bert blyleven fastball speed

Please note the delivery estimate is greater than 13 business days. 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. You cant do a simplistic, reductionistic system. 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. In 15 years with four teams he has 195 wins and a 3.00 ERA. Even alone Blyleven is a terror, whether he's giving a hotfoot, tying clothes in knots, cutting neckties or pulling down McMahon's pants. He later wished he could have erased the 3-2 fastball he threw to the first batter he faced, Lee Maye. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed "I think the world of Chuck Tanner," says Blyleven now. However, ESPN.com columnist Jayson Stark said, "No player has everand again, that word is 'ever'had his Hall of Fame candidacy helped more by the sabermetrics boom than Blyleven. After the game Howard said, "He's got a fine arm. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Terrys reaction was to swing straight down, like he was chopping the plate with an axe. I'm thrilled to see Blyleven in the HOF. Blyleven also won so many games because he was a great workhorse. 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. In 1986, he. However, during his time in the Mexican League, he was coached by Dolph Lugue, a curveball mastermind, which helped him rely on the pitch upon returning to the majors. A dozen of his 1-0 complete game shutouts came from 1970-77. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight If you go through the above, he comes out to 298-239 for his career, ever so incredibly shy of 300. Take his 1974 season, when he went 17-17 despite a tremendous ERA+ of 142. The house has lots of toys, some for the kids, some for Bert. he asks. Blyleven, 38, has won 271 major league games with one of baseball's best curves and a variety of offspeed pitches. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Like the first time, it doesn't go well, as he allows two runs in two innings and the NL wins, 6-1. Although under-appreciated during his playing career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011his second-to-last year of eligibility. 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. "And here's a ball signed by the 1984 Cleveland Indians. It showed that of the last 20 guys elected to Cooperstown by the BBWAA (as of then), none had ever received 20 percent or lower of the vote in any election they were up for. Digging a little deeper into the numbers, it looks like it really was just luck, because Blyleven was at his best when it counted the most. 1979 - Blyleven goes 12-5 on 37 starts and the Pirates win the World Series. 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. Joe worked on the railroads in Saskatoon and Regina and moved to California in 1955. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. After all, 17 wins in eight years is a lot. In between, while a Pirate in 1980, Blyleven jumped the team in midseason, flying to his home in California and demanding a trade. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. Of course, it's never as nice as the one he cut.". I do. Yeah, over his career. The Baseball Hall of Shame II first clued me in to some of those stories. And I could throw it over at any time, any count."[6]. You don't need this. Nolan Ryan is widely considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. as Active Spin. If you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have a major memory of Blyleventhe guy who gave up all those homers. I've had a nice life since, and tried my best never to look back. There is some argument as to whether Candy Cummings or Fred Goldsmith invented the curveball, but there is no argument about this: Bert Blyleven perfected it and rode it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. US $3.00Standard Shipping. It wasn't until he got married in 1971 that he noticed on his birth certificate that he's really Rik Aalbert. [7] Unhappy with his salary there, Blyleven was traded (along with teammate Danny Thompson) to the Texas Rangers in a six-player deal on June 1, 1976. ", Bert also inherited a love of the Dodgers from his father; he worshiped two in particular, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. 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). There aren't many higher compliments than that for any pitcher. "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. 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 The Dodgers were ready to draft him in the first round in 1969, but in one of his last high school games, Blyleven got shelled. 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. Bert Blyleven addresses the ball. Calico Jack (Suwinski) is Back for the Attack. "There's not a lot of dropoff in his stuff. Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven had the tightest rotation and velocity combination," Schmidt was quoted as saying in a recent Associated Press story. It gives the opposition fits when thrown properly. Being close to his 100th win is. Just take a look at who emerged in baseball from 1959 to 1970. That was the. 4.9. How is a batter supposed to hit a curveball when he constantly has to be ready for the 100 mile per hour heater? But those were entire careers. ++ (FREE SHIPPING) at the best online prices at eBay! Born: April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands nl Draft: Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1969 MLB June Amateur Draft from Santiago HS (Garden Grove, CA).. High School: Santiago HS (Garden Grove, CA) Last Game: October 4, 1992 (Age 41-181d) According to baseball-reference Cy Young won 195 games befroe his age 30 season. Now, does that really seem like an answer to the question of run support? He tied for second in the league in wins and was second in winning percentage (.731), third in ERA (2.87) and fourth in strikeouts (170). But he did. 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). However, the velocity on his fastball adding to the effectiveness of his curveball. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted But nobody really cared. }, Cronkite School at ASU No two curveballs have the same rotation speed, velocity toward the hitter, arm delivery angle, or break. Autographed in English. So why did this happen to Blyleven? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. It's hard to say anything based on one game, but he looks like he's got a great future ahead of him.". 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. 5.0. She says, "So now we'll have two.". In 2008, he received 336 votes, or 61.9% of the vote. Aside from that, he never led the league. He won his first World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. There are 16 names, but only one 300-game winner. In 1996, Blyleven became a television color analyst for the Twins, calling games for WCCO-TV and Midwest Sports Channel (later Fox Sports North). "Brought it in from Cleveland," comes the host's reply. 