Thats where Todds baseball story -- and, in many ways, his life story -- went off track. Bert Blyleven had been hampered by a pulled groin muscle for more than one month when he took the mound Thursday September 22 before 8,031 at Anaheim Stadium, which stood just a few miles from where he grew up. So close he might hang for No. The idea of trudging through difficulty became vital to him in his own baseball career, as he struggled to live up to the standard set by his Hall of Fame father. Then he hit him with that question posed with typical Dutch directness. They had fun swinging to the songs of Eric Church, Sam Hunt and Jake Owen, laughing and drinking with their friends. Everybody in the ballpark knew it was a strike. What position did Bert Blyleven play? As it turns out, we won the game, 2-1, and that was the only run I gave up. "I re-aggravated it in the eighth inning of that game, and I ended up throwing nothing but curveballs the rest of the way." On a baseball field, he had failed to meet the expectations that came with his last name. When youre constantly winning 15 or more games a year, you dont need too many 20-win seasons to make this list. It was my turn to let out the big "steee-rike" call. And those TWENTY no-decisions on the WORLD CHAMPION Pittsburgh Pirates are probably a record of sorts. At the time of his election, he was the only eligible member of the 3,000 strikeout club and the only pitcher with 50 or more shutouts not in the Hall of Fame. He made his debut on June 5, 1970 playing for the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher. Blyleven hadn't pitched for 16 days, and he carried a 13-12 record against the California Angels, fifth in the AL West. .Lyman Bostock. One of the women, Sayeh Kahn, remembers Rachael as a selfless, spirited soul who loaned her money for college after her mother died. In 1996, Blyleven became a color commentator for the Twins. Frying Dutchman is a nickname for Bert Blyleven. This likely hurt him in the early Cooperstown voting. For all his doubt and difficulties in his daily life, Todd Blyleven was pretty sure about himself on a country dance floor. Born: The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Did not play in major or minor leagues (Injured), Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses, Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. So difficult that upon his retirement, The Dutch Master had 60 shutouts (9th highest total in history) and 3,701 strikeouts (3rd highest total in history). My best memory of Bert is him giving me a hot foot my rookie year as a Twins beat writer -- it was as close as I've ever come to being a major leaguer. He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. Bert Blyleven was born on Friday, April 6, 1951, in Zeist, Netherlands. Although Bert won two games in the postseason -- including a "do-or-die situation" in Game Five of the World Series -- he became disenchanted with the fact that he was only allowed to complete four games that year (after never having fewer than 11 in any full season) while setting a record with 20 no-decisions. So, Bert Blyleven's 287 should in no way prevent him from the HOF. It depicts the angel wings and a cross and references Psalm 91:11 (for he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways), Route 91, the date of the shooting and the message Country Strong. It has five stars -- one for Cathie, two for the nurses Todd had worked closely with that night, one for the EMT that had followed him from body to body and the fifth for the many victims of the massacre. And that translated directly into how I was as a husband, as well.. ), Trea Turner might have stayed in L.A., but Dodgers never made him an offer, Chargers were supposed to draft a tight end. ], Posted by: Rowdy at December 29, 2004 7:46 AM, Posted by: alex ciepley at December 29, 2004 7:58 AM, Posted by: Jonah Keri at December 29, 2004 10:05 AM. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. Although we are only four years apart in age, I had just graduated from high school the previous June. I'm honored to be one of the many fans he's circled!! When do you think youre going to get over this?. With the gunfire beginning again, with the bullets striking metal and dirt and flesh, Todds entire group was fortunate to get out alive. He was a head coach at either the high school or collegiate level in the Southland for, get this, 49 seasons and recorded a lifetime record of 938-841-4 (.527). A dozen of his 1-0 complete game shutouts came from 1970-77. None had ever fallen below 30 percent. ", Blyleven pitched well in 1969 and was invited to spring training with the Twins before his 19th birthday in 1970. All I wanted to do from that time, he says now, was get back to my wife. Next up, pinch-hitter Carlos May, coaxed the only walk of the game off Blyleven. 1. I think, if he wasnt taught to play baseball, he would have been a policeman, maybe a fireman. He is a member of famous with the age 72 years old group. He had never even been considered for the Cy Young. He topped the league in innings once again the following year while allowing 50 home runs, a record that still stands today. 