John Balaz

John Balaz (born Friday, November 24, 1950, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was a professional baseball player. Balaz was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 10, 1974, with the California Angels.

Career

California Angels

On June 4, 1970 Balaz was drafted by the California Angels in the 5th round of the 1970 amateur baseball draft.

An outstanding minor league hitter who led three leagues in runs batted in, Balaz made his major league debut in an unusual way on September 10, 1974 at Anaheim Stadium. In a game against the Kansas City Royals, he was announced as a pinch hitter for left fielder Bruce Bochte in the bottom of the 6th. Kansas City made a pitching change, so manager Dick Williams decided to have Rudy Meoli pinch hit for Balaz, who had to go back and take a seat on the dugout bench. He got into a game three days later, starting in left field against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, and went 0-for-3 against Jim Kaat. On September 24 he had a big game against the Royals in Kansas City, with a home run and 4 RBI.

Balaz spent more time with the Angels in 1975, hitting .242 (29-for-120) in 45 games with 1 HR and 10 RBI. He was in the starting lineup for 30 of those games as a left fielder, right fielder, and designated hitter.

Career totals include 59 games played, a .241 batting average (39-for-162), 2 HR, 15 RBI, 14 runs scored, and a .340 slugging percentage.

Balaz began to play in 1974, and appeared in 6 games at home, where he had 15 at-bats, drove in 0 runs, scored twice, had 2 hits (0 doubles / 0 triples / 0 home runs), walked 2 times (0 intentional), struck out 4 times, was hit by a pitcher 0 times, sacrificed 1 time (1 hit & 0 flies), stole 5 bases, was caught stealing 4 times, ground into 5 double plays, and finished at home with a .133 Batting average, .235 on base percentage and .133 slugging percentage.

On the road, Balaz appeared in 8 games, had 27 at-bats, drove in 5 runs, scored 2 times, had 8 hits (0 doubles / 0 triples / 1 home run), walked 0 times (0 intentional), struck out 6 times, was hit by a pitcher 1 time, sacrificed 0 times (0 hits & 0 flies), stole 5 bases, was caught stealing 4 times, ground into 5 double plays, and finished at home with a .296 batting average, .321 on base percentage and .407 slugging percentage.

Boston Red Sox

On March 3, during Spring training 1976, the Angels traded John Balaz, Dick Sharon, and Dave Machemer to Boston for former Red Sox star reliever Dick Drago.

Balaz never played an inning for Boston. It was reported that Drago was sent to the Angels as "the player to be named later" for Denny Doyle (acquired the previous June). The Red Sox still sent minor league pitcher Chuck Ross to the Angels two days later to make everything look more legitimate.

Post Major League Career

Balaz never again appeared in a big league game. However, he continued his career in Mexico playing for Ciudad Juarez national team. Balaz gained prominence when he played in the 1979 Mexican Playoffs where his team made it to the finals. [http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:LMVDazKu7bIJ:www2.leonesdeyucatan.com.mx/noticias.php%3Fid%3D558%26PHPSESSID%3Da126906e75fba796e478fa2899ec593c+%22john+balaz%22+mexico&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4&client=firefox-a]

Balaz now lives in San Diego, California with his wife Bonnie, and two Children Lauren, and Justin.

Records and Achievements

*Balaz led in several leagues throughout his career. He led the Pioneer League with 14 HR and 51 RBI while playing for the Idaho Falls Angels in 1971, led the California League with 28 HR and 113 RBI while playing for the Salinas Angels in 1973, and led the Texas League with 111 RBI while playing for the El Paso Diablos in 1974.

*He hit a combined .306 (11-for-36) against All-Stars Steve Busby, Mike Cuellar, Jim Kaat, Mickey Lolich, and Wilbur Wood

*He hit his first major league home run against Paul Splittorff of the Kansas City Royals {Royals Stadium -- September 24, 1974}, and both his second and last against Vic Albury of the Minnesota Twins {Anaheim Stadium -- July 26, 1975}

*Balaz invented "carport baseball" while living in the Loma Palisades apartment complex in San Diego during the 1960s. The game was played in an empty apartment complex carport with a rubber ball and regulation baseball bat.Fact|Novermber 2007|date=November 2007

References

External links

* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=balazjo01 Baseball Almanac]
* [http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=3777&bid=1309 Baseball Biography Project]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/balazjo01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pbalaj101.htm Retrosheet]