Outfielder Jack Willie Blalock is the newest acquisition of the Italian Baseball League club REGGIO BASEBALL. They announced the signing of the 25-year-old a few days ago on their website. He was born on August 6th, 1983 in San Diego, California and is the brother of Major League corner infielder Hank Blalock of the Texas Rangers.
Willie Blalock attended Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego before being selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the 2002 amateur draft. He signed the same year and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League affiliate. He moved through the farm system of the club the following years, getting ranked seventh in the team prospects list by Baseball America in 2005.
Shortly before the start of the 2006 season Blalock was traded to the Texas Rangers together with pitcher Robinson Tejeda in exchange for outfielder David Dellucci. He played with the Double-A team of Texas in 2006. In May 2007 he again was traded, this time to the Kansas City Royals and their Double-A team. However during the early summer he was released and returned to the Phillies organization on a minor league contract, playing there until the end of the 2008 season.
In 658 minor league games on from Rookie to Double-A ball Blalock batted .256 (OBP .332/SLG .393) with 53 homeruns, 272 runs scored and 320 RBI. He was mainly used in the corner positions in the outfield.