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. Blyleven went to the California Angels in 1989 and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 175 record in his first season; he led the league for his third and final time in shutouts (5). Thank you for reading this column and letting me tell you about the greatest man I ever knew, my dad. What do you know about baseball? Todd asked her. Lets get you back out there.. They began to fall in love. Cathie was confused. That first night at home, Todd had a dream about the Vegas shooting so vivid that it caused him to scream aloud and grab Cathies leg, waking both of them. At all. Blyleven appeared as himself in the 1990 James Belushi film Taking Care of Business. Now what else can we do to help others see the light? If anyones curious, heres a list of the most 1-0 CG SHO for post-Walter Johnson pitchers: Nice lead for Blyleven. It was like I wanted to push the fast-forward button, he says. 1) Blair Field, right? Posted by: Rich at December 29, 2004 6:12 PM. And then, for days and days, Todd didnt call. When the subject of home runs allowed comes up, Blyleven is quick to point out that five of the six pitchers ahead of him on the all-time list (Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, and Warren Spahn) as well as the next two (Steve Carlton and Gaylord Perry) are all in the Hall of Fame. Dating is to describe a stage in a persons life when he or she is actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people. We celebrate strength and power. Dancing. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? He started 40 games and pitched 325 innings. 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. 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. Yeah, over his career. 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. Continuing Gelf's ongoing coverage of how the press reports on profanity without using profanity, we've examined how the press handled former pitcher Bert Blyleven's fuck-up, when previewing a Yankees-twins game. He retired in 1992 after 22 seasons, finishing with with 3,701 strikeouts, 287 Instead, she stuck to the local roads. Bert Blyleven (@BertBlyleven28) September 2, 2020 Blyleven referenced the "Circle Me Bert" craze in a follow-up tweet. No replacement had been named, but Sunday starter Chuck Finley will not be moved up in the rotation. He was traded three times. However, he bounced back in 1984 and enjoyed what Bert believes was the best year of his career. Buy Boston Red Sox tickets, It took me too long, but I now cast my Hall of Fame vote each year for Bert. What you're doing is taking away about 50 extra innings.". When Todd and Cathie go out to eat, they find a table where they can position their backs against a wall and where they have a view of the entire restaurant. Blyleven debuted in major league baseball , money, salary, income, and assets. 3) The last time I talked to Coach Herbold was about four years ago at a Century Club Hall of Fame banquet at the Golden Sails. In his actions as much -- or more -- than his words, Joe taught Bert about Dutch perseverance. He got Guerrero to pop out on a 3-2 pitch. The message centered on selflessness had resonance that night, when the Pirates bats awoke in the late innings and Bert, on two days rest after his Game 2 start, tossed four scoreless innings of relief to secure a 7-1 victory. I knew it was a strike. Many (especially in THT-land) will call it luck. For me to just expect my beautiful wife to just get over [her driving anxiety] because it's a burden on me and maybe I have to drive the kids to their games or whatever? Arent we going to stop?. Bert Blylevens income source is mostly from being a successful . A trip meant to be a revival was off to a rough start. Over time, as the misunderstandings mounted and their fundamental issues went unresolved, Todd and Cathie began to feel like a mismatch. Todd ran over to help lay her body down. Todd felt that he was a failure as a husband and a father if he didnt ascend into an executive role. To answer the question, I went to my usual modus operandi: I looked at recent historical trends. I have been knocking on Todds eyes trailed the sound back to the Mandalay Bay. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Bert Blyleven was born in Zeist, Utrecht. The scout league games were played on high school and junior college ballfields. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. What you did is incredible, Bert said. Blyleven missed most of the 1982 season with a severe elbow injury. WebBert (Blyleven) was a terrific pitcher a dominating pitcher. After the 1977 season, he was traded to the Pirates in a rare four-team trade. We are in the midst of the 34th anniversary of the Twins 1987 World Series championship run. He can still remember how brightly that ring shone when he was first presented with it in then-Angels general manager Bill Stonemans office. Todd was living proof of the good that can come from people pulling together. High School: Santiago HS (Garden Grove, CA), Debut: Hope and Faith: How the LAA Win the World Series, Mark Armour (H. Killebrew and Versatility), Stan Opdyke (Baseball Radio in NYC, 1953), Brent Mayne (The Intangibles of Catching), Harry Pavlidis (Johan Santana's Fast Start), Baseball Analysis at Tufts (Groundballers), Baseball Analysis at Tufts (GB Out Rates), G. Rybarczyk ('09 Hit Tracker Projections), Dan Levitt (Empirical Analysis of Bunting), Jonah Keri (If I Met Warren Cromartie), Mark Armour (Rise/Fall of Artificial Turf), David Appelman (Pitchers, Pitch by Pitch), Patrick Sullivan (Study of NYY CF/BOS LF), Bob Klapisch (The Case for Bert Blyleven), Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society, A Hall of Fame Chat with Tracy Ringolsby . 