September 7. In 68 games his final year, Blasingame batted .210. He finished his time in the major leagues as a .258 career hitter with 1,366 hits, 178 doubles, 62 triples, 21 home runs, and 308 RBI in 1,444 games (219 at bats), stealing 105 bases. The only hit Former players César Tovar and Eddie Milner each collected their team's only hit in a single game five separate times, an MLB record. Blasingame is the only other player to do so four or more times: July 13, 1962: Cubs pitcher Cal Koonce one-hit the Reds, giving up a single to Blasingame in a 1–0 Cubs victory. August 6, 1963: Stan Williams of the Yankees one-hit the Senators, giving up a double to Blasingame in a 1–0 Yankee win. August 20, 1963: Moe Drabowsky of the Athletics allowed one hit, a single by Blasingame, in the first game of a doubleheader as the A's won 9–0. September 25, 1965: Mudcat Grant of the Twins one-hit the Senators in the first game of a doubleheader to win, 5–0. Blasingame's double in the third inning was the only hit for Washington. Playing style Blasingame was a speedy contact hitter, usually the leadoff man for his team. He never hit more than eight home runs in a season but had a .350 on-base percentage in his years with the Cardinals. He also had a reputation for being one of the game's best bunters and spray hitters. In an era where stolen bases were not common, Blasingame finished in the Top 10 in the NL in steals four times despite never stealing more than 21 in a season. His nickname, "Blazer," was a result of his flashy style of play and his swiftness at running the bases. His defense was highly regarded in his days with the Cardinals; retroactively he led the NL in fielding wins (a modern metric that attempts to predict how many more wins a team would have because of the fielding of one of its players) each year from 1956 through 1959. In 1958, Sports Illustrated wrote that Blasingame helped give St. Louis "the tightest defensive play in the league." Later in his career, his defensive abilities apparently declined; Sports Illustrated noted he had trouble making the double play by 1963. At the end of his final season, Blasingame had grounded into fewer double plays per times at bat than any