I have been trying to get a copy of this card for the better part of a year. I finally was able to snag it this past month.
Bert Blyleven was a very good pitcher who–I think–deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
I get why people don’t like him–his lack of black ink.
22-seasons in the game and he was only a 20-game winner one time, only led the league in K’s once, only had two all-star appearances and never finished higher than 3rd in Cy Young voting. You kind of want your Hall of Famers to be…a little more dominant.
Where he stands apart is how consistently good he was. While he might not have ever been the best pitcher in the league, he was always among the best…often long after the better pitchers, careers fizzled out.
During his prime (1970 to 1987!) he went 244-209 with a 124 ERA+, 3.12 FIP, 1.182 WHIP and over 4,254 innings only allowed 3,854 while striking out 3,286. Those are…insane numbers.
I don’t think that Blyleven’s election should be compared to Harold Baines–and I have seen people try. Yes, I think Blyleven’s time in the league helped his numbers, but I think that he proved to be uniquely capable of performing at a high level for a sustained period that really set him apart. And stamped his ticket.
