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Bert Blyleven
| Bert Blyleven | |
|---|---|
 Blyleven with the Minnesota Twins in 1987 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: April 6, 1951 Zeist, Netherlands | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 5, 1970, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1992, for the California Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 287–250 |
| Earned run average | 3.31 |
| Strikeouts | 3,701 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2011 |
| Vote | 79.7% (14th ballot) |
Rik Aalbert Blyleven (born Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. He won 287 games, 27th-most all-time, and pitched 4,970 innings, 14th-most all-time. A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven was a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. In 2011, Blyleven was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Blyleven made his major league debut at age 19 for the Twins. In the middle of the 1976 season, he was traded to the Texas Rangers, where he threw a no-hitter in his final start for the team. He won his first World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. Upon being traded to the Cleveland Indians, Blyleven initially struggled with injuries, but then enjoyed a late-career resurgence, finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting in back-to-back years, with Cleveland in 1984 and also the following 1985 season that he split between the Indians and Twins. It was during this second stint with Minnesota that Blyleven became the tenth member of the 3,000-strikeout club in 1986 and won a second World Series title in 1987. He played three seasons for the California Angels before retiring.
Blyleven became the first Dutch-born player to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.[1] He serves as the pitching coach for the Netherlands national baseball team, having done so in the 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classic.[2] From 1996 to 2020, he was a color analyst for Minnesota Twins television broadcasts.[3]
- ^ staff, Naples Daily News. "Twins' Bert Blyleven, a Fort Myers resident, moves from broadcast booth". Naples News. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
- ^ "HOFers have long history with World Baseball Classic". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
- ^ "Wednesday's game marked Bert Blyleven's last Twins broadcast". Twin Cities. September 2, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
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