Donald Lee Blasingame (March 16, 1932 – April 13, 2005), nicknamed "Blazer", was an American professional baseball second baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955–1959), San Francisco Giants (1960–1961), Cincinnati Reds (1961–1963), Washington Senators (1963–1966), and Kansas City Athletics (1966).

Blasingame threw right-handed, batted left-handed and was listed as 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg).

Born and raised in Corinth, Mississippi, Blasingame signed with the Cardinals in 1953 after a stint in the United States Army.

With San Francisco, Blasingame's batting average was significantly lower than it had been with St. Louis, and he lost the second base job in 1961, then was traded early in the season to the Reds.

Blasingame served as Washington's second baseman until 1966, platooned with Chuck Cottier for the first half of that year, then went to the Athletics and spent a month with them as a pinch hitter to finish his major league career.

[3] The Houston Buffaloes of the Class AA Texas League tried him out during 1951 spring training, but he went off to serve in the United States Army for two years during the Korean War.

He suffered two injuries in spring training, burning his hand by grabbing a light bulb in a hotel room, then tripping over a base the day before the season, causing him to miss the first two weeks.

[1][4] Blasingame made his major league debut at age 23 on September 20, 1955, in a 2–0 Cardinals win over the Chicago Cubs.

[10] Another highlight came on June 12 that year, when he had four RBIs, including a two-RBI single in the 10th inning, helping the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10–3 in the first game of a doubleheader.

[13] Bill Mazeroski played the whole game for the NL at second, but Blasingame did make an appearance, flying out when he pinch-hit for Warren Spahn in the fourth inning.

[2] 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.

[2] 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.

[22][23] 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).

[24] 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.

[2] Chacón was taken by the New York Mets in the 1961 Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion draft, leaving Blasingame without competition for the Reds' second base job in 1962.

"[30] The Reds had a new second base prospect in spring training that year named Pete Rose; Blasingame was the only member of the team who thought he would make the roster.

[36] August 4, he hit a bases-loaded two-RBI single against Sonny Siebert, putting the Senators ahead to stay in a 4–2 victory over Cleveland.

[2] On April 14, 1965, Blasingame had a two-RBI triple against Dick Radatz that put the Senators ahead to stay in a 6–4 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

[43][44] Blasingame's only home run of the year came against Dave Wickersham, a solo shot in a 4–3 loss to the Detroit Tigers on June 13.

[45] In the first game of a doubleheader against Boston on July 4, he struck out a season-high three times but had two RBI in Washington's 6–4 win over the Red Sox.

[2] 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.

[2] Former players César Tovar and Eddie Milner each collected their team's only hit in a single game five separate times, an MLB record.

[1] In 1958, Sports Illustrated wrote that Blasingame helped give St. Louis "the tightest defensive play in the league.

"[53] Later in his career, his defensive abilities apparently declined; Sports Illustrated noted he had trouble making the double play by 1963.

[30] At the end of his final season, Blasingame had grounded into fewer double plays per times at bat than any other major leaguer.

After he took over, Hanshin traded fan-favorite Koichi Tabuchi to the Seibu Lions for Akinobu Mayumi, Masashi Takenouchi, and Yoshiharu Wakana.

[1] In 1960, Blasingame married Sara Cooper, a flight attendant for Ozark Air Lines who in 1957 was Miss Missouri.

[1] Blasingame died at age 73 on April 13, 2005, in Fountain Hills, Arizona, of an unexpected heart attack after talking to his brother on the phone earlier in the day.

[62] The Corinth SportsPlex's youth baseball league was named after Blasingame in the 1970s, and in 1980, he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.