Henry Blanco was your classic journeyman backup catcher. Known for his glove, he hit just .223 over a 16 year career that was spent with 11 different teams.

Minnesota signed Blanco to a one year deal in December 2003. The expectation was that he would be the number two catcher behind top prospect Joe Mauer, who made his Major League debut on Opening Day in 2004. But a knee injury limited Mauer to just 35 games that season, and Blanco wound up playing a career high 114 games that season.

As expected, Blanco did very little with the bat. He slashed just .206/.260/.368 (.628). This came with a career high ten home runs and 37 RBI, but that was partly due to the fact that 2004 was the only season where he appeared in at least 100 games. His defense provided a lot of value though, as Blanco threw out an American League best 49.1% of base stealers.

Blanco drove in two runs during the 2004 ALDS against the Yankees. He had a sacrifice fly in game two off Jon Lieber, and launched a solo homer off Javier Vazquez in game four. They’re the only two RBI of his postseason career. His teams did reach October a handful of times, but this was the only instance where he was getting regular playing time. The only other playoff start he had came in game three of the 2002 NLDS when the Braves had to scratch Javy Lopez late.

He is now a member of the coaching ranks. Blanco currently the role of “catching and strategy coach” with the Nationals. Blanco has also been a coach with the Cubs and Diamondbacks, with various roles and titles with each club. He has two World Series rings as a coach, winning it all with the Cubs in 2016 and the Nationals in 2019.