30 day returns. For years he thought his first name was Rikaalbert. Julio Franco, who had been arrested the previous winter for possession of a gun without a permit, received a toy pistol. From 1971 (his second year in the majors but first full season in a big league rotation) through 1975, Blyleven struck out 200-plus batters each season (224, 228, 258, 249 and 233, respectively).. Actually, Blyleven was suffering from a groin pull and eventually took himself out of the game. Normally that would be a random fact, but here it goes to the heart of things. His run support wasnt that good every year, but by and large it was better than I wouldve guessed. I checked all pitchers with at least 25 SHO from 1920-2011. "[19], By 2006, his total had increased to 53.33%. You have a half-dozen 300 game winnersGaylord Perry, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, and Tom Seaver. That was where I learned to throw and control the pitch.. Blue 90672, raise your hand. For instance, he referred to Paul and Phil Seghi, the Indians' general manager, as "two old men sitting up in the booth playing checkers." Blyleven dominated batters for more than two decades with one of the best curveballs the game has ever seen and an underappreciated fastball. 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. None had ever fallen below 30 percent. He throws it a little differently than most pitchers, holding the ball so that every finger except his pinky is touching a seam. Blyleven became the first Dutch-born player to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 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. The answer is 11. Popular categories from this store. So how many wins did Blyleven lose solely due to his run support? Sold to me for $25. The Hulk, whose wife wonders where the galleries are, quits after two holes because his shoes are wet. During his time with the Angels, the fire extinguisher in the team's clubhouse at Angel Stadium read: "In case of Blyleven: Pull". This led to a fundraising campaign with the Parkinson's Foundation and a sponsorship with the Minnesota Lottery. ", Last year Blyleven was 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA against the American League West champion Royals. See details. velocity and launch angle. "It was the worst time I've ever had in baseball," he says. July 16, 1985: For the second time Blyleven pitches in an All-Star Game. "Doug DeCinces lives over here," says Blyleven. Bah! At that time only 15 to 20 percent of the electorate supported him. Bert Blyleven Twins 2022 Topps Gilded Collection 1X Case 18X Box Break #7 | Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop, Sports Trading Cards, Trading Card Box & Case Breaks | eBay! 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. Ron Necciai is one of the most dominating pitchers that never materialized in the Major Leagues. Francisco, come up here. Bert Blyleven, in August of 1986, pitching with the Minnesota Twins against the Angels. 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. Blyleven, like so many Hall of Fame players, was driven to succeed. When youre constantly winning 15 or more games a year, you dont need too many 20-win seasons to make this list. A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven was also a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. 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). After just 21 minor league starts, he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. 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 have to ask him, 'Bert, what would you throw if you had my stuff?' Roberto Alomar, Pat Gillick and Bert Blyleven on stage during a press conference during the 2011 Hall of Fame Weekend. 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. ", During a lull at the banquet, Scheinblum talks about Blyleven. The curveball of the '50s belonged to Camilio Pascual. A doting daddy, Blyleven likes to spend time with his sons Timothy (above) and Thomas. 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. Blyleven was the epitome of dominant. Then there are three guys over 280 winsTommy John, Jim Kaat, and Blyleven himself. Blyleven had pitched only 21 games in the minors; by comparison, Dwight Gooden, last year's 19-year-old sensation, needed 38 games before he was brought up to the Mets. He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. 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. "I told our third baseman, Steve Braun, to watch for a bunt," says Blyleven, "but Spanky laid a perfect one down. "We have those long, strong fingers," he says. Free shipping for many products! Blyleven became disgruntled with the Pirates and threatened to retire during the 1980 season if he was not traded. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. Free shipping for many products! 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. That way I know he won't lose it on me like he did that one time. "Here's something special. Saved him a lot of pain." Thats easy to figure: Take the difference between his actual win-loss record and what he should have had based on a pythaging of his actual run support and his actual RA/9IP. The likelihood, in percent, that an outfielder will be "Aw bleep, that was for him [Griffith] and his family." 1 fairway at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Paige has a unique ability to blow hitters away and come right back and make them look foolish. 48 is from a one-hitter Blyleven threw against the Kansas City Royals on May 24, 1973. Ball No. I just wish we had more fans. (Also, Dean Chance? He had thought all his life his given name was "Rikaalbert". Corrales feels the secret of Blyleven's curve is not in the grip but in his big, strong hands. He's celebrity chairman of the 65 Roses Club for Cystic Fibrosis there. Call it sunspots for all I care, it aint run support. The umpire called it a strike and Jamie backed out and it looked to me like he kind of laughed a little bit. He has to have it. 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. He can't speak Dutch, but to this day he still understands a little of it. Look again at that list of young big winners. 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. by Retrosheet. "I just don't think he knew how to use me." How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the Hal Newhouser barely won 200 games. At the Blyleven the biggest celebrity, literally and figuratively, is Lou Ferrigno, television's erstwhile Incredible Hulk. 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. (Thanks, Ron, wherever you are.) Blyleven is the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the NLCS and Game 5 (pitching in relief) of the World Series. 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. CLEVELAND'S NETHERLANDS-BORN STAR, PITCHER BERT BLYLEVEN, PUTS HIS PEDAL TO THE METAL ON THE FIELD AND OFF, 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Blyleven appeared as himself in the 1990 James Belushi film Taking Care of Business. He won 287 games, 27th-most all-time, and pitched 4,970 innings, 14th-most all-time. On June 5, 1970, Rigney gave Blyleven his first start, against the Washington Senators. 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. When I first discovered Retrosheet eons ago, the first thing I wanted to do was look at Blylevens run support. This year he is 4-6, with a 2.97 ERA. 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 has reigned as the curveball champion longer than either Pascual or Koufax. So you know: later this week as induction day nears, Ill have a Bert Blyleven career highlights piece up at THT Live.