Topic: Henry Blanco

Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He currently plays in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Although Blanco is a light-hitting player, he is regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in 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 7 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 to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a three-team trade. 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 and, in March 2002, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Paul Bako and José Cabrera.