If you go through the above, he comes out to 298-239 for his career, ever so incredibly shy of 300. On July 16, 2011, the Minnesota Twins formally retired Blyleven's number.[26]. shouts someone from a passing golf cart. Others will call it pitching to the score. He didnt allowed more than 24 in any other season. He never surrendered more than 24 home runs in any year before, and after the 198687 campaigns, he averaged 21 allowed homers per season over the course of his career. He also became a baseball fan. 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. Blyleven, Bert | Baseball Hall of Fame It was 14 years of praying and waiting, but I want to thank the baseball writers for finally getting it right, he said when his election was announced on January 5. Given another five years of success, Blyleven will have Hall of Fame credentials. After just 21 minor league starts, he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. You have a half-dozen 300 game winnersGaylord Perry, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, and Tom Seaver. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment. This is a free article. Then theres the guy with six straight 20-win seasons (Fergie Jenkins) and the pitcher with eight 20-win seasons (Jim Palmer). He just hasn't played on too many clubs that scored a lot of runs for him.". Let's look at some of the names. You've got work to do. "Aw bleep, that was for him [Griffith] and his family." He went out and used it to dominate high school hitters, and by age 19 found himself winning 10 games in the major leagues as a rookie for the Minnesota Twins, the start to a career that would last until he was 41. Joe's brother, Cor, had gone to the U.S. before the war, and because it was easier to enter from Canada than from Holland, the Blylevens emigrated to Saskatchewan when Bert was two. "I have here a ball autographed by Sandy Koufax, a pretty fair pitcher. Mary Scheinblum bids $150; do I hear $175?" [2] From 1996 to 2020, he was a color analyst for Minnesota Twins television broadcasts.[3]. He later wished he could have erased the 3-2 fastball he threw to the first batter he faced, Lee Maye. background-color:#ba3434; 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. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. He ran cross-country and played basketball and baseball at Santiago High School, and the baseball scouts began to come around. To answer the question, I went to my usual modus operandi: I looked at recent historical trends. 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! Thanks for the link at WGOM, by the way. He won fewer games than he should have, right? Francisco the busboy? Fansboth at home and at road gamescarried signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert". All Rights Reserved. He repaid some of his debt to Flores this off-season when he hosted a tournament to benefit the Hemophilia Foundation; Flores's grandson has that disease. Look at Blyleven in that 1974 campaign. Thats it? Looking it up, in his 37 starts, the Twins scored 151 runs, 4.1/game. The Mets got from the Braves Willie Montaez and from the Rangers Tom Grieve and Ken Henderson who was sent to New York to complete the transaction three months later on March 15, 1978. Blyleven was happy to oblige. 1974 Topps Baseball #98 Bert Blyleven Minnesota Twins V.g. ++ (Free Blyleven is well above the Coveleski line, regardless of how you slice his record. Blyleven went out and bought gifts for everyone. "My friends and I used to wait until they turned the lights out in the park," he says. No two curveballs have the same rotation speed, velocity toward the hitter, arm delivery angle, or break. So it seems only fitting that Blyleven is something of a yakker. I assumed Blyleven had no chance with the current BBWAA. Bert Blyleven is one of the great command pitchers in baseball history! 1996-2023 DIY Baseball LLC All Rights Reserved. There's the looping 12-6 curveball, which drops off the table just as the hitter thinks he has a read on it. Popular categories from this store. Mike Cuellar was one of the filthiest breaking ball pitchers the game has ever seen. His career was put on hold by a stint with the United States Armed Forces. 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. 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. Blyleven became the first Dutch-born player to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. "[19], By 2006, his total had increased to 53.33%. Carter only had one really low year, and it was never as low as Blyleven. 1973 Topps Set-Break #199 Bert Blyleven EX-EXMINT *GMCARDS* Bert was a terrific pitchera dominating pitcher. Hmmm, I wanted the color TV. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. You don't need this. 1971 TOPPS # 26 BERT BLYLEVEN NICE CARD | eBay He wound up completing 242 games and throwing 60 shutouts, the two numbers of which he is most proud. Ball No. Blyleven did not know his correct name until he was about to get married. So you know: later this week as induction day nears, Ill have a Bert Blyleven career highlights piece up at THT Live. Add in assorted aces Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Catfish Hunter, Mickey Lolich, Luis Tiant, and thats some list. 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. