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Phillies' Blanton Does It With His Arm, Bat

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By JENNA MARINA

Tribune correspondent

Published: October 27, 2008

Updated: 10/27/2008 12:55 am

PHILADELPHIA - Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton is known for his reserved nature, but it might all be a rouse. When he does something for the first time, he sure doesn't do it quietly.

Blanton homered for the first time in his career in Sunday night's 10-2 win against the Rays to become the first pitcher to hit a home run in the World Series since 1974.

Prior to Sunday, he had 26 career at-bats and only two hits. The last time he hit a home run was in high school. Then came the fifth inning in Game 4 and Blanton belted the ball to left field to increase Philadelphia's lead to 6-2.

Blanton said his approach to hitting was simple: He just closes his eyes and swings hard in case something good happens.

So when did his eyes pop back open?

"I think when I had to throw the warm-up pitch in the next inning," he kidded.

The righty became the 14th pitcher to homer in the playoffs and the second Phillies pitcher to do so in the postseason (Steve Carlton, 1978 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers).

Coincidently, the last pitcher to hit a homer in the World Series was Ken Holtzman of the Oakland A's, Blanton's former team before he was traded in July. Holtzman sent one sailing in the third inning of Game 4 on Oct. 16, 1974.

With all the hullabaloo about his homer, it was easy to lose sight of his pitching performance. But Blanton made noise there, too, as he worked six-plus innings, giving up four hits and two runs.

His thrilling night was not without some controversy, though. Rays manager Joe Maddon was somewhat concerned about a dark spot on the pitcher's cap that he kept rubbing throughout his performance. Maddon brought it to the attention of the umpire, but there was no action taken. Blanton said he never changes his hat so the spot is basically dirt that has accumulated over all his starts.

Still, nothing could bring down the pitcher from his high after the game. While his first home run no doubt will be unforgettable, Blanton said he got a bigger thrill from the crowd's applause when he was relieved from the game.

"My job is not to go out and hit home runs or get hits. My job is to go out and throw the ball well and give our team a chance to win," he said. "And when you get the applause coming off the mound from pitching, you kind of get that sense of, 'I've done my job for the day.'"

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