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The Phils are beating the Rays 6-2 in the middle of the sixth inning of game 4 of the World Series, and Joe Blanton, besides pitching an inspired game so far, has been an unexpected hero at the plate. Blanton went deep for the first time in his career in the fifth and established a little corner of history for himself.
Blanton is now just the fifth man, and the first in forty years, to hit his first career home run in the World Series. Here are the rest with their previous regular-season ABs:
| Player | Yr | WS HR | POS | Career AB |
| Joe Blanton | 2008 | 1 | P | 26 |
| Mickey Lolich | 1968 | 1 | P | 381 |
| Frank Demaree | 1932 | 1 | OF | 56 |
| Rosy Ryan | 1924 | 1 | P | 207 |
| Larry Twitchell | 1887 | 1 | OF | 280 |
Blanton is also the first pitcher to hit a World Series homer in 34 years. Something that has been done no more than 18 times in baseball history:
| Player | Yr | HR | Primary POS |
| Joe Blanton | 2008 | 1 | P |
| Ken Holtzman | 1974 | 1 | P |
| Dave McNally | 1970 | 1 | P |
| Dave McNally | 1969 | 1 | P |
| Mickey Lolich | 1968 | 1 | P |
| Bob Gibson | 1968 | 1 | P |
| Jose Santiago | 1967 | 1 | P |
| Bob Gibson | 1967 | 1 | P |
| Mudcat Grant | 1965 | 1 | P |
| Lew Burdette | 1958 | 1 | P |
| Bucky Walters | 1940 | 1 | P |
| Jesse Haines | 1926 | 1 | P |
| Jack Bentley | 1924 | 1 | P |
| Rosy Ryan | 1924 | 1 | P |
| Jim Bagby | 1920 | 1 | P |
| Dave Foutz | 1889 | 1 | 1B |
| Ed Crane | 1889 | 1 | P |
| Bill George | 1888 | 1 | OF |
Note that I list the primary position for the 19th century players who may have hit a home run in the Series as a position player or a pitcher. The record is incomplete. That's why I say that it has been done no more than 18 times.
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