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Bert Blyleven
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bert Blyleven | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starting pitcher | ||
| Born: April 6, 1951 | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| June 5, 1970 for the Minnesota Twins |
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| Final game | ||
| October 4, 1992 for the California Angels |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Wins | 287 | |
| ERA | 3.31 | |
| Strikeouts | 3701 | |
| Teams | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
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Rik Aalbert "Bert" Blyleven (born April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands), is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1970 - 1992, and was best known for his curveball.
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Blyleven, who was born in the Netherlands but raised in Southern California, became interested in baseball as a young boy watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Blyleven was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969, and after a brief stint in the minor leagues he was called up by the Twins on June 2, 1970. 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.
However, Blyleven's early career with the Twins was not always pleasant as he was hounded by critics and fans and suffered with a dismal Minnesota Twins team. Becoming more vocal, Blyleven was traded to the Texas Rangers on June 1, 1976. He pitched well with the Rangers, having a 2.76 ERA in his first season and throwing a no-hitter against the California Angels on September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury.
On December 8, 1977, Blyleven and John Milner were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of the first four-team trade in Major League Baseball history. With the Pirates, he led the team in ERA, strikeouts and complete games in 1978 and helped them to a World Series victory in 1979.
However, Blyleven became disgruntled with the Pirates and threatened to retire during the 1980 season if he was not traded. Eventually, the Pirates did trade him to the Cleveland Indians on December 9, 1980. Blyleven sat out most of the 1982 season with an elbow injury and struggled again in 1983, but came back in 1984 with one of his best seasons: a 19-7 record with a 2.87 ERA. 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. Blyleven was unhappy playing for the lackluster Indians and forced a trade back to the Twins, where he passed the 3,000-strikeout mark and helped the Twins to a 1987 World Series victory.
Blyleven went to the California Angels in 1989 and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 17-5 record in his first season, but he missed the entire 1991 season following rotator cuff surgery. He came back in 1992 but was mostly unproductive, going 8-12 with a 4.74 ERA. He retired following that season with a career 287-250 record with 3,701 strikeouts (only thirteen other pitchers have at least 3,000 career strikeouts) and a 3.31 ERA. He tried out for the Twins again in the spring of 1993 but did not make the squad, making his retirement official.
Blyleven is often considered to be the best eligible pitcher not yet in the Baseball Hall of Fame; his first year of eligibility was 1998 and if not elected, he will lose eligibility for the Writers' vote if still not elected after the 2012 ballot. If that happens, he can still enter the Hall of Fame through the Veterans Committee. He is the only retired member of the 3000 strikeout club not in the Hall of Fame. Though he received only 17.55% of the vote for Hall of Fame admission in 1998 (first year of eligibility), by 2006 this total had increased to 53.33%. In 2007 Blyleven's total dipped to 47.7% (75% is the minimum required for admission to the Hall). Because of his long association with the club, it is believed that if elected to the Hall, Blyleven would enter as a Minnesota Twin[citation needed].
In 1996, Blyleven became a color commentator for the Twins. Early in the 2002 season, during a quiet portion of a Twins game, he circled a fan carrying a sign in the stands of the Metrodome on his telestrator, and signs reading "Circle Me, Bert" (or variants thereupon) quickly became popular phenomenon at the stadium, continuing to the present. Blyleven's commentary is frequently risqué for a baseball broadcast, a fact which seems to cause play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer no small amount of discomfort (see below).
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since December 2007. |
Blyleven has been known to make off-color remarks during some Twins television broadcasts. Play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer frequently responds to these comments with silence or with an attempt to change the subject.
- During a 2006 broadcast, the topic of conversation with a guest shifted from George Brett to singing in the shower. Blyleven mentioned that he had showered with Brett, and the guest expressed surprise. Blyleven exclaimed "Well, there were other guys there! ... although they did say not to bend over."[1]
- During the same broadcast, Blyleven asked guest Ace Young (of American Idol fame) if he "got lucky" with show host Paula Abdul[2]
- During the pregame show on September 3, 2006, Blyleven twice used the word "fuck" while he was live on air after getting caught up in his words during commentary. Blyleven stopped his commentary and muttered "We're gonna do this fuckin' thing over again, cause I just fucked it up." Upon being told by fellow broadcaster Anthony LaPanta (who was filling in for Bremer) that they were actually broadcasting live, Blyleven said "Oh we're live? I didn't know that." In the first inning of the game, he apologized. Blyleven was originally suspended by the network for two telecasts but was then suspended three additional games. During his suspension, fans were occasionally spotted holding "Free Bert" signs at the Metrodome. Video of Blyleven's on-air mishap.[3]
- During the 2007 season, Blyleven and Bremer were discussing bowling, and Bremer said he had his name on several bowling shirts. Blyleven's response: "So you have 'Dick' on your shirt?" [4]
Circle Me, Bert is a popular sign raised by fans of the Minnesota Twins. Fans hope that broadcaster Bert Blyleven will spot their sign and circle them on television with his telestrator.
Use of Bert's "Circle Machine" is an honor rarely extended to his broadcast partner Dick Bremer. Blyleven did allow Bremer to use the telestrator on August 5, 2006. "For heaven's sake, let me circle my daughter," Dick pleaded. Blyleven then permitted Bremer to circle his daughter, who was in the crowd at the Kansas City Royals' Kauffman Stadium. Again, on August 16, 2006, Blyleven permitted Bremer to use the Circle Machine but was less than thrilled when Bremer drew a peanut shape around a fan's head. Fans have responded to these sorts of incidents by creating new signs for Bremer involving other shapes, including "Triangle Me, Dick" and "Rhombus Me, Dick."
