Henry Blanco

Infobox MLB player
name = Henry Blanco

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width = 300
caption =
team = Chicago Cubs
number = 24
position = Catcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1971|8|29
birthplace = Caracas, Venezuela
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = July 25
debutyear = 1997
debutteam = Los Angeles Dodgers
statyear = September 30, 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .227
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 52
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 241
teams =
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1997)
*Colorado Rockies (by|1999)
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2000-by|2001)
*Atlanta Braves (by|2002-by|2003)
*Minnesota Twins (by|2004)
*Chicago Cubs (by|2005-present)

Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball catcher and right-handed batter who plays in the National League for the Chicago Cubs.

A backup catcher most of his career, Blanco also played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1997), Colorado Rockies (1999), Milwaukee Brewers (2000-2002), Atlanta Braves (2003) and Minnesota Twins (2004). Before the by|2005 season, Blanco signed a two-year, US$2.7 million contract with the Cubs to be their backup catcher. After the 2006 season, Blanco renewed his contract for two years with a mutual option for 2009.

In the by|2000 season Blanco threw out 59 percent of attempted stealers. That was the highest percentage for a catcher since by|1982, when California Angels' Bob Boone posted a 56.4 percent success rate. Throughout his career, he has thrown out more than 40 percent of opposing base stealers.

In the 2006 Caribbean World Series, he had a walkoff hit off the top of the opposing shortstop's head in the championship game to give the Venezuelan team the championship.

Through May 30, 2008, Blanco is a career .225 hitter with 50 home runs and 233 RBI in 708 games. His career batting average is lowest among active players with 1000 or more at-bats.

He is a cult favorite among Cub fans, among whom he is often affectionately termed "Hank White" by announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.

ee also

* List of players from Venezuela in Major League Baseball

External links

* [http://hankwhitefanclub.wordpress.com/ Hank White Fan Club] - a fan site dedicated to Henry Blanco.
* [http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/blanco.htm Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers]