CLEVELAND'S NETHERLANDS-BORN STAR, PITCHER BERT BLYLEVEN, PUTS HIS PEDAL TO THE METAL ON THE FIELD AND OFF Steve Wulf TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT Bert Blyleven addresses the ball.. Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, who happened to be pitching coach for the Netherlands, didn't like what he saw during his team's loss to Puerto Rico. "Mets Get Ken Henderson, Outfielder, From Rangers,", "From 1908 to 2018, Recorded no decision, as Starter, sorted by greatest number of games in a single season matching the selected criteria", "Indians' Blyleven The Subject Of Angel Trade Talks", "Ponson to play for Netherlands in World Classic", How a Part-Time Blogger Changed the Face of Baseball's Hall of Fame, The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News, "Henderson, Rice elected to Hall of Fame", Alomar and Blyleven elected to Hall of Fame, Gallery Blyleven inducted into Twins Hall of Fame, Twins to immortalize Blyleven by retiring No. At the Blyleven the biggest celebrity, literally and figuratively, is Lou Ferrigno, television's erstwhile Incredible Hulk. No two curveballs have the same rotation speed, velocity toward the hitter, arm delivery angle, or break. Blyleven was the epitome of dominant. Calico Jack (Suwinski) is Back for the Attack. Many new voters had entered the mix, and old ones passed on. A doting daddy, Blyleven likes to spend time with his sons Timothy (above) and Thomas. "O.K., I've got a ball here signed by Henry Aaron. Blyleven was one of baseball's most notorious dugout pranksters during his playing days. It was the last out of the inning. Blyleven, 33, is such a cutup, in fact, that he recently cut off his five-year-old beard. For two years we paid him a good salary, and he did nothing because he was hurt. "[19], By 2006, his total had increased to 53.33%. The Baseball Analysts: Optimal Fastball-Changeup Speed Separation *Examining the Past, Present, and Future* Lineup Card Rich Lederer Baseball Beat Patrick Sullivan Change-Up Jeremy Greenhouse Touching Bases Dave Allen F/X Visualizations Sky Andrecheck Behind the Scoreboard Marc Hulet Around the Minors Al Doyle Past Times Then theres Blyleven. ", Bert also inherited a love of the Dodgers from his father; he worshiped two in particular, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. And so he ended his career, waiting and wondering if he would get into the Hall of Fame. Ball No. Blue 90672, raise your hand. A dozen of his 1-0 complete game shutouts came from 1970-77. Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. He made his debut on June 5, 1970 playing for the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher. Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 3:30 AM ET, Park Factors
Nice. Almost everybody says this of Blyleven: "He wants the ball." My dad built a mound in the backyard and had a canvas hung behind a horseshoe pit. The Pirates won the World Series in 1979 and Blyleven went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in the Fall Classic after throwing a complete game in Game 3 of the NLCS. Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven reminding MLB's aging audience that starters were expected to finish games as recent as the 1980s should consider how effective he and his peers were the third . The third pitch was a hard check swing. "I have to say this for him, though. Richie, you don't even exercise. "I told our third baseman, Steve Braun, to watch for a bunt," says Blyleven, "but Spanky laid a perfect one down. "With his hands and wrist, he could throw that damn thing without any seams and it would curve," says Corrales. In the early days it was fashionable to deny that a curveball actually curved, many scientists even claiming it was nothing but an optical illusion. "I saw him when he was 19 and I've seen him now," Howser says. He's referring to neckties. background-color:#ba3434; Mike Jeffcoat. At that time only 15 to 20 percent of the electorate supported him. Communication. Thats especially the case for the guys who finished near the top of the list (and where Blyleven would be if he didnt weirdly have those 17 missing wins). He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. In all likelihood, Bert Blyleven is the best pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. "And then he went down." (And the difference between Blylevens actual record and the second projection quantifies that murky third factor, but well get back to that in a second). Carter only had one really low year, and it was never as low as Blyleven. "[19] Still, it was not until his 14th year of eligibility, in 2011, that he was elected; he received 79.7% of the vote. Essentially a two-pitch hurler (curveball and fastball) thus far