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. Laughing, "I could hook it around anything." So, how much is Bert Blyleven worth at the age of 72 years old? Bert Blyleven was born on 6 April, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands. Weve already figured out what Blylevens record should be based on pythaging his RA/9IP and league-average run support. Whether you ran back in or you ran out or you ran away, there was no right or wrong. The Pittsburgh Pirates were on the brink of elimination in the World Series, trailing the Baltimore Orioles three games to one, and their manager, Chuck Tanner, was mourning the death of his mother. Facing the AL West's second place Rangers was Paul Hartzell. "I thank the baseball writers of America for, I'm going to say, finally getting it right." Many years ago, I figured this out for the careers of nearly 200 pitchers, and only three did this bad (Tim Keefe and Curt Simmons both at 18, and Dizzy Trout the champion at 22). This was especially pronounced in his first seven full seasons, 1971-77, when he was in his prime. Blyleven and his wife Gayle reside in Ft. Myers, Florida. Perhaps it was the pressure of the looming Hallmark holiday that got the best of them, but the date did not go well. Don Baylor followed with a liner toward right, only to watch second baseman Bump Wills making a leaping catch. "I took a lot of pride in my complete games that year.". The boy grew up pursuing his fathers footsteps. But you know, it goes to show that people who aren't first responders for a living can act in such a way. As is usually the case in the transient world of professional sports, the members of the 79 Pirates drifted apart in the ensuing years. "Jim Evans couldn't call my curveball either. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. When I shared that story with Blyleven on the telephone recently, he laughed (again). Anthony Castrovince has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2004. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. Suddenly, word spread of an active shooter on the roof of the Tropicana, and hundreds of scared souls scrambled inside. That day, against Oakland, he had the curveball bouncing, and he struck out a career-high 15 batters. And as for Reggie Jackson, well, hed just as soon take the day off as hit against Blyleven, who struck him out 47 times and held him to a .214 career average. Posted by: Matt Welch at December 29, 2004 12:15 PM. If you pull together, if you work as a team the man said, you can overcome the odds.. The tall right-hander took his sign, went into his windup, and threw the most hellacious curve I had ever seen. He generally did better in the second half of the year. Bert Blyleven grew up on 6 April, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands. One out later, after an Angels error, Harrah laced a two-run single. . 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. Then he found a younger woman who had been shot twice, laying near the beer cart where he and his group had once cowered. He came back in 1992 but was mostly unproductive, going 812 with a 4.74 ERA. It was like a little reunion during the winter.". Born and raised in Netherlands. Now a special assistant with the Twins with a role as team ambassador, Blyleven is retired from the broadcast booth and living with his wife, Gayle, in Fort Myers, home of It was his eighth of what would turn into 10 consecutive seasons with wins in double figures. Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992. var pfHeaderImgUrl = '';var pfHeaderTagline = '';var pfdisableClickToDel = 0;var pfHideImages = 0;var pfImageDisplayStyle = 'right';var pfDisablePDF = 0;var pfDisableEmail = 0;var pfDisablePrint = 0;var pfCustomCSS = 'https://www.baseball-almanac.com/css/print.css';var pfBtVersion='2';(function(){var js,pf;pf=document.createElement('script');pf.type='text/javascript';pf.src='//cdn.printfriendly.com/printfriendly.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(pf)})(); 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). But not only did I want to be a big leaguer, I wanted to be my dad.. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969 after just 21 minor league starts, he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. The relationship between Todd and Bert has changed, too. Look at Blyleven in that 1974 campaign. copyright=new Date(); He is from Netherlands. In 2008, he received 336 votes, or 61.9% of the vote. And the message mattered most when Todd needed it most -- on the night of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Todd Blyleven was a member of that family. My nephew played Little League, she replied. I assumed Blyleven had no chance with the current BBWAA. Todd looked his wife in the eye. I have been knocking on the doors of the Hall of Fame since December 2003.Blyleven's voting percentage has climbed from 29% that year to 41% in 2005, 48% in 2007, and 63% in 2009. We have estimated Bert Blylevens net worth, money, salary, income, and assets. Fansboth at home and at road gamescarry signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert." 