Plus, he keeps us loose.". So how many wins did Blyleven lose solely due to his run support? Given his temperamental behaviour and (more happily) reputation as a practical jokester as a player, which have carried over somewhat into an occasionally prickly demeanor as a broadcaster, I wonder if Blylevens early debut in the majors is partially to blame for his personalitys lack of leavening. The only thing Blyleven hates more than pitch counts is the use of . And now he has a little more command. 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?" Joe worked on the railroads in Saskatoon and Regina and moved to California in 1955. 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. 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. Rik Aalbert Blyleven was born in Zeist, the Netherlands on April 6, 1951. 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. Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). Blyleven wanted $85,000, which seems like a piddling sum now, and the Twins were offering $65,000. Before the game Blyleven went over to the lineup card and changed the spelling of his name from "Blylevan." He won fewer games than he should have, right? However, Blyleven's early career with the Twins was not always pleasant as he was hounded by critics and fans. It's also nice of Blyleven to host this tournament. Koufax combined his rising fast ball with an overhand 12-6 curveball that embarrassed hitters. as Active Spin. 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. "We have those long, strong fingers," he says. Blyleven was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 after receiving 79.7% of the vote on his 14th attempt. "Golf is my life," Anthony keeps saying. Pittsburgh thought so little of him that it traded him and Manny Sanguillen to Cleveland after the '80 season for Victor Cruz, Bob Owchinko, Rafael Vasquez and Gary Alexander. Despite retiring at age 30, Sandy Koufax recorded 2,396 strikouts, won four World Series Championships and three Cy Young Awards. I checked all pitchers with at least 25 SHO from 1920-2011. ", Blyleven raises every bid, and, finally, he says, "Sold to me. Those stats hit me in the face. July 16, 1985: For the second time Blyleven pitches in an All-Star Game. And those TWENTY no-decisions on the WORLD CHAMPION Pittsburgh Pirates are probably a record of sorts. He must have had terrible run support. Uh, okay, Dean Chance). And I could throw it over at any time, any count."[6]. It was his second world championship. Fortunately for him, life wasnt going to throw him that curve, and he now has his place in history. "But if you had to have one pitcher to beat us, Blyleven would be the choice. "This is for a free membership to Racquetball World. 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! Thats a lot better than I wouldve expected. 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. He missed a second 20-win season that year when he was forced to miss a couple of starts after breaking his foot when joking around in the bullpen. 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. Look at Blyleven in that 1974 campaign. At least his induction might open the door for more worthy candidates, certainly Jimm Kaat is this mans superior as an MLB pitcher. i surely did my campaigning for blyleven too back in the day. Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. Blyleven has often been labeled a troublemaker. in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second 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. Fine pitchers, but a definite step down from what had come before. ", Bert also inherited a love of the Dodgers from his father; he worshiped two in particular, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Blyleven has put on more than his share in the past, for a variety of causes, and this is his second of the current off-season. All Rights Reserved. Who has blue ticket 92594? Even though he put more miles on his arm in his 20s then nearly all of them, he kept on going. 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. . 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. This semicelebrity affair at Riviera was the second off-season charity event Bert has sponsored. Blue 90672, raise your hand. Then he filled out, picked up some speed on his fastball and wowed batters in rookie and A ball. For some reason it has taken Blyleven 3,422 innings, 468 games, 195 wins, 15 years and four teams to be appreciated. Blyleven, 38, has won 271 major league games with one of baseball's best curves and a variety of offspeed pitches. In those years he was 59-66 (.472) at the break and 53-38 (.582) afterwards. [5] One of seven children, his parents anglicized their names to Joe and Jenny, with Rik Aalbert becoming simply "Bert". 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. 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. He has all the stats of a potential Hall of Famer. What have we got here? Jerry Koosman was a two-time, all-star for the New York Mets and, like most lefties, relied heavily on his curveball for success. Blyleven has always had trouble with his name. Roberto Alomar, Pat Gillick and Bert Blyleven on stage during a press conference during the 2011 Hall of Fame Weekend. He eventually came back after nearly two weeks. He came back in 1992 but was mostly unproductive, going 812 with a 4.74 ERA. He will do anything to get it. In his last game with the Twins in 1976 before being traded, he made an obscene gesture to the crowd while walking off the mound. 