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. That's why he gave up so many solo shots late in games - he was throwing his pitch with a comfortable lead and didn't care if the batter knew it was coming. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out One of his trademarks was circling fans with the telestrator on screen. Blyleven set the record that still stands with 50 gopher balls in 1986, and then topped the league again with 46 in 1987. Jerry Koosman was a two-time, all-star for the New York Mets and, like most lefties, relied heavily on his curveball for success. He also won a World Series in 1979 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. 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. [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. This led to a fundraising campaign with the Parkinson's Foundation and a sponsorship with the Minnesota Lottery. 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". Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. That, of course, would belong to Sandy Koufax. ", Bert also inherited a love of the Dodgers from his father; he worshiped two in particular, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Played in the Big Leagues from 1971-1990 and 1992. So why did this happen to Blyleven? 5.0. However, Blyleven's early career with the Twins was not always pleasant as he was hounded by critics and fans. According to baseball-reference Cy Young won 195 games befroe his age 30 season. Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an (Thanks, Ron, wherever you are.) "But I thought it was kind of nice. In those years he was 59-66 (.472) at the break and 53-38 (.582) afterwards. He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was After just 21 minor league starts, he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. 1 fairway at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Free shipping for many products! Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment. In between, while a Pirate in 1980, Blyleven jumped the team in midseason, flying to his home in California and demanding a trade. Being close to his 100th win is. In fact, he never came close. 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. I have some sympathy for that approach, but ultimately remain agnostic. Fortunately for him, life wasnt going to throw him that curve, and he now has his place in history. Popular categories from this store. 1.18 ERA 184 Fastball Speed 165 Regular Speed 160 Slowball Speed 10 Left Curve 6 Right Curve 9 Drop Rating 54 Endurance Bio Born Rik Aalbert Blyleven on April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Holland. Mike Cuellar was one of the filthiest breaking ball pitchers the game has ever seen. He currently ranks 5th all-time in strikeouts, 9th all-time in shutouts, and 27th all-time in wins. Although under-appreciated during his playing career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011his second-to-last year of eligibility. In the world of baseballan image comes to mind here of a white planet with red seams and American League president Bobby Brown's signature on itlabels are very easy to put on and very hard to take off. 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. 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. The third pitch was a hard check swing. 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. Does it really seem that if you give him a slight increase in run support his wins will shoot up? Theres a better factoid, though: Blyleven won 15 different 1-0 complete games, more than anyone else since Walter Johnson. He is very much at ease on the podium as he describes various raffle prizes, calls off winning numbers and awards golf trophies. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. So how many wins did Blyleven lose solely due to his run support? He tried out for the Twins again in the spring of 1993, but did not make the squad, which made his retirement official. Bert Blyleven Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. Add in assorted aces Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Catfish Hunter, Mickey Lolich, Luis Tiant, and thats some list. Here you go. Richie, you don't even exercise. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. one base to another, like Home To First. He generally did better in the second half of the year. 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. Another Look: Bert Blyleven - Baseball Prospectus Blyleven has often been labeled a troublemaker. Esteban Loaiza made two. What we're talking about here is a humongous stuffed panda, and he's auctioning off the bear at the banquet. Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement Let's look at some of the names. Blyleven's display includes his one no-hitter (win No. Bert Blyleven. Plus, he keeps us loose.". From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. He was 17-5 for the Angels last season, allowing only 14 home runs. "I thank the baseball writers of America for, I'm going to say, finally getting it right. Bert was an Instructional League Twin at 18 in 1969 and a Pittsburgh playoff winner at 28 in '79. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. Bert Blyleven Twins 2022 Topps Gilded Collection 1X Case 18X Box Break The Orioles legend has four 20-win seasons, a World Series title and a Cy Young Award to his name. [citation needed], MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said of Blyleven: "[his curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you that. BASEBALL'S DUTCH TREAT - Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com by Retrosheet. 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. "And then he went down." "I know Ed thinks the world of him.". 