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. But second, he was a Major League Baseball player that was idolized. The other club always felt the same way about me when I was on the mound.". Too easy? by Retrosheet. ", Cathie: "I feel like we are just going thru the motions. The shots were now closer than ever, clanging off a metal structure just to Todds right. . Blyleven set the record that still stands with 50 gopher balls in 1986, and then topped the league again with 46 in 1987. About 10 years ago, there was a debate at the late, great Rob Neyer Message Board about Blylevens Hall of Fame chances. My only beef with him ever was 'why do I have to wait five to six days to pitch if I'm only pitching five to six innings?' You cant do a simplistic, reductionistic system. He was very recognizable, very personable, and somebody that I looked up to. It was Cathie who gave him the kick in the pants to get back in the game. 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. The night of the shooting, Bert had received a call from his daughter, Kim, alerting him to what was happening at the concert Todd and Cathie were attending. He knew that it was not enough to get himself out, not enough to get Cathie out, not enough to get his friends and family out. But Gossage and Sutter are relievers, and the Hall is still trying to figure them out. Youve been carrying them out, the man explained, and weve been fixing them up.. Just a few weeks earlier, the two had gone on a blind date on Valentines Day eve. 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 Pirates traded him to the Cleveland Indians on December 9, 1980. The Las Vegas shooting had one villain, 58 victims fatally wounded that night, two more who eventually died from complications related to the shooting in the ensuing years, 411 people injured by the bullets, another 456 injured in the ensuing panic, and some untold number of heroes. Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. We will upbeen in a relationship with? 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. Frustrated, he went off to college instead. "It was a stupid mistake. At the time of his election, he was the only eligible member of the 3,000 strikeout club and the only pitcher with 50 or more shutouts not in the Hall of Fame. They have four children and two stepchildren. Rookie Status: Today, at 48, Todd works in sports technology. He tried out for the Twins again in the spring of 1993, but did not make the squad, which made his retirement official. Thats about when the enormity of everything he had just been through -- the shocking sounds of shooting, the rushed goodbye to Cathie, the sprints in and out of the concert venue, the lugging of bodies, the vacant stares of the dead, and now this episode at the Tropicana -- finally caught up to Todd. The difference between the two projections should be what his run support cost him. It was mid-October 1979. WebRik 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. Blyleven was the first Dutch-born player inducted, and his Hall of Fame plaque depicts him with a Minnesota Twins cap. Those are the lessons Bert handed down to Todd. After his first year of Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility in 1998, Blyleven was widely considered to be the best eligible pitcher not yet enshrined. He had legs and arms that worked, and he wanted to put them to work. It was 6:30 a.m. Todd, Cathie and all the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting ventured into the first day of their permanently altered lives. None spent as many years as low on BBWAA ballots as Blyleven. (Age 19-060d, We have to be more caring and empathetic to their feelings, what they went through. I wanted to be a big leaguer. Call it sunspots for all I care, it aint run support. Driving on the freeway would cause her to have a panic attack. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. Thanks go out to Rowdy, Alex, Jonah, Matt, Jim, and Trevise. So one night in March 2000, Todd was dancing at the Crazy Horse Steak House & Saloon in Irvine, Calif. Cathie was there, too, all part of her plot to run into Todd on purpose. All the while, feelings of success, of attainment, of self-confidence eluded and evaded him. Hes going in. He carried her out and set her near a squad car where a nurse had begun to set up a makeshift triage unit. Aikens then struck out. It just lifted me up.. This was Bert Blylevens familiar refrain. Page 300. Thats about the time he met Cathie Illiano, who brought a different kind of love to his life. Manager Billy Hunter and trainer Bill Ziegler rushed to the mound, and after checking with the pitcher and having him throw a few warmup tosses, Blyleven stayed in the game. Fine pitchers, but a definite step down from what had come before. Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. I pitched seven innings and allowed only five hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. On September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury, Blyleven no-hit the California Angels 60 at Anaheim Stadium. He alerted another nurse to her. 