Who? She says, "So now we'll have two.". However, his election was a slow curve that was thrown to Blyleven, not being elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America until his 14thseason of eligibility despite 287 victories and 3,701 strikeouts. ++ (FREE SHIPPING) at the best online prices at eBay! "There's not a lot of dropoff in his stuff. That game happened to feature a. If I see anymore, I'll fall in love." It was the last out of the inning. Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . Who the hell wanted this old-timer in the HOF anyways? Free shipping for many products! He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969. Call the curveball what you will. Nolan Ryan is widely considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. If the pitchers were different, the results were the same. He eventually came back after nearly two weeks. Paige has a unique ability to blow hitters away and come right back and make them look foolish. Blyleven and his Villa Park neighbors could probably win the American League West. He won 287 games, 27th-most all-time, and pitched 4,970 innings, 14th-most all-time. 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. Communication. 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).
1971 TOPPS # 26 BERT BLYLEVEN NICE CARD | eBay That, of course, would belong to Sandy Koufax. "Somebody had a sign that read, 'We drove 660 miles from Detroit Lakes,' I . He ran cross-country and played basketball and baseball at Santiago High School, and the baseball scouts began to come around. Wait a minute. [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. In 1996, Blyleven became a television color analyst for the Twins, calling games for WCCO-TV and Midwest Sports Channel (later Fox Sports North). Rik Aalbert Blyleven was born in Zeist, the Netherlands on April 6, 1951. Monte tried to throw a curve, and something in his elbow snapped. Upon his return, he was plagued by chronic stomach ulcers and a torn rotator cuff. "O.K., we've got a golf bag and a dozen balls.
Former Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven on 1987 World Series, today's game "And then he went down." He's also not afraid to throw inside to a hitter. The Blyleven abode, one of many handsome houses on his street, should bear a plaque commemorating one of the best baseball lines of this decade. When he was younger, his stuff was so good that he didn't need a changeup or pinpoint control. 19 7-4 over the Twins on the last day of the season. Wes Ferrell won three games after his age-30 season. "Golf is my life," Anthony keeps saying. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Blyleven has a memento from each of his teams, a ball for every win and a replica of the 1979 Series trophy. Blyleven has ridden the curve to a career ERA of 3.00. [citation needed], MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said of Blyleven: "[his curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you that. Blyleven, who has a seven handicap, is teamed with a couple of Cadillac dealers and an attorney, a zany Mormon named Tom Anthony. 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. His 2.74 career ERA with the Rangers remains the best in team history. Yeah, over his career. Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, one of only nine major leaguers to have been born in Holland as of 2020 (several major leaguers were born in the Kingdom of the Netherlands outside Holland). To me, that was the characteristic that made him an unquestionable HOFer. Koosman was also an crucial piece to the Mets improbable World Series Championship in 1969. You don't need this. Camilo Pascual threw only two pitches, his fastball and his nasty overhand curveball, so as one can imagine those pitches were dominant. 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. "It was the worst time I've ever had in baseball," he says. Afterward he issued these immortal words: "I knew I'd never win the Cy Young Award, so I was trying to be Fireman of the Year.". 48 is from a one-hitter Blyleven threw against the Kansas City Royals on May 24, 1973. ", In a list full of "Uncle Charlies" (a common nickname for a curveball), Doc Gooden's deuce is "Lord Charles.". In all likelihood, Bert Blyleven is the best pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. 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. Shipping speed. Dutch-American baseball player (born 1951), Cleveland Guardians Opening Day starting pitchers, Los Angeles Angels Opening Day starting pitchers, List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders, List of Texas Rangers Opening Day starting pitchers, List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders, List of Major League Baseball career shutout leaders, List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders, "Twins' Bert Blyleven, a Fort Myers resident, moves from broadcast booth", "HOFers have long history with World Baseball Classic", "Wednesday's game marked Bert Blyleven's last Twins broadcast", "Bert Blyleven Society for American Baseball Research", "Sports of The Times; Blyleven And His Beard", -NY Times article Alomar and Blyleven elected to hall of fame, 1/5/11, "Blyleven traded to Texas in six-player transaction", Former Indians Blyleven, Alomar Elected to Hall of Fame, Durso, Joseph. "Then we'd sneak down into the dugouts and grab whatever we couldresin bags and broken bats. Blyleven missed the entire 1991 season following rotator cuff surgery. It's hard to say anything based on one game, but he looks like he's got a great future ahead of him.". One of seven children, Bert grew up in Garden Grove as American as, well, Dutch apple pie. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out I checked all pitchers with at least 25 SHO from 1920-2011. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second Terry Kennedy was a young player with St. Louis. Now he throws an excellent change, an occasional slider, an assortment of fastballs and, of course, his curve. For two years we paid him a good salary, and he did nothing because he was hurt. Steve Farr. He has had only one 20-win season, in 1973, the first year of the DH, when 12 American League pitchers won 20 or more. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. There once was a rookie hitter who didnt need to be convinced the curve was something more than an optical illusion. Blyleven set the record that still stands with 50 gopher balls in 1986, and then topped the league again with 46 in 1987. The lone hit in that game was a bunt single by slow-footed Ed Kirkpatrick in the fifth inning. He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. Being close to his 100th win is. Normally that would be a random fact, but here it goes to the heart of things. US $3.00Standard Shipping. On the second-to-last weekend of the season, the Indian players had a little party to adjourn their kangaroo court. 