Henry Blanco

Henry Blanco
Blanco with the Seattle Mariners
Chicago Cubs – No. 64
Catcher / Coach
Born: (1971-08-29) August 29, 1971 (age 45) Caracas, Venezuela
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 25, 1997, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 23, 2013, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
Batting average	.223
Home runs	72
Runs batted in	298
Teams
As Player Los Angeles Dodgers (1997) Colorado Rockies (1999) Milwaukee Brewers (2000–2001) Atlanta Braves (2002–2003) Minnesota Twins (2004) Chicago Cubs (2005–2008) San Diego Padres (2009) New York Mets (2010) Arizona Diamondbacks (2011–2012) Toronto Blue Jays (2013) Seattle Mariners (2013) As Coach Arizona Diamondbacks (2014) Chicago Cubs (2015–present)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2016)

Henry Blanco

Medal record
Representing  Venezuela
Men's Baseball
World Baseball Classic
	2009 Los Angeles	Team

As Player

As Coach

Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and current coach with the Chicago Cubs. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2013. Although Blanco was a light-hitting player, he was regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in Major League Baseball.

Blanco began his professional baseball career in 1989 when he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent. He didn't begin to play as a catcher until 1995. After seven 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. Blanco made his major league debut with the Dodgers on July 25, 1997. He returned to play for Albuquerque in 1998 and was granted free agency in October of that year.

In December 1998, Blanco signed a contract to play for the Colorado Rockies and won the starting catcher's role for the 1999 season. Hitting for a .232 batting average, he embellished his defensive credentials by leading National League catchers with 39 baserunners caught stealing.

In December 1999, he was traded (along with Jamey Wright) to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a three-team trade that sent Jeff Cirillo and Scott Karl to Colorado and Justin Miller to the Oakland Athletics. Blanco caught the majority of the Brewers' games in 2000, posting a .236 batting average with 7 home runs, 31 runs batted in. 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. His batting average fell to .210 in the 2001 season.