Born: (1951-04-06) April 6, 1951 (age 73) 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
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1970–1976)
Texas Rangers (1976–1977)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1978–1980)
Cleveland Indians (1981–1985)
Minnesota Twins (1985–1988)
California Angels (1989–1990, 1992)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1973, 1985)
2× World Series champion (1979, 1987)
AL strikeout leader (1985)
Pitched a no-hitter on September 22, 1977
Minnesota Twins No. 28 retired
Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame
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 also a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. Although under-appreciated during his playing career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011—his second-to-last year of eligibility.
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.
Rik Aalbert Blyleven (born Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball...
Kepner, Tyler (January 6, 2011). "BertBlyleven Is the Hall of Fame's Merry Prankster". The New York Times. "BertBlyleven Quotes". Baseball-almanac.com....
players play on one another. BertBlyleven earned the nickname "Frying Dutchman" because of his love of this prank; during Blyleven's time with the Angels, the...
starter. He would let Rooker go as long as possible, then bring in BertBlyleven to finish, saving his two best pitchers, sore-shouldered John Candelaria...
fourth, with Laudner's being a home run and Bush's being a double. BertBlyleven pitched seven innings of two-run baseball for the win. Traveling down...
American League record is 422, held by Frank Tanana. The Minnesota Twins' BertBlyleven set Major League Baseball's season record in 1986, allowing a total...
Series matchup between the Angels and the Chicago Cubs. Angels pitcher BertBlyleven was cast in the film. The 1994 Disney film Angels In The Outfield features...
prior to the 1969 MLB season. The draft featured future Hall of Famers BertBlyleven (pick 55) and Dave Winfield (pick 882). The following are the first...
Randy Johnson † 4,875 3 Roger Clemens 4,672 4 Steve Carlton † 4,136 5 BertBlyleven † 3,701 6 Tom Seaver † 3,640 7 Don Sutton † 3,574 8 Gaylord Perry †...
Grove* 300 Early Wynn* 300 25 Bobby Mathews 297 26 Tommy John 288 27 BertBlyleven* 287 28 Robin Roberts* 286 29 Ferguson Jenkins* 284 Tony Mullane 284...
Minnesota Twins television broadcasts. His longtime broadcast partner was BertBlyleven. Bremer was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Raised in the small town of...
Bill DeWitt, Pat Gillick, Roland Hemond, Gary Hughes Former players: BertBlyleven, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, Bob Watson Historians: Jim Henneman, Steve...
batters than Kevin Brown. Ryan's 1973 margin of 125 strikeouts over BertBlyleven is the best American League victory. Although ties for the championship...
YouTube. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020. admin. "BertBlyleven Chapter – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved April 22...
Bob Feller, Virgil Trucks, Herb Score, Camilo Pascual, Sandy Koufax, BertBlyleven, and the aforementioned Dwight Gooden were regarded as having outstanding...
nicknames. For example, he dubbed former Minnesota Twins pitcher BertBlyleven "Bert Be Home Blyleven". He referred to San Diego Chargers running back Eric Bieniemy...
Angels at Cleveland Municipal Stadium (9 IP, 12 SO, 1 BB in 1–0 win) BertBlyleven, Texas Rangers – September 22 vs. California Angels at Anaheim Stadium...
field hockey player, competed at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics BertBlyleven, (born 1951) Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Guusje van Mourik...
record with 265 strikeouts, surpassing the old 258 mark registered by BertBlyleven in 1973. Santana finished in good form with a 20–6 record and led the...
Cleveland Indians Roberto Alomar Earl Averill * Harold Baines BertBlyleven Lou Boudreau * Steve Carlton Stan Coveleski * Larry Doby * Dennis Eckersley...
pitcher performance include Minnesota Twins broadcaster/Hall of Famer BertBlyleven; Hall of Famer, former Texas Rangers CEO/President, and current Houston...
Sam Rice Wall of Fame members Rick Aguilera Bob Allison Earl Battey BertBlyleven George Brophy Rod Carew Bob Casey Gary Gaetti Calvin Griffith Kent Hrbek...
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