in his career, Blyleven developed an offspeed pitch during spring training in 1971, and the results were immediate. Things went so sour in Minnesota that in Blyleven's last game as a Twin, some fans serenaded him with "Goodby, Bert, we're glad to see you go." Those stats hit me in the face. Blyleven's third batter was Frank Howard. "There's not a lot of dropoff in his stuff. Thats easy to figure: Take the difference between his actual win-loss record and what he should have had based on a pythaging of his actual run support and his actual RA/9IP. And he couldn't help it if he was injured. Though his age-28 season, Blyleven tossed 2,624 innings, more than anyone since Pete Alexander. Blyleven started the season in Triple A. He must have had terrible run support. Fine pitchers, but a definite step down from what had come before. 300, a la Early Wynn. A couple of years ago when he was on the disabled list and back home, he came to watch my son Monte pitch. He also won a World Series in 1979 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Joe Adcock, Eddie Mathews. Sold for $150. Steve Farr. In his seven losses, the Indians scored only six runs. When he beat the Twins for Texas on July 26, 1976, Blyleven didn't mince words. He got him to fly out. Blyleven had pitched only 21 games in the minors; by comparison, Dwight Gooden, last year's 19-year-old sensation, needed 38 games before he was brought up to the Mets. He left in the eighth to a standing ovation from the Municipal Stadium faithful, 8,239 strong. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. of his glove and to the base on a stolen base or pickoff Blyleven went to the California Angels in 1989 and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 175 record in his first season; he led the league for his third and final time in shutouts (5). There, he got a job straightening bumpers and brought his family down the next year. The Pirates won by the same score in Game 5 of the World Series, as Blyleven earned the decision with four shutout innings of relief. When announcing partner Bremer attempted to circle fans with the telestrator, he drew geometric forms that were non-circular, and Blyleven and fans started to jostle Bremer with phrases like "Rhombus me, Dick" or "Triangle me, Dick". He played three seasons for the California Angels before retiring. Lets back up for a second. "I visualized the dropping motion.". Who? No other prominent pitcher in his prime had such a lousy divergence from his expected W-L record based on his real-life run support as Blyleven did. "Two pitchers that I know about who held it the way I do," says Blyleven, "were Koufax and Bob Feller.". as Active Spin. What we're talking about here is a humongous stuffed panda, and he's auctioning off the bear at the banquet. Catfish Hunter lasted only a few months more. With all of the talk of some players not getting the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America for entry into the Hall of Fame because of allegations and admissions regarding illegal substance abuse, pitcher Bert Blyleven, who became a member of the Hall earlier this month . Paired with his 98 mile-per-hour fastball, Gooden's sweeping curve made him one of the league's most feared pitchers during his playing days. Because of his competitive streak, Blyleven says things he probably shouldn't, and he usually says them with a biting wit. pitch. All Rights Reserved. "He knows how to finish a game now," says Indian pitching coach Don McMahon. To answer the question, I went to my usual modus operandi: I looked at recent historical trends. (Thanks, Ron, wherever you are.) Not many of these around. Sold for $200. Last year he had 19 wins, seven losses and a dozen ties. Thanks for the link at WGOM, by the way. Tanner is almost universally beloved, so Blyleven came out as the bad guy in Pittsburgh, especially after Tanner called him "Cryleven." He pitched in eight postseason games and went 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA. Rik Aalbert Blyleven was born in Zeist, a municipality in Utrecht, Netherlands, the son of Johannes Cornelius and Jannigje Blijleven. It's one of the hardest things in sports to execute. He's being serious, although whimsy soon bubbles to the surface. Blyleven's curve breaks so quickly and so far that some batters swear they can hear it change direction. Shipping speed. "I know Ed thinks the world of him.". Hal Newhouser barely won 200 games. