Bert Blyleven: Quest for the Baseball Hall of Fame

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2011; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

Pitcher Bert Blyleven may finally be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. 

For several years, baseball analysts and fans have heard and seen the name Bert Blyleven during the annual balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  However, even baseball fans during Blyleven’s career might not be familiar with the Hall of Fame candidate.  Blyleven quietly put together one of the top pitching careers in Major League Baseball history. 

Major League Baseball Career & Hall of Fame Candidacy

Bert Blyleven spent 22 seasons pitching for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers.  Starting his Major League career in 1970 as the youngest player in the American League, the pitcher amassed 3,701 strikeouts and 60 career shutouts—which rank 5^th best and 9^th best all-time, respectively.  He did this without a dominant fastball or knuckleball; rather, Blyleven had arguably the best curveball in Major League Baseball history.  Furthermore, his career earned run average (ERA) of 3.31 included 10 seasons in which he ranked in the top 10 in his respective league, 9 seasons with an ERA under 3.00, and 3 seasons with an ERA at or slightly above 3.00.  Blyleven pitched effectively in the postseason as well, posting a 5-1 record with a 2.47 ERA in 8 appearances, including 6 starts.  He helped his teams win the World Series in 1979 (Pittsburgh Pirates) and 1987 (Minnesota Twins).  

Unfortunately, during his career Blyleven played on a number of teams with poor offense and subpar win-loss records that played in lesser known cities with limited media coverage.  Due to the low run support, Blyleven fell short of 300 career wins, posting a career record of 287-250 (.534) and winning only 41.9% of his starts.  Using statistical adjustments based on league average run support, Blyleven would have posted a record as good as 325-227 with simply average run support throughout his career.  Meanwhile, Blyleven also earned notoriety for leading the league in Home Runs Allowed in 1986 and 1987 while pitching home games at the Metrodome—which was notoriously nicknamed “The Homer Dome”.  In fact, his 50 home runs allowed in 1986 remain a Major League single-season record. 

At the same time, Blyleven played with better-known stars such as Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, and Willie Stargell.  The combination of better-known teammates, other stars with more media coverage, a deceivingly modest win-loss record, and a Major League Baseball rule of having every team represented in the annual All-Star Game helped limit Blyleven to only 2 career All-Star selections.  Moreover, a traditional emphasis on win-loss record and winning percentage prevented Blyleven from winning any Cy Young Awards during his career. 

Close to Being Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

The win-loss record and ‘dominance’ criteria that traditional baseball analysts and media have valued have not only kept Blyleven out of All-Star Games but have also kept him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  The year 2011 marks his 14^th year of eligibility (out of 15 possible years) for election into the Hall of Fame.  He needs to get in either this year or next year or else require election by the Veterans Committee. 

Slowly but surely, Blyleven is getting enough positive recognition in order to make the Hall of Fame.  In 2010, he fell only 5 votes short of the required 75% in order to earn his spot.  Blyleven’s rise to Hall of Fame recognition is due in part to the efforts of sportswriters such as Rich Lederer, who has put together numerous arguments about Blyleven’s quiet dominance of Major League pitching.  For example, since 1900, Blyleven is among only 8 pitchers to rank in the top 20 in Wins (17^th), Strikeouts (5^th), and Shutouts (8^th).  This ranks him among several Hall of Famers, with Nolan Ryan being the only pitcher ranking higher than Blyleven in all 3 of these key performance indicators of pitching dominance.  Further analysis of Blyleven’s career performance—both year-by-year and overall—show that he performed nearly as well or even better than Major League Hall of Fame legends such as Tom Seaver, Catfish Hunter, Ferguson Jenkins, and Jim Palmer. 

Other help to Blyleven’s quest for the Baseball Hall of Fame has been provided by recent Cy Young Award recognition.  Pitchers Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke, and Felix Hernandez recently won Cy Young Awards despite playing on teams with modest or losing records.  Meanwhile, curveball specialists without a dominant fastball, such as pitcher Roy Halladay, have also won the Cy Young Award since Blyleven retired in 1992.  The wider recognition of pitching dominance in Major League Baseball has opened up the door for Blyleven’s election into the Hall of Fame.  With Blyleven needing only 5 more votes than he received last year, numerous sports analysts and writers, including Rich Lederer, predict this year—2011—as the year Bert Blyleven is finally elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Sources:

Antonen, Mel.  “How King Felix may help Bert Blyleven make the Hall of Fame.”  Updated December 21, 2010.  SI.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Baseball-Reference.com  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Calcaterra, Craig.  “People were sour on Bert Blyleven 35 years ago.”  December 31, 2010.  NBCSports.com (Hardball Talk).  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Friend, Harold.  “Johnson, Blyleven and Jenkins: Randy Will Be, Ferguson Is, and Blyleven Might Be Hall of Famers.”  November 25, 2007.  Suite101.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Friend, Harold.  “Winning Starting Pitcher: Santana, Johnson, and Clemens Win Half Their Starts.”  April 3, 2008.  Suite101.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Lederer, Rich.  “Bert Be Home By Eleven?”  December 14, 2009.  BaseballAnalysts.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Lederer, Rich.  “The Hall of Fame Case for Bert Blyleven.”  December 12, 2005.  BaseballAnalysts.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Rhodes, Billy.  “Rickey Henderson a Certain Hall of Famer: No Doubt Stolen Base Leader a First Ballot Selection.”  December 1, 2008.  Suite101.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011. 

Stilwell, Jonathan.  “Bert Blyleven: Pitching History and The Hall of Fame.”  December 29, 2010.  BleacherReport.com.  Accessed January 4, 2011.