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. If you had to pick one starting pitcher to serve as in/out line for induction, Id go with Stan Coveleski. It was this way when hitters faced Blyleven, as former San Diego catcher Terry Kennedy can attest. None spent as many years as low on BBWAA ballots as Blyleven. "We left one month-old piece in there, and I think Chris ate it." He has lines around his eyes and a scar on the inside of his right elbow, testimony to the strain and pain of 15 years in the major leagues. Just take a look at who emerged in baseball from 1959 to 1970. Blyleven, an intense competitor, wants it. For instance, he referred to Paul and Phil Seghi, the Indians' general manager, as "two old men sitting up in the booth playing checkers." During the winter there are many of these Monday events in the Los Angeles area. He always goes out and buys me a new one. Blyleven had his problems from 1982 to early 1984, but he recovered, aging better than anyone not named Maddux on that list. What makes his statistics even more impressive is that he missed five starts after he broke a bone in his right foot; while shagging flies in the Milwaukee outfield in May, he stepped on a ball hiding in the grass. Watching him, one of his partners said, "He seems like a great guy. "Thanks everyone for coming, and good night. 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). Rice benefited from an orchestrated movement by the Boston press corps. "Bert's always doing things for people," he says. ", During a lull at the banquet, Scheinblum talks about Blyleven. Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Joe Adcock, Eddie Mathews. Sold for $150. Almost everybody says this of Blyleven: "He wants the ball." 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. velocity and launch angle. [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. Free local pickup from Brooklyn, New York, United States. (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). "Two pitchers that I know about who held it the way I do," says Blyleven, "were Koufax and Bob Feller.". 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. 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. 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. able to make a catch on an individual batted ball. 1996-2023 DIY Baseball LLC All Rights Reserved. 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. Terrys reaction was to swing straight down, like he was chopping the plate with an axe. 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 also became a baseball fan. "But I'll be grateful to him for one thing in particular. outfield. Looking it up, in his 37 starts, the Twins scored 151 runs, 4.1/game.
Bert Blyleven Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac If anyones curious, heres a list of the most 1-0 CG SHO for post-Walter Johnson pitchers: Nice lead for Blyleven. Bert Blyleven Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com | baseballsavant.com Bert Blyleven P | B/T: R/R | 6' 3" 207LBS | Age: 71 Draft: 1969 | Rd: 3, #55, Minnesota Twins | Santiago HS (Garden Grove, CA) Stats Standard Splits Game Logs Minors Batting Pitching Fielding Visuals Standard MLB Pitching Statistics Blyleven became the first Dutch-born player to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 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. 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. Also, while I think Blyleven is a better pitcher than Kaat, I wrote a column on Kaat years ago arguing in 1967 he had the greatest stretch run by a pitcher ever in a pennant race: MLB Advanced Media, LP. This isn't a tournament along the ropes of, say, the Hope or the Crosby. "There were 32 scouts in the stands at the start," he recalls. Francisco the busboy? Dad was made the timekeeper, and with a little creative use of the stopwatch he saw to it that his son's team got off the last shot at the end of each quarter, which was only fair because the referee was the father of a player on the opposing team. A doting daddy, Blyleven likes to spend time with his sons Timothy (above) and Thomas. They had a profound disagreement over how often Blyleven should pitch; he wanted to go every fourth game, and Tanner gave him the ball every fifth. 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. Bert Blyleven was a big part of that championship season and went 1-1 in the World Series. Now, does that really seem like an answer to the question of run support? Others will call it pitching to the score. Stand behind a tree 60 feet away and Ill whomp you with an optical illusion, challenged Dizzy Dean. 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 remember talking to scout Jesse Flores and Ed Roebuck, the pitcher, about the rotation. Aside from that, he never led the league. The difference between the two projections should be what his run support cost him. 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. 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. It wasn't until he got married in 1971 that he noticed on his birth certificate that he's really Rik Aalbert.
Bert Blyleven - Wikipedia 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. The house has lots of toys, some for the kids, some for Bert. 300. For the benefit of those who don't knowand it's quite understandable so don't feel ashamedBlyleven, a right-hander, pitches for the Cleveland Indians. His heart is invariably in the right placeit's just that his foot sometimes ends up in his mouth. 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. His answer told you all you need to know about the major-league curveball: Dont bother. Now look at Blylevens careerpitching in tough spots wasnt his problem. Only nine? Actually, given that the park factor was 104, Blylevens run support was nearly league average; 96% of league average to be precise. Now, in the previous paragraph there are three things going on: 1) Blyleven's RA/9IP, 2) his run support, and 3) well, a third factor that's hard to define. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. O.K., I bid $300. "My friends and I used to wait until they turned the lights out in the park," he says. Baseball-Reference.com provided the stats. 1. It gives the opposition fits when thrown properly. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. Bert Blyleven is one of the great command pitchers in baseball history! His 20 no decisions in 1979 are the most by an MLB starting pitcher in a season, dating back to at least 1908.[13].
