Geoff Blum
| Geoff Blum | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Blum with the Houston Astros | |||
| Infielder | |||
|
Born: April 26, 1973 Redwood City, California | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| August 9, 1999, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 17, 2012, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .250 | ||
| Home runs | 99 | ||
| Runs batted in | 479 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
Geoffrey Edward Blum (born April 26, 1973) is an American former professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball and current part-time announcer for the Houston Astros.[1] During his major-league career, he played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. As a member of the World Series Champion White Sox in 2005, he hit the game-deciding home run in the longest contest in the history of the Fall Classic.
Early life
Before becoming a professional baseball player, he majored in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley and played for the California Golden Bears baseball team.
Professional career
Montreal Expos
He began his professional career when he was selected in the seventh round of the 1994 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos. During his time with the Expos, he spent the winter of 1995 in the Australian Baseball League with the Hunter Eagles.[2]
Houston Astros
After playing there for three years, he was traded to the Houston Astros in exchange for Chris Truby.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
He was then traded after the 2003 season to Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for Brandon Backe. In 2004 he batted only .215 for the Devil Rays, with a .266 OBP.
San Diego Padres
Blum signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent on December 9, 2004.
Chicago White Sox
He was traded to the Chicago White Sox for a minor leaguer on July 31, 2005.
On October 25, 2005, Blum hit a home run against the Astros at Minute Maid Park in the top of the 14th inning to win Game 3 of the World Series, the longest game in the history of the Fall Classic. On April 11, 2008 a monument celebrating the 2005 World Series was unveiled at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, featuring bronze statues of five players. Blum is one of them, commemorating his tie-breaking home run. The home run would forever cement his place in White Sox history.
San Diego Padres
He returned to the Padres as a free agent in 2006.[3]
Houston Astros
On November 20, 2007, Blum signed a $1.1 million, one-year contract with the Houston Astros. The deal also included a club option for 2009.[4]
Blum returned to the Astros in 2009 and played mostly 3B for Houston. He hit 10 home runs that season, drove in 49 runs and was known for playing excellent defense at all the infield positions.
On October 30, 2009, Blum re-signed with the Astros. The contract was worth $1.5 million for the 2010 season and included a mutual option for 2011, which would be worth $1.65 million that was declined, making him a free agent.
Blum suffered a season ending injury to his elbow in July 2010 while putting on his shirt after a game. [5] He had this to say: "There are probably 90 percent of us in the big leagues that have loose bodies floating around. I just so happens that after the game, it tightened up on me. The shirt had nothing to do with the damn injury."[6]
Arizona Diamondbacks
On November 15, 2010, Blum signed a two-year contract worth $2.7 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released by the Diamondbacks on July 20, 2012.
Broadcasting career
On January 12, 2013, he was named a color analyst of the Houston Astros for the 2013 season for about 60 games when Alan Ashby is doing play-by-play in place of Bill Brown, who will work only about 100 games in the 2013 season.
References
- ↑ http://houston.astros.mlb.com/team/broadcasters.jsp?c_id=hou
- ↑ Flintoff and Dunn Alamanac
- ↑ "Blum re-signs with Astros".
- ↑ "Astros sign free-agent infielder Blum". MLB.com. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ↑ Royal, John (2010-07-07). "Geoff Blum Joins Baseball's Stupid-Injury List: Here Are 11 Others". Houston Press. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
- ↑ Bates, Mike (2016-03-29). "Baseball has the weirdest injuries". MLB Daily Dish. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geoff Blum. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- San Diego Union Tribune article