Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). 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. [29] During a 2006 broadcast, Blyleven forgot the name of the movie and had to be reminded of it by a technician in the broadcast booth. It wasn't until he got married in 1971 that he noticed on his birth certificate that he's really Rik Aalbert. Its that second wind that makes his career numbers impressive. 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. 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. He tried out for the Twins again in the spring of 1993, but did not make the squad, which made his retirement official. Blyleven said the Twins then played on the road in Detroit and there was a Twins fan with a sign, asking to be circled. Stanky quit on his own. 10 things I didn't know about Bert Blyleven | The Hardball Times 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. All Rights Reserved. Wait a minute. 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 One of the nicknames for a curveball is a "yakker." A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven was also a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. Shipping speed. Blyleven reaches rare mark with 250th win | Baseball Hall of Fame I'll have to admit that was a hell of a curveball.". Like the first time, it doesn't go well, as he allows two runs in two innings and the NL wins, 6-1. Blyleven was the epitome of dominant. Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1969 amateur draft. "[19], By 2006, his total had increased to 53.33%. Blyleven, just 19, was called up to replace him. 1. "Brought it in from Cleveland," comes the host's reply. ", Bert also inherited a love of the Dodgers from his father; he worshiped two in particular, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. According to baseball-reference Cy Young won 195 games befroe his age 30 season. Richie Scheinblum? Shipping speed. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the 300. Former Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven on 1987 World Series, today's game 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." We do. His run support wasnt that good every year, but by and large it was better than I wouldve guessed. "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. He's also not afraid to throw inside to a hitter. 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). Gary Carter, Rich Gossage, Jim Rice, and Bruce Sutter have all gotten in, after initially finishing under 50 percent. 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. Another Look: Bert Blyleven - Baseball Prospectus MLB Power Rankings: The Top 10 Curveballs in Baseball History The no-hitter was his final start as a Ranger; not until Cole Hamels during the 2015 season would a pitcher be traded after pitching a no-hitter in his most recent start for the team that traded him. He had looked up the records of Walter Johnson and Cy Young when he was young. "But if you had to have one pitcher to beat us, Blyleven would be the choice. "He knows how to finish a game now," says Indian pitching coach Don McMahon. Do I hear $275? 28, "Longtime Twins broadcaster Bert Blyleven hangs up the mic", June 2, 1976: Minneapolis Tribune column on Blyleven's trade to Texas Rangers. Terrys reaction was to swing straight down, like he was chopping the plate with an axe. 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. He just hasn't played on too many clubs that scored a lot of runs for him.". If anyones curious, heres a list of the most 1-0 CG SHO for post-Walter Johnson pitchers: Nice lead for Blyleven. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will 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. 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. 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. There were players rolling around on the floor, laughing. A dozen of his 1-0 complete game shutouts came from 1970-77. 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. "And here's a ball signed by the 1984 Cleveland Indians. 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. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a The Baseball Analysts: The Case for Bert Blyleven: A Late Convert Joins No takers? Only nine? The curveball of the '50s belonged to Camilio Pascual. 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. 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. Take his 1974 season, when he went 17-17 despite a tremendous ERA+ of 142. 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. The in/out line for the Hall has never been 300 wins. Enough to make your knees buckle. 1971 Topps Bert Blyleven #26 Rookie Minnesota Twins | eBay What have we got here? http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/forgotten-pennant-push-jim-kaat-1967/, interesting article. 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. Heck, Matt Lawton made two All-Star games. 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. Actually, the best spelling of his name appears on one of his license plates: BLY11. "We have a beautiful cutlery set. Even alone Blyleven is a terror, whether he's giving a hotfoot, tying clothes in knots, cutting neckties or pulling down McMahon's pants. A Batted Ball Event represents any batted ball that Heres the chart showing how he shakes out year-by-year by this system: Looking at it above, how come he didnt win more games when pitching so great in the early part of his career? "I would like to say to my family, to my fans, to all the Puerto Rican people and . For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. Bert Blyleven Winter & Minor Leagues Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com 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. 4.9. 1974 Topps Baseball #98 Bert Blyleven Minnesota Twins V.g. ++ (Free 30 day returns. He chatted up all the passing foursomes and made sure the volunteer marshals switched holes so they wouldn't get bored. [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. "Somebody had a sign that read, 'We drove 660 miles from Detroit Lakes,' I . They have a right to act any way they like.". He made his debut on June 5, 1970 playing for the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher. His 2.74 career ERA with the Rangers remains the best in team history. Joe worked on the railroads in Saskatoon and Regina and moved to California in 1955. Blyleven no-hits Angels in homecoming | Baseball 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. [4] His family moved to Melville, Saskatchewan, when Blyleven was two years old before ultimately settling in Garden Grove, California, in 1957 when Blyleven was five years old. Collectibles; Books & Magazines; Entertainment Memorabilia; Cell Phones . He generally did better in the second half of the year. Brown ticket 58456? Watching him, one of his partners said, "He seems like a great guy. On July 16, 2011, the Minnesota Twins formally retired Blyleven's number.