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. Blyleven started the season in Triple A. Richie, you don't even exercise. "A Carl Yastrzemski bat. Of course, it's never as nice as the one he cut.". Blyleven and his Villa Park neighbors could probably win the American League West. That game happened to feature a. Now, does that really seem like an answer to the question of run support? Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. 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. "[His curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you thatenough to make your knees buckle. Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an Blyleven was one of baseball's most notorious dugout pranksters during his playing days. For instance, in the middle of his careerthe Pirate/Indian yearshe comes out even with the murky third element. The ones better than him who are not in would make legitimate candidates. "When they asked us who wanted to play in the Instructional League in the fall of '69, I was the first one to raise my hand," he says. But nobody really cared. Watching him, one of his partners said, "He seems like a great guy. Being close to his 100th win is. He has always hovered around .500: 10-9, 16-15, 17-17 twice. About 10 years ago, there was a debate at the late, great Rob Neyer Message Board about Blylevens Hall of Fame chances. produces a result. He's now 200-173. 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. He tried out for the Twins again in the spring of 1993, but did not make the squad, which made his retirement official. He struck out 109 batters in 43 innings in his first season and 172 in his 126 career innings in Class D. Much like Nolan Ryan, Satchel Paige did not use his curveball as his primary pitch, but he still had a damn good one. 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. 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. Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Joe Adcock, Eddie Mathews. Sold for $150. [citation needed], MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said of Blyleven: "[his curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you that. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. Terry Kennedy was a young player with St. Louis. No two curveballs have the same rotation speed, velocity toward the hitter, arm delivery angle, or break. Thats the question. "He's a great guy," says Judy Kirkpatrick. Catfish Hunter lasted only a few months more. How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the 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 . Well, if its not luck, youre saying in so many words that the guy choked or lacked mental toughness. It's one of the hardest things in sports to execute. Now look at Blylevens careerpitching in tough spots wasnt his problem. Why did Blyleven only make it twice? Possessing both a screwball and a curveball to go with a deceptive palmball, Cuellar was nearly untouchable in the prime of his career. player has saved over his peers. Blyleven, just 19, was called up to replace him. Though his age-28 season, Blyleven tossed 2,624 innings, more than anyone since Pete Alexander. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. (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). Born in the Netherlands but raised in Southern California, Blyleven would spend many evenings listening to Vin Scullys radio description of what may have been the greatest curveball ever in the game. Blyleven got so upset with his role in Pittsburgh that he walked out on the Pirates for 10 days early in 1980. Stand behind a tree 60 feet away and Ill whomp you with an optical illusion, challenged Dizzy Dean. A banquet in a Riviera dining room follows the golf tournament, and Blyleven, nattily dressed in a camel's hair sports coat, navy blue trousers, blue shirt and uncut tie, is the master of ceremonies. 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. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed Yes, he rubbed up his hands, went down for the bat, and it wasn't there!". Kid Nichols is the all-time champ. ", Not only does Blyleven pitch for the Indians, he actually likes being an Indian. Hey, wait a minute, Francisco, where are you going? "It was an off year for ties," says Blyleven. In 1973, he pitched nine shutouts, the most of any AL pitcher that season. Lets back up for a second. The left-hander won over 200 games and struck out over 2,500 batters in his 18-year MLB career. Until last year, fate had not been overly kind to Blyleven. 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. "Curveballs are like snowflakesnone are the same. "And then he went down." 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. From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. The Pirates won by the same score in Game 5 of the World Series, as Blyleven earned the decision with four shutout innings of relief. There are 16 names, but only one 300-game winner. This year he is 4-6, with a 2.97 ERA. For instance, he referred to Paul and Phil Seghi, the Indians' general manager, as "two old men sitting up in the booth playing checkers." Monte tried to throw a curve, and something in his elbow snapped. Blyleven has a different grip on his yakker than most, but, then, he has been more successful than most. From 1970-77, Blyleven went 122-113 despite an ERA+ of 134. Koosman's catcher in his Mets days, J.C. Martin, once said that Koosman could throw his 11-5 curveball "any time.". the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the After Blyleven, the only 200-game winners to appear in the next five years were Rick Reuschel and Frank Tanana. But someone with a far greater mind than any scientist put the optical illusion theory to rest. "I know that stuff sounds silly," says Smith. Bert knew what had happened right away and got Monte's elbow in a bucket of ice. Bert Blyleven Stats by Baseball Almanac. background-image:unset; The Twins responded by trading him to the Texas Rangers. I wondered how anyone could pitch 7,000 innings like Cy Young. He chatted up all the passing foursomes and made sure the volunteer marshals switched holes so they wouldn't get bored. 