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. Again last season he got embroiled in a couple of controversies. Possessing both a screwball and a curveball to go with a deceptive palmball, Cuellar was nearly untouchable in the prime of his career. Or 40 percent. However, ESPN.com columnist Jayson Stark said, "No player has everand again, that word is 'ever'had his Hall of Fame candidacy helped more by the sabermetrics boom than Blyleven. So why did this happen to Blyleven? "We have a beautiful cutlery set. This isn't a tournament along the ropes of, say, the Hope or the Crosby. In 2010, Blyleven had 74.2% of the votes, missing admission to the Hall of Fame by only 5 votes (0.8%).[22]. You cant do a simplistic, reductionistic system. Free shipping for many products! [23] "It's been 14 years of praying and waiting," he said on a conference call from Fort Myers, Florida. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1974 TOPPS BASEBALL #98 BERT BLYLEVEN MINNESOTA TWINS V.G. I wanted 300 wins, 5,000 innings, and 4,000 strikeouts, he admits, but after shoulder surgery in spring training in 1993, I would pitch four or five innings and my body would say no more. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. There aren't many higher compliments than that for any pitcher. He was 17-5 for the Angels last season, allowing only 14 home runs. A banquet in a Riviera dining room follows the golf tournament, and Blyleven, nattily dressed in a camel's hair sports coat, navy blue trousers, blue shirt and uncut tie, is the master of ceremonies. Nolan Ryan is widely considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. An inveterate practical joker, Blyleven likes to snip cravats. Sold to me for $25. Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . Blyleven has a ball for every one of his regular-season major league victories, as well as for his win in the 1979 National League Championship Series for the Pirates and his '79 World Series victory over the Orioles. All rights reserved. But bleep them. Half of them blew their arms out right after turning 30. Does it really seem that if you give him a slight increase in run support his wins will shoot up? The Orioles legend has four 20-win seasons, a World Series title and a Cy Young Award to his name. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. He always goes out and buys me a new one. Then theres the guy with six straight 20-win seasons (Fergie Jenkins) and the pitcher with eight 20-win seasons (Jim Palmer). I still kid him about it.". July 16, 1985: For the second time Blyleven pitches in an All-Star Game. Watching him, one of his partners said, "He seems like a great guy. People in and out the game lauded Blyleven for having the games best curveball, but he was also temperamental. "Hello, ball," he says, in homage to Art Carney as Ed Norton. The story went that the reason Eddie Stanky quit after one game as manager of the Rangers was that he went out to the mound to remove Blyleven from the game, and Byleven told him to go back to the dugout. 28, "Longtime Twins broadcaster Bert Blyleven hangs up the mic", June 2, 1976: Minneapolis Tribune column on Blyleven's trade to Texas Rangers. Heck, Manny Trillo made four. If you go through the above, he comes out to 298-239 for his career, ever so incredibly shy of 300. He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida. Blyleven was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2002[25] and was chosen to the fan-elected "Wendy's- Minnesota Twins All-Metrodome Team" on July 28, 2009. "Then we'd sneak down into the dugouts and grab whatever we couldresin bags and broken bats. coach who was Blyleven's manager in Cleveland for half a season, "He should win 30 games with the stuff he's got. Born in the Netherlands but raised in Southern California, Blyleven would spend many evenings listening to Vin Scullys radio description of what may have been the greatest curveball ever in the game. Blyleven appeared as himself in the 1990 James Belushi film Taking Care of Business. The worst election by any of 20 guys who had gone on to election was one time Tony Perez finished exactly one vote shy of 50 percent. From 1971 (his second year in the majors but first full season in a big league rotation) through 1975, Blyleven struck out 200-plus batters each season (224, 228, 258, 249 and 233, respectively).. In Texas, Blyleven got blamed for something he never did. I bid $250. ", Not only does Blyleven pitch for the Indians, he actually likes being an Indian. Stanky quit on his own. 1. His father, Joe, was a handyman who, during World War II, hid his future father-in-law from the Nazis so he wouldn't be put in a concentration camp. Scheinblum's son, Monte, who's active in SADD at Villa Park High School in Villa Park, Calif., asked Blyleven if he'd help him organize a tournament. It's also nice of Blyleven to host this tournament. He may have been the best pitcher in the history of baseball. Call the curveball what you will. For $675.". 