Only two of them won 30 games after their age 30 seasonJim Palmer and Bob Fellerand none did it after age 32. What we're talking about here is a humongous stuffed panda, and he's auctioning off the bear at the banquet. 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 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. It was this way when hitters faced Blyleven, as former San Diego catcher Terry Kennedy can attest. One of the nicknames for a curveball is a "yakker." He knows how to pitch. He also tied for third in shutouts, with four, and for fourth in complete games, with 12. [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. [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. Many (especially in THT-land) will call it luck. The kids see how hard he works. Do I hear $275? Fansboth at home and at road gamescarried signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert". Blyleven, an intense competitor, wants it. Heres how it looks year-by-year, and again, this is based on his real run support and RA/9IP: Recording 17 fewer wins than expected is historically bad. Bert Blyleven Stats by Baseball Almanac. No takers? He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. I bid $250. [8] He pitched well with the Rangers, posting a 2.76 ERA. Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. 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. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. 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. No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. Call it sunspots for all I care, it ain't run support. So far Blyleven has won 20 only once, in 1973, when he lost 17. Let's look at some of the names. I checked all pitchers with at least 25 SHO from 1920-2011. Bert was a terrific pitchera dominating pitcher. Blyleven debuted in major league baseball in 1970, right at the end of a great run of workhorse pitchers. Shipping speed. In 2007, Blyleven's total dipped to 47.7% (75% is the minimum required for admission to the Hall). Blyleven, 38, has won 271 major league games with one of baseball's best curves and a variety of offspeed pitches. For $675.". velocity and launch angle. None had ever fallen below 30 percent. Plus, he keeps us loose.". That was the. He would continue to play for six different teams for the next 22 years . There's the looping 12-6 curveball, which drops off the table just as the hitter thinks he has a read on it. We do. During his time with the Angels, the fire extinguisher in the team's clubhouse at Angel Stadium read: "In case of Blyleven: Pull". For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to At least his induction might open the door for more worthy candidates, certainly Jimm Kaat is this mans superior as an MLB pitcher. Phoenix, AZ 85004 time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. Weve already figured out what Blylevens record should be based on pythaging his RA/9IP and league-average run support. Then theres Blyleven. According to baseball-reference Cy Young won 195 games befroe his age 30 season. And quite well, thank you. }, Cronkite School at ASU 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. He's referring to neckties. Catfish Hunter lasted only a few months more. He's now 200-173. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. The evening is winding down, and there are only a few more souvenirs left to be auctioned. When he was younger, his stuff was so good that he didn't need a changeup or pinpoint control. And now he has a little more command. Blyleven and his Villa Park neighbors could probably win the American League West. It's hard to say anything based on one game, but he looks like he's got a great future ahead of him.". Stanky quit on his own. My dad built a mound in the backyard and had a canvas hung behind a horseshoe pit. Bert Blyleven, in August of 1986, pitching with the Minnesota Twins against the Angels. Yet last year was the first time he ever got a vote for the Cy Young Award. window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. 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." Though his age-28 season, Blyleven tossed 2,624 innings, more than anyone since Pete Alexander. 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. He just hasn't played on too many clubs that scored a lot of runs for him.". The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in It has also appeared as Ricalbert and Ribalbert. Played in the Big Leagues from 1971-1990 and 1992. 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. However, Blyleven's early career with the Twins was not always pleasant as he was hounded by critics and fans. Bert Blyleven Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com Bert Blyleven Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right 6-3 , 200lb (190cm, 90kg) Born: April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands nl More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 2x All-Star 2x World Series 28 28 28 22 22 22 28 28 Who has blue ticket 92594? I just wish we had more fans. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit This year he is 4-6, with a 2.97 ERA. 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. "There's not a lot of dropoff in his stuff. produces a result. Enjoy this run through the 10 best curveballs in the history of baseball. Camilo Pascual threw only two pitches, his fastball and his nasty overhand curveball, so as one can imagine those pitches were dominant. After the game Howard said, "He's got a fine arm. US $3.00Standard Shipping. 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. Brian yeah, if you look at pre-1920 guys its really nuts. 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. i surely did my campaigning for blyleven too back in the day. From 1970-77, Blyleven went 122-113 despite an ERA+ of 134. He will do anything to get it. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. Now he owes the Indians and the city of Cleveland something in return.". The difference between the two projections should be what his run support cost him. After all, 17 wins in eight years is a lot. Blyleven dominated batters for more than two decades with one of the best curveballs the game has ever seen and an underappreciated fastball. Blyleven left 28 tickets for family and friends for that night's game, which turned out to be . [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. . 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 . 122), his five one-hitters, his eight two-hitters and his five three-hitters. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, References & ResourcesI checked Paper of Record for some of the items in No. If you go through the above, he comes out to 298-239 for his career, ever so incredibly shy of 300. To me, that was the characteristic that made him an unquestionable HOFer. Here you go. Of course, that might be half-baked psychoanalysis, but it does make one wonder. 