A combination of being able to hit for power and for average drew early comparisons to George Brett and helped him to get voted to the All-Star Game in his first full season as a Ranger, where he hit the game-winning home run off Los Angeles Dodgers closer Éric Gagné in the bottom of the 8th inning to give the American League a 7-6 victory.

On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Blalock was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Blalock's decreasing performance since his breakout 2003 season led many to believe that he would be traded to make room for Mark DeRosa to take a full-time position in the Rangers' infield.

However, the hiring of new manager Ron Washington, who was credited with improving the play of Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez, seemed to guarantee that Blalock would not be traded; and in fact, the Rangers declined to sign DeRosa, allowing him to file for free agency.

Blalock had never played first base as a professional, but he felt it was the best move for the team, as the Rangers had not seen much offensive production from their first basemen in 2008.

Blalock worked with Ron Washington and spoke with Phil Nevin (who made a similar switch from third to first with San Diego in 2002) to start learning the position.

[6] Hank's younger brother, Jake Blalock, played in the Texas Rangers organization from 2006–2007, after being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies along with Robinson Tejeda in exchange for outfielder David Dellucci on the eve of the 2006 season.