19 7-4 over the Twins on the last day of the season. I have to ask him, 'Bert, what would you throw if you had my stuff?' Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt became something of an expert on the curveball during his career. This led to a fundraising campaign with the Parkinson's Foundation and a sponsorship with the Minnesota Lottery. ", Last year Blyleven was 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA against the American League West champion Royals. Blyleven was happy to oblige. the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the Blyleven is well above the Coveleski line, regardless of how you slice his record. He wound up completing 242 games and throwing 60 shutouts, the two numbers of which he is most proud. Heres a list, with how much theyd won before the big 3-0: Its easy to forget how young Blyleven debuted, just two months past his 19th birthday. The bullpen page for Hal Newhouser lists the 16 liveballers who won 150 games before turning 30 years old, but I feel a bit odd citing that, since Im the guy that put that info there in the first place. Now, in the previous paragraph there are three things going on: 1) Blylevens RA/9IP, 2) his run support, and 3) well, a third factor thats hard to define. Bert was an Instructional League Twin at 18 in 1969 and a Pittsburgh playoff winner at 28 in '79. Blyleven has ridden the curve to a career ERA of 3.00. They have a right to act any way they like.". Bert Blyleven grew up in Garden Grove, Calif., less than 10 miles from Anaheim Stadium. A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven was also a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from He will do anything to get it. Bert Blyleven is one of the great command pitchers in baseball history! Actually, the best spelling of his name appears on one of his license plates: BLY11. Corrales feels the secret of Blyleven's curve is not in the grip but in his big, strong hands. One of the most remarkable things about Blyleven's career marks is that, of the active pitchers who rank ahead of him (Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Tommy John, Jerry Koosman and Phil Niekro), the youngest is nearly five years older than he is. Blyleven received only 17.55% of the vote for Hall of Fame admission in 1998 (his first year of eligibility), and his vote total dropped to 14.1% in 1999. A .264 career batter, Kennedy hit .120 in 25 at bats against Blyleven, collecting three hits while striking out five times. Heres how it looks year-by-year, and again, this is based on his real run support and RA/9IP: Recording 17 fewer wins than expected is historically bad. Blyleven was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 after receiving 79.7% of the vote on his 14th attempt. Blyleven is rightPhil Seghi looks uncannily like Chief Wahoo. "We have those long, strong fingers," he says. Blyleven, 38, has won 271 major league games with one of baseball's best curves and a variety of offspeed pitches. He came back in 1992 but was mostly unproductive, going 8-12 with a 4.74 ERA. He struck out 109 batters in 43 innings in his first season and 172 in his 126 career innings in Class D. Much like Nolan Ryan, Satchel Paige did not use his curveball as his primary pitch, but he still had a damn good one. This past baseball season he merely cut up American League batters, finishing as the third-leading vote getter in the Cy Young Award balloting, behind relievers Willie Hernandez and Dan Quisenberry. Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . ++ (FREE SHIPPING) at the best online prices at eBay! I just wish we had more fans. In honor of Blyleven, Id like to rip off the column format pioneered here at THT by Bossman Studes, who used to run a regular Ten things I didnt know last week feature. He throws it a little differently than most pitchers, holding the ball so that every finger except his pinky is touching a seam. In his last game with the Twins in 1976 before being traded, he made an obscene gesture to the crowd while walking off the mound. Says Corrales, "You love sending a guy like that every fifth day, and he's a great influence on a young ball club. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will Looking it up, in his 37 starts, the Twins scored 151 runs, 4.1/game. And I said, 'Yes.' Don Drysdale was done two weeks after his 33rd birthday. And quite well, thank you. So while the Sept. 22, 1977, contest wasn't a home game for Blyleven's Texas Rangers, it felt like it for Blyleven - who celebrated by pitching a no-hitter. Around (over?) Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. Like the first time, it doesn't go well, as he allows two runs in two innings and the NL wins, 6-1. Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. In his parting shot, Blyleven called the Twins' fans "bleep bleep" and said, "They're behind you when you do good, and they turn on you when things go wrong. He won fewer games than he should have, right? At 6 feet 3 inches, with long arms and large hands, he throws. "A Carl Yastrzemski bat. There are any number of reasons, starting with the fact that early in his career Blyleven relied too much on his ability to overpower hitters, especially late in the game. Gary Carter, Rich Gossage, Jim Rice, and Bruce Sutter have all gotten in, after initially finishing under 50 percent. Yet last year was the first time he ever got a vote for the Cy Young Award. ", Blyleven raises every bid, and, finally, he says, "Sold to me. [7] Unhappy with his salary there, Blyleven was traded (along with teammate Danny Thompson) to the Texas Rangers in a six-player deal on June 1, 1976. That was the. 2001 Major League Baseball contraction plan, 1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase, The last night of the New York Yankees dynasty (2001), Chicago Cubs end the Billy Goat curse (2016), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bert_Blyleven&oldid=1142574454, American expatriate baseball players in Canada, Major League Baseball players from the Netherlands, Major League Baseball players with retired numbers, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, October 4,1992,for theCalifornia Angels, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 05:13. "I have here a ball autographed by Sandy Koufax, a pretty fair pitcher. Mary Scheinblum bids $150; do I hear $175?" He took quiet pride in Todd's 10-point game, a performance that reminded one of a young Jack Sikma. Here he is, a workhorse with superlative ERAs and a world-renown curveball, but he only made the All-Star team twice, in 1973 and 1985. I also wish we were in the other division.". Blyleven went out and bought gifts for everyone. Do we have $225? You've got work to do. The ones better than him who are not in would make legitimate candidates. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. And as for Reggie Jackson, well, hed just as soon take the day off as hit against Blyleven, who struck him out 47 times and held him to a .214 career average. In 1973, he pitched nine shutouts, the most of any AL pitcher that season. Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. "[17], Blyleven was a pitching coach for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Autographed in English. The only problem was that his name was published as "Blylevan," which is the way the Twins spelled it in those days. The answer is 11. Rice benefited from an orchestrated movement by the Boston press corps. window.". Enough to make your knees buckle. He retired following that season with a career 287250 record with 3,701 strikeouts and a 3.31 ERA. Kennedy got the message. See details. And he was still a workhorse, completing 24 games in 1985, the last AL pitcher to top 20. That just leaves the years in his apparent prime, from 1970-77, when he won 17 fewer games than youd expect. I assumed Blyleven had no chance with the current BBWAA. In 1986, he. The Twins ran short of pitching early, the crusher coming on June 1, when Luis Tiant was put on the disabled list. Before the All-Star break, he was 150-140 with a 3.47 ERA, but after it he was 137-110 with a 3.12 ERA. Ten years ago he took Twins owner Calvin Griffith to arbitration, and Griffith screamed. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to ten victories, and he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. 1 fairway at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Fortunately for him, life wasnt going to throw him that curve, and he now has his place in history. The no-hitter was his final start as a Ranger; not until Cole Hamels during the 2015 season would a pitcher be traded after pitching a no-hitter in his most recent start for the team that traded him. Blyleven pitched very well for the Indians in the strike year of 1981 (11-7, 2.89 ERA), but in the first game after play resumed, he hurt his right elbow. "When they asked us who wanted to play in the Instructional League in the fall of '69, I was the first one to raise my hand," he says. "It finally ended when I was out in the back of the house, pulling weeds. [citation needed], MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said of Blyleven: "[his curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you that. [5] One of seven children, his parents anglicized their names to Joe and Jenny, with Rik Aalbert becoming simply "Bert". He also has balls from his 14 complete-game 1-0 victories, which put him third on the alltime list, tied with Christy Mathewson, behind Walter Johnson (an uncatchable 38) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (17). shouts