Blas Monaco (November 16, 1915 – February 10, 2000) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who had a long career (1935–1944; 1946–1949) in minor league baseball interrupted by two brief Major League trials almost nine years apart with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

in and . The native of

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

, threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, stood tall and weighed .

Career

Monaco appeared in only 17

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in the Major Leagues, and collected two

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in 13

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, with one

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

, a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

, and 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 ba ...

. His two hits and lone RBI came in his big league debut on August 18, 1937, at

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on th ...

against the St. Louis Browns. In that game, Monaco

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

for starting second baseman

John Kroner John Harold Kroner (November 13, 1908 – April 26, 1968) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1935 through 1938 for the Boston Red Sox (1935–36) and Cleveland Indians (1937–38). Listed at , 185 lb., Kroner ba ...

and went two-for-two and played errorless ball in the field, in an 11–6

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

defeat. He would go hitless in his remaining 11 MLB at bats (five in 1937 and six in 1946), starting his only game as a second baseman four days after his debut, and going 0-for-4 against

Vern Kennedy Lloyd Vernon Kennedy (March 20, 1907 – January 28, 1993) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincin ...

of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

.1937-8-22 (2) box score
from

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However, he again made no errors in the game, which was won by the

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, 3–2. During his minor league career, Monaco played in over 1,400 games.

References

External links

* 1915 births 2000 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from San Antonio Cedar Rapids Raiders players Cleveland Indians players Dallas Eagles players Diablos Rojos del México players Fargo-Moorhead Twins players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball second basemen Newark Bears (IL) players Oklahoma City Indians players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Seattle Rainiers players Springfield Indians (baseball) players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players {{US-baseball-second-baseman-stub