he was "hurt a lot" that year, but he still appeared in 143 of 154 games. He batted .274 with 71 runs scored, 19 doubles, 10 triples (a career high), two home runs, and 20 steals. Blasingame only hit one home run in 1959, in a 5–3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it was against Sandy Koufax. He had three hits, scored three times, and drove in two runs during a June 9 12–3 victory over Milwaukee. On July 19, he had four hits and scored twice in a 9–5 victory, also over Milwaukee. He finished the season with a .289 batting average and 26 doubles, both career highs. While he only had 24 RBI, he scored 90 runs. He stole 15 bases but was caught a league-leading 15 times as well. San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds After the 1959 season, on December 15, Blasingame was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Daryl Spencer (the team's previous second baseman) and Leon Wagner. The Giants had discussed the possibility of acquiring Blasingame from the Cardinals since December of the previous season; they hoped he could shore up their error-prone infield. He served as the team's leadoff man, just as he had in St. Louis. However, Blasingame failed to live up to expectations with the Giants. His batting average dropped to .235, the lowest of his major league career. In 136 games (523 at bats), Blasingame had 123 hits, two home runs, and 31 RBI. He did see improvement as a base stealer, as he was only caught stealing twice in 16 attempts. In 1961, Blasingame lost the second base job to rookie Chuck Hiller. He was only used three times in the first two weeks, all as a pinch-hitter, before getting traded with Bob Schmidt to the Cincinnati Reds for Ed Bailey and a player to be named later (Sherman Jones). "We needed some one to pull the infield together...Blasingame fit the bill," said Reds' manager Fred Hutchinson. Three days after Blasingame's arrival in Cincinnati, the Reds went on a nine-game winning streak, shooting from last place to the upper portions of the NL standings. Blasingame's average continued to dip in 1961, though, falling to .222. By the end of the year, he was losing playing time to prospect Elio Chacón. In 123 games (450 at bats), Blasingame had 100 hits, one home run, and 21 RBI,