someone from a passing golf cart. He became interested in baseball as a young boy watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett announce the Dodgers' radio broadcasts. Bert knew what had happened right away and got Monte's elbow in a bucket of ice. Robin Roberts hung on a long time but was a shell of himself for many years. On June 5, 1970, Rigney gave Blyleven his first start, against the Washington Senators. One of the nicknames for a curveball is a "yakker." Thats it? A Tom Murphy autographed glove. Add in assorted aces Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Catfish Hunter, Mickey Lolich, Luis Tiant, and thats some list. Here you go. In 22 seasons, Blyleven had more than 3,700 career strikeouts, including more than 2,000 of those in 11 seasons with the Twins. He won his first World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. I practiced it by myself. Richie Scheinblum? Even back in 1969 Blyleven had his sensational curve. For years he thought his first name was Rikaalbert. When he was younger, his stuff was so good that he didn't need a changeup or pinpoint control. Also, he felt that Tanner was pulling him from games too quickly. After getting his 18th win, Blyleven talked Cleveland Manager Pat Corrales into letting him pitch again with only three days' rest, and he won No. The First Annual Blyleven Celebrity Golf Classic, to benefit Students Against Drunk Driving and the Orange County Trauma Society, is under way. Other; Seller feedback (2,522,561) s***c (1508 . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1997 Fleer Star Stickers Baseball #10 - Bert Blyleven - Minnesota Twins at the best online prices at eBay! Although under-appreciated during his playing career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011his second-to-last year of eligibility. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. When I first discovered Retrosheet eons ago, the first thing I wanted to do was look at Blylevens run support. But since no one close to 280 wins showed up after Blyleven, it helped him rise up over the years. Blyleven went to the California Angels in 1989 and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 17-5 record in his first season, but he missed the entire 1991 season following rotator cuff surgery. In fact, the Blylevens feel so strongly about family living that they, and Anthony, have helped several baseball players and their wives to adopt children. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/forgotten-pennant-push-jim-kaat-1967/, interesting article. Camilo Pascual threw only two pitches, his fastball and his nasty overhand curveball, so as one can imagine those pitches were dominant. This is a free article. "Somebody had a sign that read, 'We drove 660 miles from Detroit Lakes,' I . Thanks in no small amount to a campaign led by Rich Lederer to get Bert Blyleven into the Hall of Fame, Blyleven saw his vote total gradually rise up, election after election, until he got in. In 2008, he received 336 votes, or 61.9% of the vote. It wasn't until he got married in 1971 that he noticed on his birth certificate that he's really Rik Aalbert. A Batted Ball Event represents any batted ball that From 1970-77, Blyleven went 122-113 despite an ERA+ of 134. In the Florida Instructional League championship game, he beat the Indians 1-0 and was featured in a story in that year's Dec. 1 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Blyleven got so upset with his role in Pittsburgh that he walked out on the Pirates for 10 days early in 1980. Terry Kennedy was a young player with St. Louis. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted
have been very good to me, I like the way Pat manages, I think we've got a good, young club, and I'd like to be a part of a winning team in Cleveland. The day is cold and drizzly and awfully close to miserable, and if the setting didn't happen to include palm trees and the swell Riviera clubhouse, one might think one were in. "Hey, Bert, where'd you get the weather?" Blyleven threw two different styles of curveballs, the most unique one being the drop that he held across the seams, a grip that is said to have been mastered only by him, Bob Feller and, Koufax. Nearly a decade later while an Indian, he flipped the bird to fans in Baltimore. 5.0. 1. Says Roy Smith, a rookie pitcher who dressed next to Blyleven last season, "Because his stuff is so good, it really doesn't do me any good to ask him what he throws to certain hitters. Arguments for inducting Bert Blyleven into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But Blyleven debuted on a ballot near the end of a stretch of 11 consecutive years with at least one 300-game winner up for nomination.