Darrell Elijah (Cy) Blanton (July 6, 1908 – September 13, 1945) was a
starting pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
who played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
and
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. Blanton batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Blanton was a
screwball
A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...
pitcher.
Pitching career
Blanton grew up in Trousdale, Oklahoma, and was living in Shawnee, Oklahoma, playing on sandlot teams. In 1929 he joined the Shawnee Robins, a C Class team in the Western Association. Blanton was a pitcher for the
Independence Producers The Independence Producers were a minor league baseball team based in Independence, Kansas, United States, that played from 1921 to 1925 and from 1928 to 1932. From 1921 to 1924, they played in the Southwestern League, and in 1925 they played in t ...
in 1931. The Independence Producers were a Class C minor league team located in
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence.
History
Independence w ...
. Blanton had twelve wins and eight losses for the season.
Blanton was one of the mainstays of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation in the mid 1930s. He pitched for the
Albany Senators
The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium (Albany), Hawkins Stadium.
The various editions of t ...
in 1934, being promoted to Pittsburgh to pitch one game. Earlier he pitched in the
Piedmont League
The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.
Teams
The following teams were members of the Piedmon ...
and the
Western Association
The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...
.
In his 1935
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
season he recorded 18
wins with 142
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s and led the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
in
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(2.58) and
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
s (4). He averaged 12.67 wins for the next three years, leading again the league in shutouts in 1936 (4) and starts in 1937 (34). A
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
before the 1940 season, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Although he made the
National League All-Star team in 1937 and 1941, he never showed again the brilliance of his first season. He last pitched for the Phillies in 1942,
[ being released after a month long stay in hospital due to kidney problems.]
In a nine-season career, Blanton posted a 68–71 record with a 3.55 ERA and 611 strikeouts.
Death
He was suspended by the Hollywood Stars
The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels.
Hollywood Stars (192 ...
for failure to get in shape in March 1945.[''Blanton Suspended By Hollywood Club; Hurler Fails to Get Into Condition'', ]Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
, March 28, 1945, pg. A8. He returned to Oklahoma from California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
where he had been living just before he died. Blanton died in Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...
, at the age of 37, from internal hemorrhaging as a result of cirrhosis. His body was taken to Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...
, for burial in the nearby Tecumseh Cemetery.[ He left a wife, Marie, and four children including a son, Zane, who briefly played in the minor leagues with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
]
See also
* List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
In baseball, earned run average (ERA) is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers, calculated as the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. A pitcher is assessed an earned run for each run scored by a baserunner who reach ...
References
External links
The Deadball Era
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanton, Cy
1908 births
1945 deaths
People from Waurika, Oklahoma
National League All-Stars
National League ERA champions
Philadelphia Phillies players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Oklahoma
Screwball pitchers
Deaths from cirrhosis
Alcohol-related deaths in Oklahoma