very competent and sturdy backup for berra and howard behind the dish and swinging the bat while with the bombers.
And very popular with Minnesotans.....
I’d forgotten that Elston Howard was the regular catcher on that team. But, man, what a bench! Blanchard wasn’t a great outfielder, but he could play there when he was needed. If I recall, Yogi Berra was the regular left fielder when he wasn’t catching and, of course, with Mantle in center and Maris in right, there just weren’t enough places in the lineup to use talent like Johnny Blanchard regularly. I believe he hit over .300 in 1961. Can you imagine having a team so rich in talent that even a .300 hitting catcher-outfielder did not get to play every day?