Dámaso Blanco Caripe (born December 11, 1941 in

Curiepe Curiepe is a town in the state of Miranda, Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a ...

Miranda State Miranda State ( es, link=no, Estado Miranda, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela and the second most populous after Zulia State. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,675,165 residents. It also has the greatest Hu ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

), is a former

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), ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

and right-handed batter who played for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

(1972–74). In 1977, at the age of 36, he retired from baseball and began serving as a scout for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for a short period of time. On his return to Venezuela, he began a successful career as commentator in the media.

Life and career

Blanco was the classic example of the fine fielder with a light bat. He was a decent hitter in the minors, where his

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

and on-base averages were both quite respectable. He was 7-for-20 (.350) in 1972 (his first two hits coming in the same game, against

Tom Phoebus Thomas Harold Stephen Phoebus (April 7, 1942 – September 5, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynas ...

of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

on June 11), but was 0-for-13 in limited opportunities the next two seasons. In parts of three seasons as a backup with the Giants, Blanco hit .212 (7-for-33) with two

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, nine runs, one

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

and 3

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 72 games. In the field he handled 46 of 48

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

successfully (.958) and participated in 3

double plays In baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the ...

. He resumed his career in the Venezuela League, hitting .272 (704-for-2623) with 198 RBI, 289 runs, 72 doubles, 28

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, and 70 steals in 754 games (1960–77). After retiring at age 36, Blanco scouted briefly for the

before beginning a successful career as a journalist and baseball broadcaster in his native Venezuela. In 2014, Blanco gained induction in the

Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol Venezolano (in English, the ''Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum'') is a nonprofit institution operated by private interests, which was founded on April 18, 2002, thanks to the vision of Carlos ...

. He was inducted as well in the Hall in 2015, when the entire 1959 Pan American Games champion team was honored.

References

External links

*Career statistics and player information fro
Baseball-Reference
o
Baseball-Reference (Minors)
o
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Damaso 1941 births Amarillo Giants players Baseball announcers Baseball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Decatur Commodores players El Paso Sun Kings players Eugene Emeralds players Fresno Giants players Industriales de Valencia players Leones del Caracas players Licoreros de Pampero players Living people Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Navegantes del Magallanes players Pan American Games gold medalists for Venezuela Pan American Games medalists in baseball People from Miranda (state) Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Springfield Giants players Tacoma Giants players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Waterbury Giants players Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games

Life and career

See also

References

External links