[26]. Jerry Koosman was a two-time, all-star for the New York Mets and, like most lefties, relied heavily on his curveball for success. It's also nice of Blyleven to host this tournament. The 'Widowmaker' comes to Twins fantasy camp and MDs become MVPs Terry Kennedy was a young player with St. Louis. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. 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. Many (especially in THT-land) will call it luck. Thats a lot better than I wouldve expected. Then theres the guy with six straight 20-win seasons (Fergie Jenkins) and the pitcher with eight 20-win seasons (Jim Palmer). 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.". This is Anthony's first time on a golf course in 10 years, and second time ever. . "Bert got six of mine last year," says DiBiasio. Fansboth at home and at road gamescarried signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert". 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". The Indians are happy to have him. There's the looping 12-6 curveball, which drops off the table just as the hitter thinks he has a read on it. Blue 90672, raise your hand. He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. Blyleven married Patricia Ann Whitehead, a friend from high school, during his second season in the majors, and they have raised a happy family. I threw him an 0-2 curve and it snapped. And I could throw it over at any time, any count."[6]. He has always hovered around .500: 10-9, 16-15, 17-17 twice. Rice benefited from an orchestrated movement by the Boston press corps. Maglie's numbers are not overly impressive due to his stint in the Mexican League that got him banned from Major League Baseball. They just started throwing me the curveball.. If it weren't for drug and injury issues late in his career, he easily could have reached the 3,000-strikeoutplateau. "Doug DeCinces lives over here," says Blyleven. "I know Ed thinks the world of him.". 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. 16, worn by Ron Theobald. He also became a baseball fan. Blyleven proceeded to finish Pittsburgh's sweep of Cincinnati in the National League Championship Series, pitching a complete game in the Pirates' 7-1 triumph in Game 3. His heart is invariably in the right placeit's just that his foot sometimes ends up in his mouth. ", Royals manager Dick Howser is also a Blyleven fan. A curveball can also be thrown with some velocity in an attempt jam a hitter. 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. "Thirty-one of them must have left by the third inning." a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight His breaking ball was literally untouchable. Phone: 602.496.1460 Don Drysdale was done two weeks after his 33rd birthday. Even though he put more miles on his arm in his 20s then nearly all of them, he kept on going. She says, "So now we'll have two.". 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. Normally a guy entering the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot with 287 wins is pretty impressive. One fan posted, "Pete Rose in the Phillies booth "he threw a c**k high fastball". How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from Nicknamed "the Barber," Sal Maglie commanded the corners of the plate as well as any pitcher in the history of baseball. If you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have a major memory of Blyleventhe guy who gave up all those homers. 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. Because of his competitive streak, Blyleven says things he probably shouldn't, and he usually says them with a biting wit. Angels pitcher Bert Blyleven throws a pitch during a game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 3, 1990 . Well, its that murky third factorthe luck/pitch-to-the-score/sunspots one. Kirkpatrick, 40, is sitting in the back of the dining room with his wife, Judy. 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! How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. All rights reserved. "My friends and I used to wait until they turned the lights out in the park," he says. "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. Cleveland president Gabe Paul said, "Bert Blyleven isn't going anywhere. Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. Yes, he rubbed up his hands, went down for the bat, and it wasn't there!". Rik Aalbert Blyleven was born in Zeist, a municipality in Utrecht, Netherlands, the son of Johannes Cornelius and Jannigje Blijleven. 5.0. When you divide his career into sections, it veers wildly. He keeps a collection of baseball memorabilia in his study. he asks. Blyleven got so upset with his role in Pittsburgh that he walked out on the Pirates for 10 days early in 1980. For two years we paid him a good salary, and he did nothing because he was hurt. Nice. "What other team gets to wear a picture of its general manager on its jacket?" So how many wins did Blyleven lose solely due to his run support? Hmmm, no cork in it. "An autographed picture of Fernando Valenzuela. 5.0. In 1986, he. Before the game Blyleven went over to the lineup card and changed the spelling of his name from "Blylevan." How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. He currently ranks 5th all-time in strikeouts, 9th all-time in shutouts, and 27th all-time in wins. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. Bert Blyleven Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac You don't need this. That may not mean much to you, but Ron Theobald is the only man in baseball history to go into the on-deck circle without his bat. The answer is 11. "I have here a ball autographed by Sandy Koufax, a pretty fair pitcher. Mary Scheinblum bids $150; do I hear $175?" In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to ten victories, and he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. "Bert's always doing things for people," he says. Maye hit it out of the park. I wondered how anyone could pitch 7,000 innings like Cy Young. 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. Who the hell wanted this old-timer in the HOF anyways? He got him to fly out. Bert Blyleven: Pitching History and The Hall of Fame Here you go. Tom Waddell. He would continue to play for six different teams for the next 22 years . Blyleven, who has a seven handicap, is teamed with a couple of Cadillac dealers and an attorney, a zany Mormon named Tom Anthony. [1] He serves as the pitching coach for the Netherlands national baseball team, having done so in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classic. ", Blyleven wraps up the evening. It's like the fellow at the golf tournament said. It's one of the hardest things in sports to execute. Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . Jerry Willard. Bert Blyleven - BR Bullpen 19 7-4 over the Twins on the last day of the season. None spent as many years as low on BBWAA ballots as Blyleven. "Golf is my life," Anthony keeps saying. Bert Blyleven. [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. With the power of the internet, Lederers persistenceand, oh yeah, Blylevens own solid casehell have a nice weekend in upstate New York this year. When youre constantly winning 15 or more games a year, you dont need too many 20-win seasons to make this list. Esteban Loaiza made two. So how does he earn a spot on this list? Blyleven has a memento from each of his teams, a ball for every win and a replica of the 1979 Series trophy. Blyleven's curve breaks so quickly and so far that some batters swear they can hear it change direction. 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. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. If you had to pick one starting pitcher to serve as in/out line for induction, Id go with Stan Coveleski. Blyleven was quoted as saying, "My dad built me a mound in the backyard with a canvas backdrop over our horseshoe pits, and I would go back there and just throw and throw and throw until I developed it, and it became my curveball. Escape Velocity takes the average of a player's batted ball velocities subtracted from 88. 1973 Topps Set-Break #199 Bert Blyleven EX-EXMINT *GMCARDS* The lone hit in that game was a bunt single by slow-footed Ed Kirkpatrick in the fifth inning. 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 . "There were 32 scouts in the stands at the start," he recalls. "This is for a free membership to Racquetball World. Look at Blyleven in that 1974 campaign. Bert Blyleven Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com US $3.00Standard Shipping. 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. Catfish Hunter lasted only a few months more. Upon his return, he was plagued by chronic stomach ulcers and a torn rotator cuff. After I ran off the mound, I looked over at the St. Louis' dugout. 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. 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. "The guys who were real cheap during the season got real cheap gifts," he says. Blyleven, an intense competitor, wants it. Blyleven is the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the NLCS and Game 5 (pitching in relief) of the World Series. He responded with a flippant gesture. He's being serious, although whimsy soon bubbles to the surface. Many new voters had entered the mix, and old ones passed on. The difference between the two projections should be what his run support cost him. In his second stint in Minnesota, Bert Blyleven helped the Twins win the 1987 World Series and won his 250th career game a year later. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. i surely did my campaigning for blyleven too back in the day. But since no one close to 280 wins showed up after Blyleven, it helped him rise up over the years. Mike Cuellar was one of the filthiest breaking ball pitchers the game has ever seen. It gives the opposition fits when thrown properly. And now he has a little more command. 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. Blyleven also won so many games because he was a great workhorse. Bert Blyleven is one of the great command pitchers in baseball history! 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. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. 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. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as He's now 200-173. Many out there in THTs readerland believe its all just luck and random variation, and we may as well do away with W-L records. And he was still a workhorse, completing 24 games in 1985, the last AL pitcher to top 20. "It finally ended when I was out in the back of the house, pulling weeds. He's fifth on the active list in shutouts, sixth in strikeouts, eighth in victories and eighth in innings pitched. If the pitchers were different, the results were the same. Those stats hit me in the face. Popular categories from this store. Thereupon he drives the addressee 250 yards straight down the middle of the No. Wes Ferrell won three games after his age-30 season. He's celebrity chairman of the 65 Roses Club for Cystic Fibrosis there. But the injuries may have been a blessing in disguise, because they made him a better pitcher. by Retrosheet. In all likelihood, Bert Blyleven is the best pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. 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. 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. Blyleven wanted $85,000, which seems like a piddling sum now, and the Twins were offering $65,000. Now, does that really seem like an answer to the question of run support? Who does Bert pitch for these days? At that time only 15 to 20 percent of the electorate supported him. Two words Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson used to describe Bert Blyleven's curveball: "nasty" and "knee-buckling.". Even the guys who didnt completely implode aged poorly. He is very much at ease on the podium as he describes various raffle prizes, calls off winning numbers and awards golf trophies. Thats especially the case for the guys who finished near the top of the list (and where Blyleven would be if he didnt weirdly have those 17 missing wins). 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. That year, he pitched 293.2 innings and completed 24 games, a feat that has not been repeated since. 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. When the Angels came to nearby Anaheim in 1966, Bert didn't switch his allegiance, although he did become one of the stadium rats. "[24] Blyleven was the first Dutch-born player inducted, and his Hall of Fame plaque depicts him with a Minnesota Twins cap. 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. That way I know he won't lose it on me like he did that one time. "Here's something special. Everything keyed off the fastball, but I could throw it at any time in the count, 3-2, bases loaded, I could throw it and throw it where I wanted, he said. 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.". But nobody really cared. Blyleven debuted in major league baseball in 1970, right at the end of a great run of workhorse pitchers. For years he thought his first name was Rikaalbert. Especially back in those days, a pitchers win-loss record really mattered. Ron Necciai is one of the most dominating pitchers that never materialized in the Major Leagues. About 10 years ago, there was a debate at the late, great Rob Neyer Message Board about Blylevens Hall of Fame chances. From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. outfield. In 22 seasons, Blyleven had more than 3,700 career strikeouts, including more than 2,000 of those in 11 seasons with the Twins.
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