Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. Upon being traded to the Cleveland Indians, Blyleven initially struggled with injuries, but then enjoyed a late-career resurgence, finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting in back-to-back years, with Cleveland in 1984 and also the following 1985 season that he split between the Indians and Twins. I assumed Blyleven had no chance with the current BBWAA. The Hulk, whose wife wonders where the galleries are, quits after two holes because his shoes are wet. Bert Blyleven, in August of 1986, pitching with the Minnesota Twins against the Angels. Blyleven has always had trouble with his name. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969. Not many of these around. Sold for $200. None spent as many years as low on BBWAA ballots as Blyleven. Let's look at some of the names. In fact, he never came close. The Pirates also acquired John Milner from the Mets. He blanked Milwaukee on four hits in his first start, followed by a three-hit shutout at Kansas City five days later. O.K., I bid $300. Only two of them won 30 games after their age 30 seasonJim Palmer and Bob Fellerand none did it after age 32. The difference between the two projections should be what his run support cost him. Contact SABR, LnRiLWhlYWRpbmcuaGFzLWJhY2tncm91bmR7cGFkZGluZzowfQ==, LnRiLWZpZWxke21hcmdpbi1ib3R0b206MC43NmVtfS50Yi1maWVsZC0tbGVmdHt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOmxlZnR9LnRiLWZpZWxkLS1jZW50ZXJ7dGV4dC1hbGlnbjpjZW50ZXJ9LnRiLWZpZWxkLS1yaWdodHt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOnJpZ2h0fS50Yi1maWVsZF9fc2t5cGVfcHJldmlld3twYWRkaW5nOjEwcHggMjBweDtib3JkZXItcmFkaXVzOjNweDtjb2xvcjojZmZmO2JhY2tncm91bmQ6IzAwYWZlZTtkaXNwbGF5OmlubGluZS1ibG9ja311bC5nbGlkZV9fc2xpZGVze21hcmdpbjowfQ==, 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, https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Blyleven-Bert.png, /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.png, an eight-hit, complete-game victory, 7-1, on October 5. That way I know he won't lose it on me like he did that one time. "Here's something special. 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. Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett would be describing Koufaxs curve that he threw off that high mound, Blyleven recalled. Blyleven's commentary was occasionally risqu for a baseball broadcast but provided interesting and friendly conversation between him and play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer. That, of course, would belong to Sandy Koufax. And those TWENTY no-decisions on the WORLD CHAMPION Pittsburgh Pirates are probably a record of sorts. He won fewer games than he should have, right? Those who throw it refer to it as The Hammer, The Yakker, even Public Enemy No. 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. And I said, 'Yes.' I wanted to be like him, he said. After his first year of Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility in 1998, Blyleven was widely considered to be the best eligible pitcher not yet enshrined. "This is for a free membership to Racquetball World. Two words Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson used to describe Bert Blyleven's curveball: "nasty" and "knee-buckling.". ", Not only does Blyleven pitch for the Indians, he actually likes being an Indian. "A Carl Yastrzemski bat. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. With the power of the internet, Lederers persistenceand, oh yeah, Blylevens own solid casehell have a nice weekend in upstate New York this year. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle In 2010, Blyleven had 74.2% of the votes, missing admission to the Hall of Fame by only 5 votes (0.8%).[22]. Though his age-28 season, Blyleven tossed 2,624 innings, more than anyone since Pete Alexander. "The guys who were real cheap during the season got real cheap gifts," he says. 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. He pitched a no-hitter, was chosen to a pair of All-Star teams and also won two World Series Championships. Poor Terry. Blyleven dominated batters for more than two decades with one of the best curveballs the game has ever seen and an underappreciated fastball. Other; Seller feedback (2,522,561) s***c (1508 . Many new voters had entered the mix, and old ones passed on. Free shipping for many products! Blyleven did not know his correct name until he was about to get married. Blyleven often looked back and saw players in the opposing dugout covering their face with their gloves as they laughed at a hitter who had ducked out of the way of a curve that had broken sharply across the heart of the plate, many of them ending up one of Blylevens strikeout victims. He's celebrity chairman of the 65 Roses Club for Cystic Fibrosis there. [citation needed], MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said of Blyleven: "[his curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you that. play. And he couldn't help it if he was injured. "We left one month-old piece in there, and I think Chris ate it." Heck, Manny Trillo made four. Maglie's numbers are not overly impressive due to his stint in the Mexican League that got him banned from Major League Baseball. On June 5, 1970, Rigney gave Blyleven his first start, against the Washington Senators. Blyleven has ridden the curve to a career ERA of 3.00. In 15 years with four teams he has 195 wins and a 3.00 ERA. 1. Those who try to hit it show far more respect, calling it Lord Charles or Uncle Charlie. No matter what you call it, 150 years or so after Cummings or Goldsmith threw the first one, it is still the pitch that separates major-league hitters from the rest. Call the curveball what you will. I still kid him about it.". Id say 95 percent of that mysterious third element is luck, but does that mean its never anything else? Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an "There's not a lot of dropoff in his stuff. Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). Hal Newhouser barely won 200 games. 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). 1979 - Blyleven goes 12-5 on 37 starts and the Pirates win the World Series. Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1969 amateur draft. 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. ++ (FREE SHIPPING) at the best online prices at eBay! "If you gave baseball people their choice among Dan Petry, Jack Morris and Blyleven, Blyleven would probably be third," says Hal McRae, Kansas City's longtime designated hitter. 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). That was where I learned to throw and control the pitch.. In Texas, Blyleven got blamed for something he never did. window.". He says, "Mister Paul and Mister Seghi [Mister?] (Lou Sauritch/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Shop Francisco the busboy? Koosman was also an crucial piece to the Mets improbable World Series Championship in 1969. The story goes that he was tearing up the Grapefruit League, leading his wife to ask if she should begin house hunting in his new major-league city. How far, in feet, a fielder or runner has traveled on a But Blyleven is still a big kid at heart. Free local pickup from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Ill be looking for it, Chris, and will pass the link on; youve got more than a few fans over at the WGOM. able to make a catch on an individual batted ball. Then he filled out, picked up some speed on his fastball and wowed batters in rookie and A ball. Enough to make your knees buckle. Like the first time, it doesn't go well, as he allows two runs in two innings and the NL wins, 6-1. There, he got a job straightening bumpers and brought his family down the next year. He took quiet pride in Todd's 10-point game, a performance that reminded one of a young Jack Sikma. Thats surprising. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) "I always played for my island," Alomar said in his induction speech. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. Most people familiar with Blyleven's case for the HOF know that he stands fifth all-time in strikeouts. The only problem was that his name was published as "Blylevan," which is the way the Twins spelled it in those days. He currently ranks 5th all-time in strikeouts, 9th all-time in shutouts, and 27th all-time in wins. Or 40 percent. See details. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second The evening is winding down, and there are only a few more souvenirs left to be auctioned. Jerry Koosman was a two-time, all-star for the New York Mets and, like most lefties, relied heavily on his curveball for success. Rik Aalbert (Bert) Blyleven [1951] Bert Blyleven was and still is the only native Dutchman to have made a successful career, as measured by quality of play, in American professional baseball. He ran cross-country and played basketball and baseball at Santiago High School, and the baseball scouts began to come around. When he was younger, his stuff was so good that he didn't need a changeup or pinpoint control. Then there are three guys over 280 winsTommy John, Jim Kaat, and Blyleven himself. outfield. 28, "Longtime Twins broadcaster Bert Blyleven hangs up the mic", June 2, 1976: Minneapolis Tribune column on Blyleven's trade to Texas Rangers. Brian yeah, if you look at pre-1920 guys its really nuts. He made his debut on June 5, 1970 playing for the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher. For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. (Thanks, Ron, wherever you are.) No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. 19 7-4 over the Twins on the last day of the season. Well, his curveball was good enough to strike out 27 batters in a nine-inning game at Class D Bristol and followed that up with a 24-strikeout performance. Do we have $225? That was the. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. After all, 17 wins in eight years is a lot. Gary Carter, Rich Gossage, Jim Rice, and Bruce Sutter have all gotten in, after initially finishing under 50 percent. attempt. Even Hall of Fame players marveled at Blylevens curve. A Tom Murphy autographed glove. "I just don't think he knew how to use me." In the middle of the 1976 season, he was traded to the Texas Rangers, where he threw a no-hitter in his final start for the team. Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. Blyleven is rightPhil Seghi looks uncannily like Chief Wahoo. Francisco, come up here. This list is composed based not just on the nastiness of the curveball but also on how effectively it was used along with the pitcher's other weapons. I'm thrilled to see Blyleven in the HOF. These arent items I learned in the last week, but they are things I found out during the course of Blylevens seemingly never-ending Cooperstown candidacy. So you know: later this week as induction day nears, Ill have a Bert Blyleven career highlights piece up at THT Live. When Blyleven and Sutcliffe were together in Cleveland, their teammates had to be on constant lookout for pranks. The curveball has been around for ages and has taken many forms throughout the history of baseball. A curveball can also be thrown with some velocity in an attempt jam a hitter. 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. Actually, Blyleven was suffering from a groin pull and eventually took himself out of the game. Given another five years of success, Blyleven will have Hall of Fame credentials. Normally a guy entering the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot with 287 wins is pretty impressive. He keeps a collection of baseball memorabilia in his study. 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. From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. The curve ball was something to behold, but the argument that a guy belongs because of the aesthetics of a pitch's arc is simply ridiculous. Don Drysdale was done two weeks after his 33rd birthday. 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. . Hey, wait a minute, Francisco, where are you going? The left-hander won over 200 games and struck out over 2,500 batters in his 18-year MLB career. If you went back further, you could find guys whod risen up: Billy Williams, Luis Aparicio, Bob Lemon. I have some sympathy for that approach, but ultimately remain agnostic. After just 21 minor league starts, he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. Maye hit it out of the park. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/forgotten-pennant-push-jim-kaat-1967/, interesting article. Blyleven's display includes his one no-hitter (win No. He played three seasons for the California Angels before retiring. And he was still a workhorse, completing 24 games in 1985, the last AL pitcher to top 20. Blyleven's curve breaks so quickly and so far that some batters swear they can hear it change direction. Escape Velocity takes the average of a player's batted ball velocities subtracted from 88. Wes Ferrell won three games after his age-30 season. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. 1. As Blyleven wanders into earshot, Scheinblum says, "Of course, I feel very strongly that a person born in a foreign country should not be allowed to play in the major leagues.". Almost everybody says this of Blyleven: "He wants the ball." He began teaching the pitch to himself, learning to throw a drop in junior high. Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement He's also not afraid to throw inside to a hitter. He can't speak Dutch, but to this day he still understands a little of it. In the end, he fell virtually inches short of what would have been an unquestioned Hall of Fame career, just missing 300 wins (13 shy), 5,000 innings (30 shy), and 4,000 strikes (299 shy). I bid $250. He will do anything to get it. 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. He had thought all his life his given name was "Rikaalbert". Bert was a terrific pitchera dominating pitcher. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. He didnt allowed more than 24 in any other season. 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. 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. "But I'll be grateful to him for one thing in particular. See details. The ones worse than him who are in are generally mistakes. You don't need this. Now he owes the Indians and the city of Cleveland something in return.". Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . If anyones curious, heres a list of the most 1-0 CG SHO for post-Walter Johnson pitchers: Nice lead for Blyleven. Digging a little deeper into the numbers, it looks like it really was just luck, because Blyleven was at his best when it counted the most. One of his best friends is Richie Scheinblum, the former outfielder for six big league teams, who as a Kansas City Royal battled Rod Carew for the batting title in 1972. "I saw him when he was 19 and I've seen him now," Howser says. Just take a look at who emerged in baseball from 1959 to 1970. That means isolating it. [15] Blyleven was unhappy playing for the lackluster Indians and forced a trade back to the Twins,[16] where he passed the 3,000-strikeout mark and helped the Twins to a 1987 World Series victory. On a recent afternoon Blyleven went to see Todd play basketball for his seventh-grade team. Patty came out and said, 'Don't you think you should go back?' Blyleven has a memento from each of his teams, a ball for every win and a replica of the 1979 Series trophy. Blyleven's first two teams, the Twins and Rangers, usually weren't very good, and even though the Pirates won the World Series in '79, Blyleven had some philosophical differences with manager Chuck Tanner.