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?" Despite winning 17 fewer games than he should have in his pre-Pittsburgh years, Blyleven can still claim to be one of only 16 men in the liveball era to win 150 games before turning 30. No two curveballs have the same rotation speed, velocity toward the hitter, arm delivery angle, or break. 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. 5.0. Ball No. Bert Blyleven's Top 10 moments - MLB.com How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. Free shipping for many products! Again last season he got embroiled in a couple of controversies. Rice benefited from an orchestrated movement by the Boston press corps. "Somebody had a sign that read, 'We drove 660 miles from Detroit Lakes,' I . Its that second wind that makes his career numbers impressive. Blyleven has reigned as the curveball champion longer than either Pascual or Koufax. "I have to say this for him, though. "I open the bidding at $200. See details. Neal Heaton got a Gourmet Nosepicker. In Texas, Blyleven got blamed for something he never did. produces a result. When I first discovered Retrosheet eons ago, the first thing I wanted to do was look at Blylevens run support. Only 16 other pitchers have at least 3,000 career strikeouts. 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. "I think the world of Chuck Tanner," says Blyleven now. Blessed with one of the greatest curveballs the game has ever seen, Blyleven stands among the elite in several statistical categories, ranking fifth all-time in strikeouts (3,701), ninth in games started (685) and shutouts (60), and 24th in wins (287). Bert was a terrific pitchera dominating pitcher. Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt became something of an expert on the curveball during his career. Weve already figured out what Blylevens record should be based on pythaging his RA/9IP and league-average run support. }, Cronkite School at ASU What have we got here? I have to ask him, 'Bert, what would you throw if you had my stuff?' "I know that stuff sounds silly," says Smith. Thats the question. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second In 1996, Blyleven became a television color analyst for the Twins, calling games for WCCO-TV and Midwest Sports Channel (later Fox Sports North). 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. Blyleven is rightPhil Seghi looks uncannily like Chief Wahoo. 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. Paige has a unique ability to blow hitters away and come right back and make them look foolish. It wasn't until he got married in 1971 that he noticed on his birth certificate that he's really Rik Aalbert. 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. as Active Spin. If anyones curious, heres a list of the most 1-0 CG SHO for post-Walter Johnson pitchers: Nice lead for Blyleven. He learned that his name actually was Rik Aalbert Blijleven after obtaining a copy of his birth certificate in order to get married.[30]. 5.0. He won fewer games than he should have, right? Bert Blyleven grew up in Garden Grove, Calif., less than 10 miles from Anaheim Stadium. At the Blyleven the biggest celebrity, literally and figuratively, is Lou Ferrigno, television's erstwhile Incredible Hulk. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. Blyleven no-hits Angels in homecoming | Baseball Hall of Fame This is Anthony's first time on a golf course in 10 years, and second time ever. Look at Blyleven in that 1974 campaign. 48 is from a one-hitter Blyleven threw against the Kansas City Royals on May 24, 1973. Blyleven went on to win the game 2-1, allowing five hits in seven innings and retiring the outsized Howard all three times he faced him. Fine pitchers, but a definite step down from what had come before. He made his debut on June 5, 1970 playing for the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher. Hey, wait a minute, Francisco, where are you going? 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. [21] In 2009, he gained only two votes, for a total of 338, 62.7%. Thanks for the link at WGOM, by the way. And then when everybody was gone, we'd go out to the mound and make believe. Hmmm, no cork in it. "An autographed picture of Fernando Valenzuela. Blyleven no-hits Angels in homecoming | Baseball Hall of Fame 1996-2023 DIY Baseball LLC All Rights Reserved. He later wished he could have erased the 3-2 fastball he threw to the first batter he faced, Lee Maye. Two words Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson used to describe Bert Blyleven's curveball: "nasty" and "knee-buckling.". In Blyleven's first spring training with the Twins, manager Bill Rigney watched him throw batting practice and yelled to his pitching coach, Marv Grissom, "Get him out of there. 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. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. At that time only 15 to 20 percent of the electorate supported him. [2] From 1996 to 2020, he was a color analyst for Minnesota Twins television broadcasts.[3]. Id say 95 percent of that mysterious third element is luck, but does that mean its never anything else? Blyleven was the epitome of dominant. If he underachieved because of his own personal failings, then why was he so successful when things entirely depended on him? 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. "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. Take his 1974 season, when he went 17-17 despite a tremendous ERA+ of 142. Blue 90672, raise your hand. 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.". Nolan Ryan is widely considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. 30 day returns.
