American baseball player (born 1976)
Baseball player
Clarence Matthew Blank
(born April 5, 1976) is an American former
professional baseball
relief pitcher
. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Montreal Expos
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Blank attended
James W. Martin High School
in
Arlington, Texas
. He was selected by the
New York Yankees
in the 37th round of the
1994 Major League Baseball draft
, but did not sign, and instead enrolled at
Galveston College
.
[1]
After a year in college, Blank was drafted in the 40th round of the
1995 Major League Baseball draft
by the
Florida Marlins
, but again declined to sign.
[1]
He later transferred to
Texas A&M University
.
[1]
In 1996, he played
collegiate summer baseball
with the
Wareham Gatemen
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
.
[2]
Professional career
[
edit
]
After not being drafted in
1996
, Blank was drafted in the 11th round of the
1997 Major League Baseball draft
by the
Montreal Expos
.
[1]
He signed on to play in the Expos organization, and made his professional baseball debut with the
Short Season-A
Vermont Expos
. In 16 appearances, Blank posted a 6?4
win?loss record
, 1.69
earned run average
(ERA), and 84
strikeouts
in 95
2
⁄
3
innings pitched
.
[1]
In 1998, he split time between the
Class-A
Cape Fear Crocs
and
Advanced-A
Jupiter Hammerheads
. In 29 combined pitching appearances, Blank pitched to a 14?3 record, 2.54 ERA, and 140 strikeouts in 177 total innings.
[1]
He began the 1999 season with Jupiter, later earning a promotion to the
Double-A
Harrisburg Senators
. Blank went 15?8 in the 1999 minor league season, adding a 3.14 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 175 innings.
[1]
Blank was expected to begin the 2000 season in the minor leagues, but was added to the roster by the Expos to fill in for
Graeme Lloyd
while he recovered from a shoulder injury.
[3]
He made his made
Major League Baseball
debut on April 3, pitching one scoreless inning in a 10?4 loss to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
.
[4]
Blank made 13 relief appearances for the Expos in 2000, and went 0?1 with a 5.14 ERA and four strikeouts in 14 total innings.
[5]
He split time between with the Expos and
Triple-A
Ottawa Lynx
in 2001. With the Expos, Blank pitched to a 2?2 record, 5.16 ERA, and 11 strikeouts in 22
2
⁄
3
innings.
[5]
In Ottawa, Blank went 6?7 with a 5.18 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 81
2
⁄
3
innings.
[1]
He spent the entire 2002 season with the Lynx, and posted an 11?7 record, 3.24 ERA, and 92 strikeouts in 147 total innings.
[1]
Blank opened the 2003 minor league season with the Expos' new Triple-A affiliate, the
Edmonton Trappers
. On April 30, he was sent to the
San Francisco Giants
as the
player to be named later
in an earlier trade that sent
Jim Brower
to the Giants in exchange for
Edwards Guzman
,
Livan Hernandez
, and cash considerations.
[5]
After eight starts for the Triple-A
Fresno Grizzlies
, Blank was released by the Giants.
[5]
[1]
He signed with the
Atlanta Braves
organization on August 3, but was released on August 19 after making two relief appearances for the Double-A
Greenville Braves
.
[5]
[1]
On January 16, 2004, Blank signed with the Florida Marlins organization, playing for their Triple-A affiliate, the
Albuquerque Isotopes
, in 2004 and part of 2005.
[5]
[1]
He was released by the Marlins on May 24, 2005, and signed with the
Kia Tigers
of the
KBO League
.
[6]
In January 2006, Blank signed with the
Toronto Blue Jays
organization, but was released on March 22.
[5]
He returned to the Marlins organization in May 2006.
[5]
In August 2006, Blank was traded to the
San Diego Padres
organization for Jim Brower, the player he had been traded with to the San Francisco Giants in 2003.
[5]
He was granted free agency in October, and retired shortly afterward.
[5]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
"Matt Blank Minor League Statistics & History"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
December 31,
2016
.
- ^
"Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League"
(PDF)
. capecodbaseball.org
. Retrieved
September 25,
2019
.
- ^
Richer, Shawna (April 4, 2000).
"Lloyd's wife dies suddenly"
.
theglobeandmail.com
. Retrieved
December 31,
2016
.
- ^
"April 3, 2000 Los Angeles Dodgers at Montreal Expos Play by Play and Box Score"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. April 3, 2000
. Retrieved
December 31,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"Matt Blank Statistics and History"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
December 31,
2016
.
- ^
"Matt Blank KBO Statistics"
.
eng.koreabaseball.com
. Retrieved
December 31,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]