Bill Blanchette

William G. Blanchette

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

• School University of Hawaii, Pepperdine University
• High School Punahou School

• Born September 1, 1970

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Bill Blanchette was an All-American pitcher who had a short pro career.

Blanchette was a walk-on at Hawaii after transferring from Pepperdine for his sophomore year. As a junior in 1991, he was 14-2 with a 2.68 ERA while also hitting over .300 at first base. He led the Western Athletic Conference in ERA and joined Rigo Beltran and Rick Navarro as the All-WAC pitchers. He was named the WAC MVP as well. He tied six others (including Chad Ogea and Marc Valdes) for 4th in NCAA Division I in wins, behind Kennie Steenstra, Bobby Jones and Mike Heathcott. Collegiate Baseball named him to their first All-American team, joining Steenstra, Jones, Keith Garagozzo, Phil Stidham and Tony Phillips as the pitchers. Baseball America picked him second-team with Steve Trachsel, Ogea, Dave Tuttle and Jason Angel, behind Jones, Steenstra, Craig Clayton, Steve Whitaker and John Burke. He fell to 8-3, 3.46 as a senior, now the #3 starter on his team, with Scott Karl the new ace. He did lead Hawaii in average (.389). He was 6th in the WAC in average and 5th in ERA. He was not drafted, though, until the 43rd round of the 1992 amateur draft. The California Angels picked him.

Blanchette split the summer of 1992 between the Boise Hawks (2-1, Sv, 4.15) and Quad Cities River Bandits (3.00 ERA in 13 G). He was 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 20 outings for the 1993 Hawks. Moving on to the independent leagues, he hit .186/.280/.209 as a 1B for the 1994 St. Paul Saints. He was announcer (home games) and player (road games) for the Honolulu Sharks of the 1998 Hawaii Winter League.

He later worked as an air traffic controller.

Sources

• 1992-1993 Baseball Almanacs
• 2009 article on Blanchette
• 2002 Honolulu Star-Bulletin