Bert Blyleven

From BR Bullpen

Rik Aalbert Blyleven

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 207 lb.

• Debut June 5, 1970
• Final Game October 4, 1992
• Born April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands

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[edit] Biographical Information

Bert Blyleven had a 22-year major league career as a pitcher, with 287 wins. He appeared on two World Series winners, and his ERA in World Series play was 2.35. His best season was in 1973 when he won 20 games for the Minnesota Twins with a 2.52 ERA, which would be his only 20-game season. He had a terrific curveball. He came very close to getting into the Hall of Fame in 2010, with 74.2% of the vote, just five votes short of induction.

Although Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, he moved to Canada at the age of 16 months. At age five, he moved to California where he learned the game. He is one of only seven major leaguers to have been born in Holland as of 2007. This does not include players born in other parts of the Netherlands. Blyleven returned to his birthland to pitch in the 1993 World Port Tournament, striking out three in two innings. He also was the pitching coach for the Dutch national team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, succeeding Brian Farley, and received much praise for the outstanding performance by the unheralded Dutch hurlers, who managed to hold the powerful hitters from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela in check.

He pitched a no-hitter for the Texas Rangers against the California Angels on September 22, 1977. While with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979, he set a record for most no-decisions in a season with 20;he finished the season with 17 decisions in 37 starts, going 12-5. In 1986, he set the major league record, surrendering 50 home runs. He has claimed that "about 42" of the 50 were solo home runs, but in fact he surrendered 27 solo shots, 18 two-run homers, 3 three-run homers, and two grand slams in 1986. In spite of all those blasts, he had a solid season on the mound that year, going 17-14 for a mediocre team.

At the end of his career, he appeared in a TV commercial for a home realtor company. The commercial played off the fact that the veteran pitcher had pitched on so many teams. In fact, Blyleven started with the Minnesota Twins in 1970 and spent his first six full seasons with them. He was traded to the Rangers in the middle of the 1976 season in a big six-player deal that also involved Danny Thompson, Bill Singer, Roy Smalley, Mike Cubbage and Jim Gideon. After a season and a half in Texas, he was part of another blockbuster deal, this one involving four teams and 11 players, to land in Pittsburgh for the 1978 season. He won the World Series in Pittsburgh in 1979, then was traded to the Cleveland Indians in a six-player deal after the 1980 season. He played four years for the Indians, although he missed all but four starts in the 1982 season because of an injury, then was traded back to the Twins on August 1, 1985, in return for four players. His three and a half seasons in Minnesota included a second World Series title in 1987. He finished his career with the California Angels from 1989 to 1992, joining the team as a free agent but missing the entire 1991 season due to injury and then coming back at age 41 to post an 8-12 record in 24 starts.

Bert in 2008

Eight of the ten most similar pitchers to Blyleven are in the Hall of Fame, and the other two will probably get in eventually. The most similar pitcher is Don Sutton. In his eleventh year on the Hall of Fame ballot, Blyleven drew 61.9% of the vote, with 75% needed. In 2009, he received 62.7% and in 2010 fell a mere five votes short of election.

Blyleven's 60 shutouts put him ninth on the list for all time. The eight pitchers ahead of him are all in the Hall of Fame, as are 15 of the 16 pitchers immediately behind him. The exception is Luis Tiant, who had 49 shutouts and 229 wins. Blyleven totaled 287 victories.

Since 1995 has been a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins. Fans hold up "Circle Me Bert" in hopes that Bert use the telestrator to circle them on the air.

[edit] Notable Achievements

• 2-time AL All-Star (1973 & 1985)
• 1989 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award
• 2-time AL Innings Pitched Leader (1985 & 1986)
• AL Strikeouts Leader (1985)
• AL Complete Games Leader (1985)
• 3-time AL Shutouts Leader (1973, 1985 & 1989)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 10 (1971-1975, 1984-1987 & 1989)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1973)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 16 (1971-1980 & 1984-1989)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1973)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 8 (1971-1976, 1985 & 1986)
• Won two World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979) and the Minnesota Twins (1987)

[edit] Records Held

• Home runs allowed, season, 50, 1986

[edit] Chris Berman Nickname

Bert "Be Home" Blyleven

[edit] Blyleven and the Hall of Fame

[edit] Induct Bert Blyleven To The Hall Of Fame Campaign

Rich Lederer has a great series on why Bert Blyleven belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In a few words, "Since 1900, Blyleven ranks fifth in career strikeouts, eighth in shutouts and 17th in wins." Those numbers put him in some very select company; in fact, his immediate neighbors (with only a couple of exceptions) are all Hall of Fame members or are Roger Clemens. Here's Rich's columns, which serious students of the game and BBWAA voters alike should read and take to heart:

• Only The Lonely -- the basic case for Bert's inclusion.
• "If Cooperstown Is Calling..." -- reaction to "Only The Lonely"
• Answering The Naysayers -- Rejoinders to common arguments against his inclusion.
• A Peek Into The Mind Of A Hall Of Fame Voter -- Rich interviews Traverse City, Michigan Record-Eagle BBWAA voter Jeff Peek about Blyleven's inclusion.
• Bert Blyleven: Up Close And Personal -- accounts of and interviews with the man himself.
• The Hall Of Fame Case For Bert Blyleven -- an introduction to a series of articles by Rob Neyer, Dayn Perry(who likens him to Warren Spahn), Jeff Peek, with a roundup by Rich.

[edit] The Case Against Bert Blyleven's Induction

• The case against Blyleven

The case against Blyleven, while not trivial, basically comes down to some observers' feelings that Blyleven just wasn't of high enough caliber. Those observers tend to point out that he never won a Cy Young Award or an ERA championship. However, his Gray Ink score is well above the average Hall of Famer, his Hall of Fame Monitor score is comfortably above the average Hall of Famer, and his Hall of Fame Standards score is exactly 50, which is the average Hall of Famer. True, he was rarely No. 1 (which is why his Black Ink score is low), but he was frequently among the leaders for a very long time, from 1970 to 1989.

[edit] Related Sites

• BertBlyleven.com -- The Official Website
• BertBelongs.com