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 must have had terrible run support. And every time he talks about Vegas and revisits those memories, he knows hell have some restless nights. Blyleven went to the California Angels in 1989 and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 175 record in his first season; he led the league for his third and final time in shutouts (5). They had danced uncomfortably together at a country bar and awkwardly said goodbye at the end of the night. With a Stetson hat atop his head and Durango boots on his feet, he could swing to the music of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith with the kind of confidence he once took to the high school mound. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? Blyleven's father passed away on October 15, 2004 from Parkinson's at the age of 78. He crossed the threshold and found an elderly woman who had been shot in a lower extremity. Cathie wondered why Todd seemed disinterested, and all the while he was wondering the same about her. He retired the first six batters he faced, starting off by getting Thad Bosley to strike out, Dave Chalk to line out to short and Ken Landreaux to fly out to center. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Although he allowed more than three runs only twice in his first ten starts, his record stood at 0-4 when he shut out the New York Mets on the last day in May. WebBert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. But in that field in Vegas, he had made an impact, and in doing so, he unlocked something inside himself. During the off-season, Blyleven enjoys spending time with his family and playing golf "three or four times per week." Posted by: Rich at December 29, 2004 6:02 PM. Blyleven struck out the side in the seventh, fanning Bosley, Chalk and Landreaux, the latter on a called third strike. Yet, his win-loss record stood at 122-113. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. There is no doubt that he is ably qualified, that's for sure. May made his second fine play of the game, charging in to snare the ball with a waist high catch. As USA Today columnist Jon Saraceno pointed out, "He was that good for that long.". Many new voters had entered the mix, and old ones passed on. in Zeist, Netherlands A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven Looking it up, in his 37 starts, the Twins scored 151 runs, 4.1/game. Skyhorse Publishing. I dont think I fully maximized my opportunity that was given.. Blyleven's first two full seasons back with the Twins produced major league records for home runs allowed in a single season (50) and in back-to-back seasons (96). Three questions: When Todd and Cathie returned home the day after Route 91, their first stop was their son Dylans baseball game, where they wrapped their two children in a bear hug amid onlookers who, from Vegas news reports and word of mouth, knew what the Blylevens had just been through. But Bert and Todds mother, Patty, set their sights on the first round. Gayle Blyleven. Country music. He gave up more than three runs only twice in his first 19 starts and the Twins, in a sign of things to come, scored a total of 11 runs in his nine losses. In the last part of his careerhis second go-around in Minnesota and his final seasons in Californiahe came out eight games ahead. Thats when Todd learned that the woman he had carried -- Rachael Parker, a records technician for the Manhattan Beach Police Department -- had passed away in the hospital the morning after the shooting. The four were transported by air ambulance to two hospitals in Orange, near the familys home in Villa Park. Don Drysdale was done two weeks after his 33rd birthday. from the SABR BioProject, More Bert Blyleven Pages at Baseball Reference. Instead, I froze. 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. And he was still a workhorse, completing 24 games in 1985, the last AL pitcher to top 20. In addition to Jim Kaat, Dave Boswell had won 20 games in 1969, Jim Perry won the Cy Young in 1970, and they had just acquired Luis Tiant.". 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. Now open your eyes and realize Bert won 287 games with teams that were Not pennant winners! Was there a chance that Bert could break camp with the defending A.L. From a Cooperstown point of view, the debate is semantics. He would have done something to help others.. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, I bet that brings back a memory or two.). Blyleven was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 after receiving 79.7% of the vote on his 14th attempt. Blyleven became a Hall of Famer in 2011, but he had to wait a long time to get to Cooperstown (he was elected in his 14th ballot). A walk, Willie Horton's single and a force out at second on Bump Wills' grounder added another run in the fifth. Two excellent defensive plays saved Blyleven in the second. And that goes [for anyone who] experiences a traumatic event. Beyond the actions of law enforcement and medical personnel were the ordinary concert attendees who cared for the wounded, led others to safety, performed CPR, made tourniquets, and drove victims to the hospital. ), "I'm kind of a baseball geek as far as numbers. How to separate run support from that murky third factor? . Although Blyleven is frustrated that he hasn't received the one telephone call in January that every Hall of Fame candidate yearns for, he is resigned to the fact that there is nothing left for him to do. Philadelphia Phillies tix, 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.

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