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed During his time with the Angels, the fire extinguisher in the team's clubhouse at Angel Stadium read: "In case of Blyleven: Pull". See details. He pitched in eight postseason games and went 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA. [9], Following an incident in which Blyleven blatantly gave the finger to a television camera obviously focused on him during one of the Rangers' rare nationally broadcast games,[10] he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first four-team blockbuster deal in Major League Baseball history on December 8, 1977, that also involved the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and a total of 11 players changing teams. I was a kid listening on the radio when Blyleven was in his short stint with the Rangers, and I loved his confidence in throwing that curve when everyone in the stadium and listening on the radio knew what was coming. [11][12] With the Pirates, he led the team in ERA, strikeouts, and complete games in 1978, and he helped them to a World Series victory in 1979. 1979 - Blyleven goes 12-5 on 37 starts and the Pirates win the World Series. 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. June 14, 1985: Bert Blyleven achieves a career milestone as he collects his 200th career win, defeating the A's, 6-1. The umpire called it a strike and Jamie backed out and it looked to me like he kind of laughed a little bit. Played in the Big Leagues from 1971-1990 and 1992. And he was still a workhorse, completing 24 games in 1985, the last AL pitcher to top 20. Also, he felt that Tanner was pulling him from games too quickly. I know this sounds terrible, but who does Bert pitch for these days?". 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. Weve already figured out what Blylevens record should be based on pythaging his RA/9IP and league-average run support. Blyleven has a memento from each of his teams, a ball for every win and a replica of the 1979 Series trophy. Paige has a unique ability to blow hitters away and come right back and make them look foolish. 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. But someone with a far greater mind than any scientist put the optical illusion theory to rest. He responded with a flippant gesture. Blyleven missed the entire 1991 season following rotator cuff surgery. If it weren't for drug and injury issues late in his career, he easily could have reached the 3,000-strikeoutplateau. Heck, Manny Trillo made four. For instance, in the middle of his careerthe Pirate/Indian yearshe comes out even with the murky third element. A .264 career batter, Kennedy hit .120 in 25 at bats against Blyleven, collecting three hits while striking out five times. Blyleven married Patricia Ann Whitehead, a friend from high school, during his second season in the majors, and they have raised a happy family. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second Many out there in THTs readerland believe its all just luck and random variation, and we may as well do away with W-L records. "And then he went down." A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit "Hello, ball," he says, in homage to Art Carney as Ed Norton. O.K., I bid $300. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. Then he filled out, picked up some speed on his fastball and wowed batters in rookie and A ball. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. And now he has a little more command. But nobody really cared. About 10 years ago, there was a debate at the late, great Rob Neyer Message Board about Blylevens Hall of Fame chances. Nice. ", Says Mike Ferraro, a K.C. Autographed in English. I still kid him about it.". 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. And I could throw it over at any time, any count."[6]. Former Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven on 1987 World Series, today's game Camilo Pascual threw only two pitches, his fastball and his nasty overhand curveball, so as one can imagine those pitches were dominant. If I see anymore, I'll fall in love." xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Does it really seem that if you give him a slight increase in run support his wins will shoot up? "You know, from sticking our fingers in the dikes. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will 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. Yeah, over his career. 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. It can ruin a career. On September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury, Blyleven no-hit the California Angels 60 at Anaheim Stadium. That year, he pitched 293.2 innings and completed 24 games, a feat that has not been repeated since. Catfish Hunter lasted only a few months more. Bert Blyleven's Top 10 moments - MLB.com I just wish we had more fans. "[20] Specifically, according to Welch, "the president and chief investment officer of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel in Long Beach, California, a guy by the name of Rich Lederer, began spending some of his off-hours writing analysis on the Interwebs about Blyleven's overlooked case. It was the last out of the inning. Corrales feels the secret of Blyleven's curve is not in the grip but in his big, strong hands. He's being serious, although whimsy soon bubbles to the surface. Being close to his 100th win is. He blanked Milwaukee on four hits in his first start, followed by a three-hit shutout at Kansas City five days later. