[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. Now look at Blylevens careerpitching in tough spots wasnt his problem. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. 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. And once he came up, he stuck around. But the injuries may have been a blessing in disguise, because they made him a better pitcher. Bert Blyleven. 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. A dozen of his 1-0 complete game shutouts came from 1970-77. 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. It's also nice of Blyleven to host this tournament. I have to ask him, 'Bert, what would you throw if you had my stuff?' "There were 32 scouts in the stands at the start," he recalls. He's also not afraid to throw inside to a hitter. In 2008, he received 336 votes, or 61.9% of the vote. Says Corrales, "You love sending a guy like that every fifth day, and he's a great influence on a young ball club. [23] "It's been 14 years of praying and waiting," he said on a conference call from Fort Myers, Florida. 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. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. O.K., I bid $300. 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. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/forgotten-pennant-push-jim-kaat-1967/, interesting article. Blyleven's display includes his one no-hitter (win No. It's like the fellow at the golf tournament said. Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement If he underachieved because of his own personal failings, then why was he so successful when things entirely depended on him? Blyleven did not know his correct name until he was about to get married. Phone: 602.496.1460 Blyleven was recently inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame after recording over 3,700 strikeouts in his career. And so he ended his career, waiting and wondering if he would get into the Hall of Fame. Blyleven had his problems from 1982 to early 1984, but he recovered, aging better than anyone not named Maddux on that list. The left-hander won over 200 games and struck out over 2,500 batters in his 18-year MLB career. Normally a guy entering the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot with 287 wins is pretty impressive. 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 also became a baseball fan. Brian yeah, if you look at pre-1920 guys its really nuts. Played in the Big Leagues from 1971-1990 and 1992. ". Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. Communication. 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. 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. Rik Aalbert Blyleven was born in Zeist, a municipality in Utrecht, Netherlands, the son of Johannes Cornelius and Jannigje Blijleven. "We have a beautiful cutlery set. There were players rolling around on the floor, laughing. The team finishes at 3-under and out of hunt. ", Says Mike Ferraro, a K.C. 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 likely hurt him in the early Cooperstown voting. For instance, he referred to Paul and Phil Seghi, the Indians' general manager, as "two old men sitting up in the booth playing checkers." CLEVELAND'S NETHERLANDS-BORN STAR, PITCHER BERT BLYLEVEN, PUTS HIS PEDAL TO THE METAL ON THE FIELD AND OFF, 2023 ABG-SI LLC. How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the Blyleven cared more that everyone was having a good time. Enough to make your knees buckle. He won his first World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. ", Not only does Blyleven pitch for the Indians, he actually likes being an Indian. The tournament follows a scramble format, in which all four team members play from the same lie, as determined by the foursome's best previous shot. Sold to me for $25. While down with an arm injury in 1982, Blyleven coached a Little League team, and gave the kids chewing tobacco so theyd look more like real pros. 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. You don't need this. One of seven children, Bert grew up in Garden Grove as American as, well, Dutch apple pie. Who does Bert pitch for these days? The evening is winding down, and there are only a few more souvenirs left to be auctioned. He ran cross-country and played basketball and baseball at Santiago High School, and the baseball scouts began to come around. Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett would be describing Koufaxs curve that he threw off that high mound, Blyleven recalled. What have we got here? 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. 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 . Who has blue ticket 92594? At that time only 15 to 20 percent of the electorate supported him. 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, .avia-section.av-k6v62xgq-c0812a68936ee67ed4883eaa9d35be9b{ "It was nice of him to come anyway," says Blyleven. He still he ranks fifth all-time in that department. He won fewer games than he should have, right? Yeah, over his career. Only two of them won 30 games after their age 30 seasonJim Palmer and Bob Fellerand none did it after age 32. Bert was an Instructional League Twin at 18 in 1969 and a Pittsburgh playoff winner at 28 in '79. When Blyleven and Sutcliffe were together in Cleveland, their teammates had to be on constant lookout for pranks. Wait a minute. 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. 1. He always goes out and buys me a new one. Let's look at some of the names. That way I know he won't lose it on me like he did that one time. "Here's something special. Its that second wind that makes his career numbers impressive. 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 (Also, Dean Chance? US $3.00Standard Shipping. 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. "One curve I'll always remember was when I was pitching for Pittsburgh, Blyleven once recalled. Half of them blew their arms out right after turning 30. 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. He has to have it. The ones better than him who are not in would make legitimate candidates. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the Says Roy Smith, a rookie pitcher who dressed next to Blyleven last season, "Because his stuff is so good, it really doesn't do me any good to ask him what he throws to certain hitters. Call it sunspots for all I care, it ain't run support. This year he is 4-6, with a 2.97 ERA. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. Esteban Loaiza made two. 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. Plus, he keeps us loose.". This is Anthony's first time on a golf course in 10 years, and second time ever. The First Annual Blyleven Celebrity Golf Classic, to benefit Students Against Drunk Driving and the Orange County Trauma Society, is under way. So how many wins did Blyleven lose solely due to his run support? 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. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. He had thought all his life his given name was "Rikaalbert". He later wished he could have erased the 3-2 fastball he threw to the first batter he faced, Lee Maye. Normally that would be a random fact, but here it goes to the heart of things. The Pirates won the World Series in 1979 and Blyleven went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in the Fall Classic after throwing a complete game in Game 3 of the NLCS. A Pirate fan friend named Mike Emeigh told me about Blylevens early-1980 walkout. When you cant lift your arm for two days after throwing, you cant do any more.. Jerry Willard. "[24] Blyleven was the first Dutch-born player inducted, and his Hall of Fame plaque depicts him with a Minnesota Twins cap. Many (especially in THT-land) will call it luck. Hmmm, no cork in it. "An autographed picture of Fernando Valenzuela. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. As a player, Blyleven did not have the best reputation. The kids see how hard he works. After the game Howard said, "He's got a fine arm. Well, if its not luck, youre saying in so many words that the guy choked or lacked mental toughness. Free shipping for many products! "[His curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you thatenough to make your knees buckle. That, of course, would belong to Sandy Koufax. 5.0. Blyleven said the Twins then played on the road in Detroit and there was a Twins fan with a sign, asking to be circled. For years he thought his first name was Rikaalbert. The only thing Blyleven hates more than pitch counts is the use of . 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. "But I'll be grateful to him for one thing in particular. For instance, in the middle of his careerthe Pirate/Indian yearshe comes out even with the murky third element. When he was younger, his stuff was so good that he didn't need a changeup or pinpoint control. Blyleven thinks little of drugs, pitch count. He has all the stats of a potential Hall of Famer. Those stats hit me in the face. Then there are three guys over 280 winsTommy John, Jim Kaat, and Blyleven himself. 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. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. Who? "He's a great guy," says Judy Kirkpatrick. "Then we'd sneak down into the dugouts and grab whatever we couldresin bags and broken bats. Francisco the busboy? Blyleven set the record that still stands with 50 gopher balls in 1986, and then topped the league again with 46 in 1987. The story went that the reason Eddie Stanky quit after one game as manager of the Rangers was that he went out to the mound to remove Blyleven from the game, and Byleven told him to go back to the dugout. Until last year, fate had not been overly kind to Blyleven. How to separate run support from that murky third factor? He's referring to neckties. In the end, he fell virtually inches short of what would have been an unquestioned Hall of Fame career, just missing 300 wins (13 shy), 5,000 innings (30 shy), and 4,000 strikes (299 shy).