Johnny Blatnik

John Louis Blatnik

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Bridgeport (OH) High School
• Debut April 21, 1948
• Final Game May 14, 1950
• Born March 10, 1921 in Bridgeport, OH USA
• Died January 21, 2004 in Lansing, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

The Cleveland Indians signed Johnny Blatnik as an amateur free agent in 1938 while he was still in high school. In 1939, he appeared with both the Class D Mansfield Braves and Greensburg Senators, playing 39 games and hitting .302. He spent the next three seasons with the Class D Fargo-Moorhead Twins and the Class C Charleston Senators. In late 1942, the United States Military called and kept him occupied until the 1946 season rolled around. Now 25, he hit .336 in 139 games for the Class B Harrisburg Senators in his first post-World War II season. He played with the Class A Wilkes-Barre Barons in 1947, hitting .334 in 136 games. On November 10th, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1947 Rule V Draft.

Blatnik spent the next three seasons in the majors, 1948 and 1949 with the Shibe Park club, before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 27, 1950 for Ken Johnson. These years would be his only big league time, but he did play 138 games, with 447 at bats and 113 hits for a .253 career batting average. Johnny spent time with the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League when the Cardinals sent him down in 1950, but he would spend the remainder of his career, which ended in 1956, in the International League with the Rochester Red Wings, Syracuse Chiefs and Buffalo Bisons.

Blatnik started in pro baseball in 1939 and played his final game in 1956, with 14 active seasons in the minor leagues. He appeared in 1,336 games with 5,111 at bats and 1,471 hits, including 134 home runs, for a career .288 batting average.

Blatnik worked for and retired from the Workers Compensation Bureau of the State of Ohio. He lived in the city of Lansing, OH, and passed away on January 21, 2004.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page

Related Sites

• Johnny Blatnik at the SABR Bio Project