee that Blalock would not be traded; and in fact, the Rangers declined to sign DeRosa, allowing him to file for free agency.

Blalock was diagnosed with Thoracic outlet syndrome during the mlby|2007 season and underwent surgery in May 2007 to remove his first rib. He returned to the lineup in September, but did not take the field at third base until mlby|2008 in spring training.

During the 2008 season, Blalock injured a hamstring, placing him on the disabled list again for the second time in two seasons. On May 18, 2008, Blalock and the Rangers announced that upon his return to the team, he would return as a first baseman. Blalock had never played first base as a professional, but he felt it was the best move for the team, as the Rangers had not seen much offensive production from their first basemen in 2008. Blalock worked with Ron Washington and spoke with Phil Nevin (who made a similar switch from third to first with San Diego in 2002) to start learning the position. However, upon his activation from the disabled list, due to the emergence of Chris Davis at first, Blalock returned to third base. [ [http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080717&content_id=3145669&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex Blalock reclaims third-base job] ] However, to avoid more shoulder problems, they moved him to first and put Davis at third.

Blalock's approach the plate song is "Animals" by Nickelback.

Family in baseball

Hank's younger brother, Jake Blalock, played in the Texas Rangers franchise from 2006-2007, after being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies along with Robinson Tejeda in exchange for outfielder David Dellucci on the eve of the by|2006 season. Jake returned to the Phillies system in July 2007 as a free agent.

Hank's uncle, Sam, is a well known high school baseball coach who has helped numerous others develop towards Major League Baseball careers.

References

External links