Don Blasingame

Donald Lee Blasingame (March 16, 1932 – April 13, 2005), nicknamed "Blazer", was an American professional baseball player. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955–1959), San Francisco Giants (1960–1961), Cincinnati Reds (1961–1963), Washington Senators (1963–1966), and Kansas City Athletics (1966). Blasingame threw right-handed, batted left-handed and was listed as 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg). Born and raised in Corinth, Mississippi, Blasingame signed with the Cardinals in 1953 after a stint in the United States Army. He made his debut for the team in September 1955 and took over the second base job from Red Schoendienst in 1956. In 1957, he finished twelfth in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting, and he reached his only All-Star Game in 1958. He played one more season for the Cardinals in 1959 before getting traded to the Giants. With San Francisco, Blasingame's batting average was significantly lower than it had been with St. Louis, and he lost the second base job in 1961, then was traded early in the season to the Reds. He made it to the World Series with the Reds during his first year and batted .281 for them in 1962. In 1963, he lost the second base role to Pete Rose and was traded to the Senators midseason. Blasingame served as Washington's second baseman until 1966, platooned with Chuck Cottier for the first half of that year, then went to the Athletics and spent a month with them as a pinch hitter to finish his major league career. After that, Blasingame went to Japan. He spent three seasons playing with the Nankai Hawks, then coached the team for several years. From 1979 to 1980, he managed the Hanshin Tigers, and from 1981...