Larvell Blanks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Larvell Blanks |
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| Infielder | |||
| Born: January 28, 1950 Del Rio, Texas, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| July 19, 1972, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| August 3, 1980, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .253 | ||
| Home runs | 20 | ||
| Runs batted in | 172 | ||
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Larvell Blanks, born on January 28, 1950, is a former American professional baseball player. He played as an infielder in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1980. He played for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and Texas Rangers.
Larvell comes from a family of athletes. His uncle, Sid, played American football. His cousin, Lance, was a professional basketball player. Lance was also the general manager for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. Lance's daughter, Riley, played tennis at the University of Virginia. Larvell lives in Del Rio, Texas today.
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Early Life and Baseball Start
Larvell Blanks was born in Del Rio, Texas. He was one of eight children. When he was twelve, Larvell played in the 1962 Little League World Series. He played for the Val Verde County Little League team.
Besides baseball, Larvell also played basketball and ran track. He was a quarterback for his high school football team. After high school, the Atlanta Braves picked him in the third round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft.
Larvell was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in his first professional season. He played for the Magic Valley Cowboys in the Pioneer League. Around this time, his teammates Ralph Garr and Darrell Evans gave him the nickname "Sugar Bear". They called him this because of his strong way of batting.
During his fourth year in the minor leagues, Larvell was called up to the major leagues. This happened when Braves left fielder Rico Carty was injured.
Playing for the Atlanta Braves
Larvell Blanks played many different positions in the infield during his minor league career. In 1972, he mainly played second base. He had a great start, hitting for a .415 batting average in his first month. By the end of the season, his average was .329.
After the season, the Braves traded their regular second baseman Félix Millán. This seemed to open the door for Larvell to become the main second baseman. However, the Braves then got Davey Johnson from the Baltimore Orioles. So, Larvell spent the first two months of the 1973 season as a pinch hitter and pinch runner. He was then sent to the Triple-A Richmond Braves.
Larvell played two seasons with the Richmond Braves. He hit .261 with twenty home runs and 82 runs batted in. He was called back up to the major leagues in September 1974.
In 1975, the Braves' shortstop Craig Robinson was not hitting well. So, Larvell was moved to play shortstop. He batted .234 with three home runs and 38 RBIs. He also made 27 errors while playing in the field. This was his only season as a regular starter in the major leagues.
On December 12, 1975, Larvell Blanks was traded twice. On the same day, the Braves got Darrel Chaney to play shortstop. First, Larvell was traded to the Chicago White Sox with Ralph Garr. Then, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Jack Brohamer.
Time with the Cleveland Indians
Even without a regular starting spot, Larvell Blanks played a good amount in 1976. He played as a middle infielder. At first, Larvell and his manager Frank Robinson got along well. But their relationship became difficult in 1977.
Larvell hit .280 with five home runs and 41 RBIs in his first season with Cleveland. He thought he should be the starting shortstop instead of Frank Duffy. Duffy had a lower batting average. But Manager Robinson kept Duffy as the starter because he was better at fielding. At one point, Larvell was so upset that he set his uniform on fire in a trash can.
Many other players also had problems with Manager Robinson. This led to Robinson being let go 57 games into the 1977 season. Even though Duffy remained the main shortstop, Larvell played more under the new manager, Jeff Torborg. On July 8, Larvell hit two home runs in one game against the Toronto Blue Jays. This was the only time he did that in his career.
On September 4, the starting third baseman Buddy Bell got injured. Larvell then played as the starting third baseman for the rest of the season. He batted .329 with six RBIs during this time.
In Spring training 1978, Larvell Blanks won the starting shortstop job over Duffy. Soon after, Duffy was traded. Larvell started the season well, getting ten runs in April. But on May 5, he made his tenth throwing error in just one month. He was soon replaced at shortstop by Tom Veryzer.
Playing for the Texas Rangers
On October 3, 1978, Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern were traded to the Texas Rangers. In return, the Indians received Bobby Bonds and Len Barker. Larvell's playing time was less with the Rangers. He had only 138 plate appearances, which was the fewest he had in a full major league season.
After the season, Larvell and Doyle Alexander were traded back to the Atlanta Braves. The original trade involved Jeff Burroughs, Adrian Devine, and Pepe Frías going to the Rangers. However, Burroughs did not want to be traded. So, the trade was changed, and the Braves sent $50,000 to the Rangers instead of Burroughs.
Retirement from Baseball
Larvell Blanks' second time with the Braves did not go well. He was released during the 1980 season. At that time, he had a .204 batting average.
In 1981, he signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But he decided to go to Mexico instead. He played for the Azules de Coatzacoalcos. He played five seasons in the Mexican Baseball League before he retired. In 1989, he played with the Orlando Juice in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. Since then, he has taken up golfing. He competes on the Golf Channel's Amateur Tour.