Starting in 2005, fans that are circled have a chance to win $100 in Minnesota State Lottery tickets as part of the promotion called Winner's Circle.
- Blyleven is known to invoke "old school" thinking about pitching strategy, particularly about the tendency to remove starting pitchers once they have passed the 100-pitch count. He will sometimes say, "What happens to you if you exceed 100 pitches? Do you explode?" with no apparent irony. Blyleven, who pitched many complete games in his career, was also among the leaders in home runs allowed, and twice led the league in giving up the "big bang".
- Blyleven is also known to work reminders of his own birthday date into the game discussion.
- In a 2007 broadcast, Blyleven and Bremer were attempting to locate Two Harbors, MN. Bert stated that the town is, "between Three Harbors and One Harbor."
- On May 18, 2007 in Milwaukee, Bert somehow managed to fall out of his chair. On the next pitch, Torii Hunter hit a grand slam. This led Bert to exclaim, "I've gotta keep falling off of my chair!"
- On June 19, 2007, on the team bus to a game at the New York Mets, Bert said he would have his head shaved if that night's starting pitcher, Johan Santana, threw a complete-game shutout. The Twins won, 9-0, and Santana went the distance. Santana shaved Blyleven's head the following day.
- Blyleven appeared as himself in the 1990 Jim Belushi film "Taking Care of Business".[5] During a 2006 broadcast, Blyleven forgot the name of the movie and had to be reminded by a technician in the broadcast booth.
- Gave up Bob Horner's first major league home run.
- He also gave up a home run on the 1st pitch of Jay Bell's career. Ironically, the Twins traded Bell to the Indians in the same deal that brought Blyleven to Minnesota.
- Blyleven was one of baseball's most notorious dugout pranksters during his playing days. He earned the moniker "Frying Dutchman" by frequently setting fire to his teammates shoelaces, a practical joke known as a "hot-foot."
- He did not even know his correct name until he was about to get married. He had thought all his life his given name was "Rikaalbert"; when he got a copy of the birth certificate issued to his parents in Zeist, needing the certificate to fill out the marriage-license application, he saw his name for the first time as Rik Aalbert Blyleven.[citation needed]
Source: book Who's Who in Professional Baseball (1973).
| W | L | PCT | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | SO | WP | HBP |
| 287 | 250 | .534 | 3.31 | 692 | 685 | 242 | 60 | 0 | 4970 | 4632 | 1830 | 2029 | 430 | 1322 | 3701 | 114 | 155 |
- 3000 strikeout club
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
- MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
- Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- ^ http://www.deadspin.com/sports/baseball/question-seems-perfectly-logical-to-us-177650.php (12:19 PM comment)
- ^ Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis) - June 2, 2006, see also http://www.10000takes.com/2006/06/post_6.html
- ^ Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis) - Sept 3, 2006, see also http://www.startribune.com/509/story/653772.html, http://www.startribune.com/509/story/654047.html
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-8ZiWXL5hM
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103035/
- Bert Blyleven's career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Blyleven's Official Website BertBlyleven.com
- BertBelongs.com, a site advocating Blyleven's election into the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Baseball Evolution Hall of Fame - Player Profile
- Bert Blyleven's listing on the Internet Movie Database
- Twins Single-Game Strikeout Leader Statistics
- Arguments for inducting Bert Blyleven into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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| 3 Phil Garner | 5 Bill Madlock | 6 Rennie Stennett | 8 Willie Stargell | 10 Tim Foli | 14 Ed Ott | 15 Enrique Romo | 16 Steve Nicosia | 17 Lee Lacy | 18 Omar Moreno | 19 Jim Rooker | 22 Bert Blyleven | 23 Grant Jackson | 24 Mike Easler | 25 Bruce Kison | 26 Jim Bibby | 27 Kent Tekulve | 28 Bill Robinson | 34 John Milner | 35 Manny Sanguillén | 36 Matt Alexander | 39 Dave Parker | 43 Don Robinson | 45 John Candelaria Manager 7 Chuck Tanner |
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| 4 Steve Lombardozzi | 5 Roy Smalley | 7 Greg Gagne | 8 Gary Gaetti | 9 Gene Larkin | 14 Kent Hrbek | 15 Tim Laudner | 16 Frank Viola | 17 Les Straker |18 Don Baylor | 21 George Frazier | 22 Keith Atherton | 24 Tom Brunansky | 25 Randy Bush | 26 Al Newman | 27 Mark Davidson | 28 Bert Blyleven | 31 Dan Schatzeder | 32 Dan Gladden | 33 Sal Butera | 34 Kirby Puckett | 36 Joe Niekro | 40 Juan Berenguer | 41 Jeff Reardon Manager 10 Tom Kelly |
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| Preceded by Mark Langston |
American League Strikeout Champion 1985 |
Succeeded by Mark Langston |
| Preceded by Storm Davis |
AL Comeback Player of the Year 1989 |
Succeeded by Dave Winfield |
| Preceded by Jerry Koosman (15) |
Minnesota Twins Single-Game Strikeout Total Record Holder (15) 1986 |
Succeeded by Johan Santana (17) |
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | NPOV disputes from December 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | American League All-Stars | 3000 strikeout club | American League strikeout champions | California Angels players | Cleveland Indians players | Minnesota Twins players | Pittsburgh Pirates players | Texas Rangers players | Major league pitchers | Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter | Major League Baseball announcers | Major league players from California | Dutch baseball players | 1951 births | Living people | People from Utrecht (province)