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. One of his favorite marks is Indians public relations director Bob DiBiasio. thrown with. 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. Call it sunspots for all I care, it aint run support. 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. Actually, the best spelling of his name appears on one of his license plates: BLY11. But he's not a bad guy. 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. The question arose: Is there any way to adjust his W-L record by his run support? That just leaves the years in his apparent prime, from 1970-77, when he won 17 fewer games than youd expect. Calico Jack (Suwinski) is Back for the Attack. In his seven losses, the Indians scored only six runs. 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). Even the guys who didnt completely implode aged poorly. Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt became something of an expert on the curveball during his career. Blyleven, like so many Hall of Fame players, was driven to succeed. Hey, these names might not seem too important now, but someday. Do I hear $2? Mike Jeffcoat. The Pirates also acquired John Milner from the Mets. Richie, you don't even exercise. Roberto Alomar, Pat Gillick and Bert Blyleven on stage during a press conference during the 2011 Hall of Fame Weekend. Nolan Ryan is widely considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida. I remember talking to scout Jesse Flores and Ed Roebuck, the pitcher, about the rotation. It can ruin a career. 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. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment. "A Carl Yastrzemski bat. In the last part of his careerhis second go-around in Minnesota and his final seasons in Californiahe came out eight games ahead. If you had to pick one starting pitcher to serve as in/out line for induction, Id go with Stan Coveleski. Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, who happened to be pitching coach for the Netherlands, didn't like what he saw during his team's loss to Puerto Rico. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. He's celebrity chairman of the 65 Roses Club for Cystic Fibrosis there. Because of his competitive streak, Blyleven says things he probably shouldn't, and he usually says them with a biting wit. If you went back further, you could find guys whod risen up: Billy Williams, Luis Aparicio, Bob Lemon. The bullpen page for Hal Newhouser lists the 16 liveballers who won 150 games before turning 30 years old, but I feel a bit odd citing that, since Im the guy that put that info there in the first place. Fortunately for him, life wasnt going to throw him that curve, and he now has his place in history. He really helped the 1976 Rangers make a run for the pennant. [21] In 2009, he gained only two votes, for a total of 338, 62.7%. 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. "I know Ed thinks the world of him.". 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). 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. 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. He later wished he could have erased the 3-2 fastball he threw to the first batter he faced, Lee Maye. He began teaching the pitch to himself, learning to throw a drop in junior high. Bert Blyleven is one of the great command pitchers in baseball history! He won fewer games than he should have, right? 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. "Thirty-one of them must have left by the third inning." At that time only 15 to 20 percent of the electorate supported him. 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. 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.". One of seven children, Bert grew up in Garden Grove as American as, well, Dutch apple pie. 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. 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 won his first World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. 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. "He's a great guy," says Judy Kirkpatrick. How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the Blue 90672, raise your hand. 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. Blyleven married Patricia Ann Whitehead, a friend from high school, during his second season in the majors, and they have raised a happy family. One fan posted, "Pete Rose in the Phillies booth "he threw a c**k high fastball". You don't need this. Free shipping for many products! Richie Scheinblum? Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 1 fairway at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. one base to another, like Home To First. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. On September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury, Blyleven no-hit the California Angels 60 at Anaheim Stadium. The Indians are happy to have him. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969. "Brought it in from Cleveland," comes the host's reply. Lets back up for a second. He has always hovered around .500: 10-9, 16-15, 17-17 twice. On a recent afternoon Blyleven went to see Todd play basketball for his seventh-grade team. There are any number of reasons, starting with the fact that early in his career Blyleven relied too much on his ability to overpower hitters, especially late in the game. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. 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. And those TWENTY no-decisions on the WORLD CHAMPION Pittsburgh Pirates are probably a record of sorts. I do. When you cant lift your arm for two days after throwing, you cant do any more.. No two curveballs have the same rotation speed, velocity toward the hitter, arm delivery angle, or break. Blyleven has often been labeled a troublemaker. His career was put on hold by a stint with the United States Armed Forces. Blyleven missed the entire 1991 season following rotator cuff surgery. Many new voters had entered the mix, and old ones passed on. "There were 32 scouts in the stands at the start," he recalls. Patty came out and said, 'Don't you think you should go back?' 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). Ill be home soon. "What other team gets to wear a picture of its general manager on its jacket?" ", In a list full of "Uncle Charlies" (a common nickname for a curveball), Doc Gooden's deuce is "Lord Charles.". How is a batter supposed to hit a curveball when he constantly has to be ready for the 100 mile per hour heater? In fact, the Blylevens feel so strongly about family living that they, and Anthony, have helped several baseball players and their wives to adopt children. This is Anthony's first time on a golf course in 10 years, and second time ever. Blyleven's curve breaks so quickly and so far that some batters swear they can hear it change direction. 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.
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