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. Says Corrales, "You love sending a guy like that every fifth day, and he's a great influence on a young ball club. How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the 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. I remember talking to scout Jesse Flores and Ed Roebuck, the pitcher, about the rotation. One of his favorite marks is Indians public relations director Bob DiBiasio. The likelihood, in percent, that an outfielder will be This weekend the Hall of Fame will have its annual induction ceremony, and sabermetric darling Bert Blyleven will finally get his well-earned plaque put on display. He eventually came back after nearly two weeks. If the pitchers were different, the results were the same. From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. Ted Williams called Pascual's curveball the "most feared curveball in the American League for 18 years. He's also not afraid to throw inside to a hitter. Theres a better factoid, though: Blyleven won 15 different 1-0 complete games, more than anyone else since Walter Johnson. Many years ago, I figured this out for the careers of nearly 200 pitchers, and only three did this bad (Tim Keefe and Curt Simmons both at 18, and Dizzy Trout the champion at 22). No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. "I would like to say to my family, to my fans, to all the Puerto Rican people and . After I ran off the mound, I looked over at the St. Louis' dugout. With the power of the internet, Lederers persistenceand, oh yeah, Blylevens own solid casehell have a nice weekend in upstate New York this year. (Also, Dean Chance? able to make a catch on an individual batted ball. Shipping speed. "This is for a free membership to Racquetball World. Especially back in those days, a pitchers win-loss record really mattered. A Pirate fan friend named Mike Emeigh told me about Blylevens early-1980 walkout. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1974 TOPPS BASEBALL #98 BERT BLYLEVEN MINNESOTA TWINS V.G. In 2010, Blyleven had 74.2% of the votes, missing admission to the Hall of Fame by only 5 votes (0.8%).[22]. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was raw numbers and as a measurement against average. "Matlack, Milner Go In FourTeam Trade,", Durso, Joseph. Brian yeah, if you look at pre-1920 guys its really nuts. But bleep them. [18] He returned in his role for 2013 and 2017.[2]. Hey, wait a minute, Francisco, where are you going? Blyleven no-hits Angels in homecoming | Baseball Hall of Fame Only nine? Blyleven dominated batters for more than two decades with one of the best curveballs the game has ever seen and an underappreciated fastball. Call it sunspots for all I care, it ain't run support. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. Prospectus Q&A: Bert Blyleven - Baseball Prospectus Free shipping for many products! 30 day returns. He's celebrity chairman of the 65 Roses Club for Cystic Fibrosis there. Two years ago, when brush fires swept through the surrounding hills, Blyleven ascended to his roof, to water it down lest a flying spark set it afire, and fell off, breaking his left elbow. He knows how to pitch. 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. "With his hands and wrist, he could throw that damn thing without any seams and it would curve," says Corrales. (Lou Sauritch/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Shop Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 3:30 AM ET, Park Factors Go figure. Or 40 percent. Even alone Blyleven is a terror, whether he's giving a hotfoot, tying clothes in knots, cutting neckties or pulling down McMahon's pants. [21] In 2009, he gained only two votes, for a total of 338, 62.7%. . Hes going in. It's like the fellow at the golf tournament said. But thats the problem, you had to go way back. Ill be home soon. The Baseball Hall of Shame II first clued me in to some of those stories. Who the hell wanted this old-timer in the HOF anyways? Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an In 1973, he pitched nine shutouts, the most of any AL pitcher that season. From the moment he came to the major leagues, as a 19-year-old with the Minnesota Twins in 1970, he has been considered a great talent. He got him to fly out. 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.. It gives the opposition fits when thrown properly. It's also nice of Blyleven to host this tournament. Corrales got a bullwhip. Blyleven cared more that everyone was having a good time. People in and out the game lauded Blyleven for having the games best curveball, but he was also temperamental. 1 fairway at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. An inveterate practical joker, Blyleven likes to snip cravats. Do we have $225? I bid $250. Hmmm, no cork in it. "An autographed picture of Fernando Valenzuela. He really helped the 1976 Rangers make a run for the pennant. When I first discovered Retrosheet eons ago, the first thing I wanted to do was look at Blylevens run support. And so he ended his career, waiting and wondering if he would get into the Hall of Fame. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. However, during his time in the Mexican League, he was coached by Dolph Lugue, a curveball mastermind, which helped him rely on the pitch upon returning to the majors. He says, "Mister Paul and Mister Seghi [Mister?] Bert Blyleven Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com Blyleven rounded up the usual suspects, most of them baseball names past and present: Scheinblum, Dan Petry, Ed Roebuck, Enos Cabell, Norm and Larry Sherry, Rick Rhoden, Ken McMullen, Buck Rodgers, Jim Colborn, Bruce Kison, Tom Murphy, Tom Brunansky, Dee Fondy, Jim Slaton, Gary Sutherland, Matt Young, Ed Crosby, Tim Leary, Tom Morgansorry, it's just that some people like to see baseball cards come to life. Ron Necciai is one of the most dominating pitchers that never materialized in the Major Leagues. Koosman's catcher in his Mets days, J.C. Martin, once said that Koosman could throw his 11-5 curveball "any time.". Blyleven thinks little of drugs, pitch count. Richie, you don't even exercise. Bert Blyleven - Society for American Baseball Research How far, in feet, a fielder or runner has traveled on a Look at his hits to innings pitched [8.10 per nine innings], his walks to strikeouts [7.02 strikeouts and 2.47 walks per nine innings] and his ERA. Blyleven's display includes his one no-hitter (win No. Tanner is almost universally beloved, so Blyleven came out as the bad guy in Pittsburgh, especially after Tanner called him "Cryleven." He is very much at ease on the podium as he describes various raffle prizes, calls off winning numbers and awards golf trophies. Actually, given that the park factor was 104, Blylevens run support was nearly league average; 96% of league average to be precise. Jack Brickhouse, a Chicago Cubs broadcaster, described the pitches Paige threw as "not quite legal but not quite illegal.". He throws it a little differently than most pitchers, holding the ball so that every finger except his pinky is touching a seam. He needed elbow surgery in '82 after throwing only 20 innings, and in '83 he missed most of the last two months with a right shoulder injury. Id say 95 percent of that mysterious third element is luck, but does that mean its never anything else? He also tied for third in shutouts, with four, and for fourth in complete games, with 12. 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. 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 . ", Last year Blyleven was 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA against the American League West champion Royals. [23] "It's been 14 years of praying and waiting," he said on a conference call from Fort Myers, Florida. Poor Terry. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. Naturally, he sinks all the birdie putts. Enjoy this run through the 10 best curveballs in the history of baseball. His wife, Patty, has a sneaking suspicion that he wanted the panda for himself as much as for their four children, Todd, 12, Kimberly, 10, Timothy, 3, and Thomas, 17 months. Now he owes the Indians and the city of Cleveland something in return.". The kids see how hard he works. A little more than three years ago he was in an automobile accident that put him in a wheelchair for life and left him unable to speak clearly. [1] He serves as the pitching coach for the Netherlands national baseball team, having done so in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the last part of his careerhis second go-around in Minnesota and his final seasons in Californiahe came out eight games ahead. In 2008, he received 336 votes, or 61.9% of the vote. The curveball has been around for ages and has taken many forms throughout the history of baseball. We'd go from one dugout to the other, our backs pressed against the backstop while we heard the typewriters going in the press box. It was this way when hitters faced Blyleven, as former San Diego catcher Terry Kennedy can attest. 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. Because of his competitive streak, Blyleven says things he probably shouldn't, and he usually says them with a biting wit. Normally a guy entering the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot with 287 wins is pretty impressive. "We have a beautiful cutlery set. Enough to make your knees buckle. [29] During a 2006 broadcast, Blyleven forgot the name of the movie and had to be reminded of it by a technician in the broadcast booth. "I visualized the dropping motion.". During the winter there are many of these Monday events in the Los Angeles area. As a player, Blyleven did not have the best reputation. No takers? Wes Ferrell won three games after his age-30 season. If you had to pick one starting pitcher to serve as in/out line for induction, Id go with Stan Coveleski. According to baseball-reference Cy Young won 195 games befroe his age 30 season. Collectibles; Books & Magazines; Entertainment Memorabilia; Cell Phones . "A Carl Yastrzemski bat. One of his trademarks was circling fans with the telestrator on screen. 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. he asks. Finally we'd make like we were playing the outfield and jump over the fence in left.". He also suggested publicly that the Indians might be better off trading him to a contender for younger talentas they would soon do with his friend Rick Sutcliffe. background-image:unset; Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. Those stats hit me in the face. Even back in 1969 Blyleven had his sensational curve. References & ResourcesI checked Paper of Record for some of the items in No. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Heres the chart showing how he shakes out year-by-year by this system: Looking at it above, how come he didnt win more games when pitching so great in the early part of his career? http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/forgotten-pennant-push-jim-kaat-1967/, interesting article. This likely hurt him in the early Cooperstown voting. 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.