Bert Blyleven | Baseball Wiki | Fandom "With his hands and wrist, he could throw that damn thing without any seams and it would curve," says Corrales. 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 Does it really seem that if you give him a slight increase in run support his wins will shoot up? Koosman's catcher in his Mets days, J.C. Martin, once said that Koosman could throw his 11-5 curveball "any time.". July 16, 1985: For the second time Blyleven pitches in an All-Star Game.
Bert Blyleven's curveball is his claim to fame - Twin Cities Bert Blyleven Twins 2022 Topps Gilded Collection 1X Case 18X Box Break #7 | Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop, Sports Trading Cards, Trading Card Box & Case Breaks | eBay! He's celebrity chairman of the 65 Roses Club for Cystic Fibrosis there. If you just take his actual RA/9IP and pythag it with league-average, park-adjusted run support, it comes out that he should have gone 21-13 over 34 decisions. It was his second world championship. 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. However, the velocity on his fastball adding to the effectiveness of his curveball. In 15 years with four teams he has 195 wins and a 3.00 ERA. Nice. Shipping speed. That was the. He currently ranks 5th all-time in strikeouts, 9th all-time in shutouts, and 27th all-time in wins. 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. Friendship may be the tie that binds Blyleven and Scheinblum, but occasionally Bert can get snippy. "And here's a ball signed by the 1984 Cleveland Indians. 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 . Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. attempt. About 10 years ago, there was a debate at the late, great Rob Neyer Message Board about Blylevens Hall of Fame chances. Hal Newhouser barely won 200 games. Of course, it's never as nice as the one he cut.". Blyleven started the season in Triple A. Played in the Big Leagues from 1971-1990 and 1992. Blyleven has a different grip on his yakker than most, but, then, he has been more successful than most. 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.. Do we have $225? For some reason it has taken Blyleven 3,422 innings, 468 games, 195 wins, 15 years and four teams to be appreciated. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1973 Topps Set-Break #199 Bert Blyleven EX-EXMINT *GMCARDS* at the best online prices at eBay! 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. "I open the bidding at $200. See details. And those TWENTY no-decisions on the WORLD CHAMPION Pittsburgh Pirates are probably a record of sorts. 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. Blyleven made his major league debut at age 19 for the Twins. 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. "I would like to say to my family, to my fans, to all the Puerto Rican people and . That upset Blyleven, especially because he has given of himself to Cleveland.
Bert Blyleven Winter & Minor Leagues Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com That year, he pitched 293.2 innings and completed 24 games, a feat that has not been repeated since. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. Bert Blyleven, who was actually born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Minnesota Twins (1970-1976), Texas Rangers (1976-1977), Pittsburgh Pirates (1978-1980), Cleveland Indians (1981-1985), Minnesota Twins (1985-1988), and California Angels (1989-1990, 1992). Catfish Hunter lasted only a few months more. There were players rolling around on the floor, laughing. Ron Necciai is one of the most dominating pitchers that never materialized in the Major Leagues. A curveball can also be thrown with some velocity in an attempt jam a hitter. Of course, that might be half-baked psychoanalysis, but it does make one wonder. If he underachieved because of his own personal failings, then why was he so successful when things entirely depended on him? "Bert got six of mine last year," says DiBiasio. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. There is some argument as to whether Candy Cummings or Fred Goldsmith invented the curveball, but there is no argument about this: Bert Blyleven perfected it and rode it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. When you divide his career into sections, it veers wildly. One fan posted, "Pete Rose in the Phillies booth "he threw a c**k high fastball". "Hello, ball," he says, in homage to Art Carney as Ed Norton. Only two of them won 30 games after their age 30 seasonJim Palmer and Bob Fellerand none did it after age 32. Position: Starting Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right 6-3, 200lb (190cm, 90kg) . Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). 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). Stanky quit on his own. Blyleven's display includes his one no-hitter (win No.
Bert Blyleven timeline: A lifetime of baseball - Star Tribune 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. 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! After I ran off the mound, I looked over at the St. Louis' dugout. How far, in feet, a fielder or runner has traveled on a Blyleven also won so many games because he was a great workhorse. "He knows how to finish a game now," says Indian pitching coach Don McMahon. From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. He wound up completing 242 games and throwing 60 shutouts, the two numbers of which he is most proud. If you think you just heard some big names, listen to these. So why did this happen to Blyleven? Patty came out and said, 'Don't you think you should go back?' One of his trademarks was circling fans with the telestrator on screen. Esteban Loaiza made two. Others will call it pitching to the score. Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . (Lou Sauritch/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Shop Then theres the guy with six straight 20-win seasons (Fergie Jenkins) and the pitcher with eight 20-win seasons (Jim Palmer). Popular categories from this store. "He's a great guy," says Judy Kirkpatrick. 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. 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.