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". How is a batter supposed to hit a curveball when he constantly has to be ready for the 100 mile per hour heater? 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. Many (especially in THT-land) will call it luck. Then theres Blyleven. So close he might hang for No. ". Don Drysdale was done two weeks after his 33rd birthday. Things went so sour in Minnesota that in Blyleven's last game as a Twin, some fans serenaded him with "Goodby, Bert, we're glad to see you go." That, of course, would belong to Sandy Koufax. The Hulk, whose wife wonders where the galleries are, quits after two holes because his shoes are wet. None had ever fallen below 30 percent. We do. In the last part of his careerhis second go-around in Minnesota and his final seasons in Californiahe came out eight games ahead. He left in the eighth to a standing ovation from the Municipal Stadium faithful, 8,239 strong. The one who didn't give up on him was Jesse Flores Sr. of Minnesota, and the Twins made Blyleven their third pick that June. Blyleven has ridden the curve to a career ERA of 3.00. But he's not a bad guy. He was 17-5 for the Angels last season, allowing only 14 home runs. But thats the problem, you had to go way back. This was especially pronounced in his first seven full seasons, 1971-77, when he was in his prime. Blyleven thinks little of drugs, pitch count. 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. [27], On September 2, 2020, Blyleven broadcast his final game for the Twins.[28]. He won 287 games, 27th-most all-time, and pitched 4,970 innings, 14th-most all-time. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment. But Blyleven is still a big kid at heart. "Doug DeCinces lives over here," says Blyleven. "[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. The Blyleven tribe includes Kimberly, 10; wife Patty; Timothy, 3; Bert; Todd, 12; and Thomas, 17 months. Bert was an Instructional League Twin at 18 in 1969 and a Pittsburgh playoff winner at 28 in '79. by Handedness, 10 things I didnt know about Bert Blyleven, http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/forgotten-pennant-push-jim-kaat-1967/. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969. 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. Or 40 percent. No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. Julio Franco, who had been arrested the previous winter for possession of a gun without a permit, received a toy pistol. Blyleven has reigned as the curveball champion longer than either Pascual or Koufax. At which point Richie Scheinblum yells across the room to his wife, "We already have a Koufax ball!" By this approach, Blyleven comes out nine wins behind. At 6 feet 3 inches, with long arms and large hands, he throws. And I said, 'Yes.' When The Chicken brought his act to Cleveland, pitchers (from left) Ernie Camacho, Blyleven, Luis Aponte and Mike Jeffcoat were his plucky backups. It was this way when hitters faced Blyleven, as former San Diego catcher Terry Kennedy can attest. window.". Normally a guy entering the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot with 287 wins is pretty impressive. Blyleven said the Twins then played on the road in Detroit and there was a Twins fan with a sign, asking to be circled. Nice. Heres a list, with how much theyd won before the big 3-0: Its easy to forget how young Blyleven debuted, just two months past his 19th birthday. After all, 17 wins in eight years is a lot. I do. Blyleven is the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the NLCS and Game 5 (pitching in relief) of the World Series. "But I thought it was kind of nice. He pitched a no-hitter, was chosen to a pair of All-Star teams and also won two World Series Championships. If you think you just heard some big names, listen to these. Baseball-Reference.com provided the stats. 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. One fan posted, "Pete Rose in the Phillies booth "he threw a c**k high fastball". On a recent afternoon Blyleven went to see Todd play basketball for his seventh-grade team. If you go through the above, he comes out to 298-239 for his career, ever so incredibly shy of 300. Bert Blyleven. Ill be home soon. I bid $250. He has to have it. Bah! Even back in 1969 Blyleven had his sensational curve. The incident occurred when Rose was commentating on a Phillies game last year and sharing a story when he said . 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. I know this sounds terrible, but who does Bert pitch for these days?". I just wish we had more fans. His fastball overpowered hitters and was clearly the pitch he relied on most heavily. In 22 seasons, Blyleven had more than 3,700 career strikeouts, including more than 2,000 of those in 11 seasons with the Twins. Friendship may be the tie that binds Blyleven and Scheinblum, but occasionally Bert can get snippy. attempt. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to 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. Id say 95 percent of that mysterious third element is luck, but does that mean its never anything else? Wes Ferrell won three games after his age-30 season. If youre a fan of sabermetrics, and of internet-based populism, this weekends induction ceremony is thus a double victoryone for Blyleven and one for Lederer. And let's not forget the classic knee-buckling curveball that has made countless hitters look foolish. His heart is invariably in the right placeit's just that his foot sometimes ends up in his mouth. Actually, the best spelling of his name appears on one of his license plates: BLY11. 5.0. [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. Those who throw it refer to it as The Hammer, The Yakker, even Public Enemy No. And quite well, thank you. "Bert's always doing things for people," he says. "I saw him when he was 19 and I've seen him now," Howser says. ", During a lull at the banquet, Scheinblum talks about Blyleven. That means isolating it. "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. His answer told you all you need to know about the major-league curveball: Dont bother. He would continue to play for six different teams for the next 22 years . Heck, Manny Trillo made four. He generally did better in the second half of the year. Now he owes the Indians and the city of Cleveland something in return.". Blyleven appeared as himself in the 1990 James Belushi film Taking Care of Business. He knows how to pitch. He says, "Mister Paul and Mister Seghi [Mister?] If you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have a major memory of Blyleventhe guy who gave up all those homers. he asks. I practiced it by myself. become a hit. Nice. "I think the world of Chuck Tanner," says Blyleven now. He always goes out and buys me a new one. "Then we'd sneak down into the dugouts and grab whatever we couldresin bags and broken bats. Then theres the guy with six straight 20-win seasons (Fergie Jenkins) and the pitcher with eight 20-win seasons (Jim Palmer). Blyleven married Patricia Ann Whitehead, a friend from high school, during his second season in the majors, and they have raised a happy family. Call the curveball what you will. Ted Williams called Pascual's curveball the "most feared curveball in the American League for 18 years. "O.K., we've got a golf bag and a dozen balls. In the '60s, Koufax had it. Note that since the Neyer Board discussion ten years ago, things have already shifted. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit 28, "Longtime Twins broadcaster Bert Blyleven hangs up the mic", June 2, 1976: Minneapolis Tribune column on Blyleven's trade to Texas Rangers. Thanks in no small amount to a campaign led by Rich Lederer to get Bert Blyleven into the Hall of Fame, Blyleven saw his vote total gradually rise up, election after election, until he got in. Blyleven became the first Dutch-born player to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. "My friends and I used to wait until they turned the lights out in the park," he says. Hmmm, I wanted the color TV. Thats surprising. 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). All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. He earned the moniker "Frying Dutchman" by frequently setting fire to his teammates' shoelaces, a practical joke known as a "hot foot". have been very good to me, I like the way Pat manages, I think we've got a good, young club, and I'd like to be a part of a winning team in Cleveland. To me, that was the characteristic that made him an unquestionable HOFer. Bert Blyleven grew up in Garden Grove, Calif., less than 10 miles from Anaheim Stadium. Although under-appreciated during his playing career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011his second-to-last year of eligibility. "We've got some baseball memorabilia donated to us by the players," Blyleven says, "and the money will go to help Ed Kirkpatrick back there. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. When he beat the Twins for Texas on July 26, 1976, Blyleven didn't mince words. A couple of years ago when he was on the disabled list and back home, he came to watch my son Monte pitch. No. 1. 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. Hal Newhouser barely won 200 games. The difference between the two projections should be what his run support cost him. 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. Many new voters had entered the mix, and old ones passed on. 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. Then there are three guys over 280 winsTommy John, Jim Kaat, and Blyleven himself. The curveball has been around for ages and has taken many forms throughout the history of baseball. The team finishes at 3-under and out of hunt. Go figure. There's the looping 12-6 curveball, which drops off the table just as the hitter thinks he has a read on it. On July 16, 2011, the Minnesota Twins formally retired Blyleven's number.[26]. Even Hall of Fame players marveled at Blylevens curve. Shipping speed. So far Blyleven has won 20 only once, in 1973, when he lost 17. Nolan Ryan is widely considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. The youngest player to ever be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at age 34, Sandy Koufax is the best left-handed pitcher to ever take the mound.
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