GENEVA, IL - In 2003, Joe Blanton was an up-and-coming 22-year old pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization who was assigned to Class-A Kane County for his first full season of professional baseball. Five and a half years later, Blanton is a World Series champion, Philadelphia hero and the first pitcher to hit a World Series home run in 34 years, helping lead the Philadelphia Phillies to their first championship since 1980.A 2003 Midwest League All-Star for the Cougars and the 75th former Cougar to reach the Major Leagues (the franchise currently stands at 101 players who have made the big leagues), Blanton will be remembered by Phillies fans for his all-around sterling performance during a pivotal Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Blanton started the game for the Phillies, who held a 2-1 series lead entering the contest. Playing at home, Blanton calmly provided six innings of mound work and allowed just two runs to soften the Rays' offensive attack.
It's what Blanton did with the bat, however, that turned heads. With two outs in the fifth inning, Blanton strode to the plate and cracked a solo homer to left field. Prior to his at-bat, Blanton had only recorded 33 Major League AB's, 21 of which ended in a strikeout. Blanton's bomb was the first round-tripper hit by a pitcher in World Series play since Oakland pitcher Ken Holtzman went deep in Game 4 of the 1974 fall classic.
Blanton joins an impressive fraternity of former Cougars who can call themselves "World Champions". Much of the list includes members of the 2003 world champion Florida Marlins team that included young Kane County farmhands such as Josh Beckett ('00 Cougar), Miguel Cabrera ('01) and Dontrelle Willis ('02). Other notable Cougars alumni who have won World Series rings include Edgar Renteria ('96 Cougar, member of '97 Florida Marlins), Scott Podsednik ('01 Cougar, member of '05 Chicago White Sox) and Kevin Millar ('98 Cougar, member of '04 Boston Red Sox).
FORMER COUGAR VOICE A WORLD CHAMPION, TOO: A World Series victory tastes sweet to broadcasters of the victorious Phillies as well. That group includes former Cougar radio voice Scott Franzke, who broadcast the Cougars for three seasons (1999-'01). Franzke was behind the mic for the Cougars' championship season in 2001, a squad that included the aforementioned Cabrera, along with Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Willingham.
JOE BLANTON'S STATISTICS AS A KANE COUNTY COUGAR (2003 SEASON):
- 8-7 record
- 2.57 ERA in 21 games, all starts
- 2003 Midwest League All-Star
- Was named MWL Pitcher of the Week three times
- Struck out 14 batters in his final KC start before being promoted
- Led the MWL in strikeouts (144)
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