Henry Blanco |
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Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the San Diego Padres.
A backup catcher most of his career, between 1997 and 2004, Blanco played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1997), Colorado Rockies (1999), Milwaukee Brewers (2000-2002), Atlanta Braves (2003), and Minnesota Twins (2004). Before the 2005 season, Blanco signed a two-year, US$2.7 million contract with the Chicago Cubs to be their backup catcher. After the 2006 season, Blanco renewed his contract for two years with a mutual option for 2009. After the 2008 season, his option was declined making him a free agent.
In the 2000 season Blanco threw out 59 percent of attempted stealers. That was the highest percentage for a catcher since 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.