Joseph Matthew Blanton... Married, wife's name is LeeAndra...1999 graduate of Franklin Simpson High School (KY)...Attended the University of Kentucky...Led the Southeastern Conference and finished 8th among all NCAA Division I pitchers with 133 strikeouts in 2002.

Went a combined 9-12, 4.69 ERA in 33 starts for OAK and the Phillies...Posted a 3.60 ERA (66 ER, 165.0 IP) in 27 of his 32 starts and a 10.19 ERA (37 ER, 32.2 IP) in the other five...Pitched at least 6.0 innings in 22 of his 33 starts...Fell 2.1 innings shy of what would have been his third 200-inning season...Was OAK's Opening Day starter, 3/25 at the Tokyo Dome (5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 3 SO)...Pitched at least 5.2 IP in each of his first 15 starts ...Traded to the Phillies on 7/17...Earned his 1st win as a Phillie in his 3rd start with the team, 8/2 at STL (7.0 IP, 4 H, ER)...Snapped a career-long streak of six no-decisions with a win on 9/8 vs FLA...Phillies went 9-4 in his 13 starts...Opponents did not steal a base off him through his first 26 starts of the season (159.0 IP)...Singled in his 1st at-bat as a Phillie on 7/22 at NYM; collected his 1st career RBI, 9/8 vs FLA (sacrifice fly)...Started and earned the win in the Phillies' NLDS Game 4 clincher over MIL, 10/5 at Miller Park...Got the win and homered in Game 4 of the World Series, 10/26 vs TB...Became the first Phillies pitcher to ever hit a HR in a World Series game; only other to homer in a playoff game was Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in the 1978 NLCS, 10/6 at LAD...Did not issue more than 3 walks in any game and had 10 straight starts where he walked one batter or none, 6/13-7/30...Had the lowest ERA in June (1.58) in the AL (2nd-lowest in majors)...Pitched a CG, 4/25 vs SEA, but lost 2-0 in 1 hr, 47 min; OAK's quickest game since 8/12/79 at MIN (1 hr, 43 min)...Pitched a 3-hit SHO, 6/2 vs MIN in 1 hr, 49 min, becoming the first OAK pitcher to pitch 2 games under 1:50 since 1975 (Ken Holtzman).