Highlighted Year: Johnny Blanchard, 1961

Catcher/Outfielder, New York Yankees

Age: 28

2^nd season with Yankees

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 193 

Prior to 1961:

A native of Minneapolis, Blanchard spent time at DeLaSalle High School before transferring to Minneapolis Central High School and excelled at basketball and football in addition to baseball. Playing for a semipro baseball team in Carroll, Iowa, during one summer, he was paid $265 to be a groundskeeper in order to maintain his amateur status. As a third baseman, outfielder, shortstop, and pitcher, he drew the attention of major league scouts. Blanchard signed with the Yankees in 1951 for a $30,000 bonus and a guaranteed salary of $5000 for the next five years. Assigned to the Kanss City Blues of the Class AAA American Association, the 18-year-old Blanchard hit safely in his first eight games but, due to a surplus of outfielders, he was sent to Binghamton of the Class A Eastern League to have an opportunity for more playing time. Over the course of 30 games he batted only .183 with a .276 on-base percentage. Stressed to the point that he developed an ulcer, he was selected to the Casey Stengel Preliminary Camp and he was tutored by Yankee Hall of Famer Bill Dickey to become a catcher. Assigned to Joplin of the Class C Western Association in 1952, Blanchard proved to be a work in progress behind the plate, being charged with 20 errors and 35 passed balls in 112 games, but he batted a solid .301 with 31 doubles, 30 home runs, 112 RBIs, a .411 OBP, and a .585 slugging percentage. He was selected as the league MVP despite the defensive lapses. Drafted into the Army in 1952, he played service baseball in 1954. Resuming his minor league career in 1955, Blanchard was initially assigned to Denver of the American Association but was quickly sent for another stint to Class A Binghamton where he hit .281 with 34 home runs, 111 RBIs, a .355 OBP, and a .554 slugging percentage. He received a late-season call-up to the Yankees who were involved in a tight pennant race and GM George Weiss believed that a third-string backstop could be of help. The Yanks won the pennant but Blanchard appeared in only one game and was hitless in three at bats. He played winter ball in the Dominican Republic and was assigned to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern Association in 1956 where he batted .270 with 18 doubles, 17 home runs, 70 RBIs, a .359 OBP, and a .435 slugging percentage. He was named to the league All-Star team but he also suffered from the effects of an apparent torn rotator cuff which in a later era would have caused him to sit out a year but at that time was treated by cortisone injections to numb the pain. Nearly making the Yankees in the spring of 1957, Blanchard was instead sent down to the Denver Bears of the Class AAA American Association, where he had once had a brief stint, now managed by Ralph Houk, where he batted .310 with 22 doubles, 18 home runs, 86 RBIs, a .346 OBP, and a .499 slugging percentage. Back with Denver in 1958, Blanchard hit .291 with 28 doubles, 19 home runs, 96 RBIs, a .351 OBP, and a .462 slugging percentage. Making it to the Yankees from the sart in 1959, he was utilized as a third-string catcher and backup outfielder and pinch-hitter. Appearing in 49 games he batted a mere .169 with a pair of home runs and 4 RBIs. Easygoing and not inclined to complain about his lack of playing time, Blanchard saw more action in 1960 as Yogi Berra played more in left field than behind the plate and Elston Howard became the regular catcher. In 53 games Blanchard batted .242 with 4 home runs, 14 RBIs, and a .292 OBP. Following a down year in ’59, the Yankees regained the top spot in the American League and in the World Series against Pittsburgh, Blanchard appeared in five of the seven games due to an injury to Howard and hit .455. The replacement of Casey Stengel as manager by Ralph Houk provided Blanchard with the opportunity to gain more playing time in 1961.

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 93 games

C – 48, PH – 33, LF – 8, RF – 7

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 275

At Bats – 243

Runs – 38

Hits – 74

Doubles – 10

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 21 [18, tied with Elston Howard, John Romano & Earl Averill]

RBI – 54

Bases on Balls – 27

Int. BB – 9 [4, tied with Mickey Mantle & Bill Skowron]

Strikeouts – 28

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – 0

Average - .305 [Non-qualifying]

OBP - .382 [Non-qualifying]

Slugging Pct. - .613 [Non-qualifying]

Total Bases – 149

GDP – 6

Hit by Pitches – 4 [16, tied with fourteen others]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 3, HR - 9, RBI - 21, AVG - .291, SLG - .583, OBP – .373

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Most hits, game – 3 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

HR at home – 14

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Detroit 6/18, (in 4 AB) vs. Chi. White Sox 7/26, (in 4 AB) vs. Washington 9/6

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Boston 7/21, vs. Washington 9/6

Pinch-hitting – 7 for 26 (.269) with 5 R, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 4 BB & 2 HBP

Fielding (C )

Chances – 289

Put Outs – 268

Assists – 18

Errors – 3

Passed Balls – 2

DP – 2

Pct. - .990

Postseason Batting: 4 G (World Series vs. Cincinnati)

PA – 12, AB – 10, R – 4, H – 4, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 3, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 0, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .400, OBP - .500, SLG - 1.100, TB – 11, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

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The Yankees, under new manager Ralph Houk, went 109-53 to win the AL pennant by 8 games over the Detroit Tigers, while leading the league in home runs (240), RBIs (781), slugging (.442), and total bases (2455). The Yankees surged to the pennant in a season dominated by the home run race between slugging outfielders Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Won World Series over the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1. The Series was highlighted by New Yotk LHP Whitey Ford’s record string of 33 consecutive shutout innings pitched. Blanchard, who hit four consecutive home runs across three games during the season, contributed two clutch homers during the World Series.

Aftermath of 1961:

In 1962 Blanchard continued in his role as backup catcher and outfielder in addition to pinch-hitting. Overall, he appeared in 93 games and batted a disappointing .232 with 13 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .309 OBP. The Yankees, less impressive than in the previous season, still won the AL pennant. Blanchard struck out in one World Series at bat against the San Francisco Giants. He saw no action behind the plate in 1963, instead filling in as an outfielder in addition to pinch-hitting. While he slugged 16 home runs with 45 RBIs, he batted a disappointing .225 with a .305 OBP. Blanchard played for one last Yankee pennant-winning team in 1964 with most of his action as catcher in addition to occasional outfield and pinch-hitting duty. In just 189 plate appearances he hit .255 with 8 doubles, 7 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .344 OBP. In the seven-game World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals he managed a double in four at bats. With the Yankees beginning to fade in 1965, Blanchard was traded to the Kansas City A’s in May (much to his distress) who sold him to the Milwaukee Braves in September. With his skills in decline at age 32 he hit a combined .183 with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs in his final season. After sitting out the 1966 season, he attempted an abortive comeback with the relocated Atlanta Braves in 1967, which ended with his release at the end of spring training, thus concluding his playing career. For his major league career, Blanchard batted .239 with 285 hits that included 36 doubles, 2 triples, and 67 home runs. He scored 137 runs and compiled 200 RBIs with a .317 OBP and ..441 slugging percentage. His production came almost entirely with the Yankees. Appearing in 15 World Series games he hit .345 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Having been a handy player with batting power who was a contributor to championship Yankee teams, especially in 1961, Blanchard returned home to Minnesota where he managed amateur baseball teams. . He died of a heart attack at age 76 in 2009.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.