Posted on 05/07/2023 9:05:57 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Former major league pitcher Vida Blue has died. He was 73 years old.
The 1971 winner of both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards, Blue's playing career spanned three decades with the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals and two stints with the San Francisco Giants.
Following his award-winning 1971 season, Blue clashed with A's owner Charlie Finley over his salary and played sparingly in 1972 as the A's marched to the first of three straight World Series titles.
The left-hander played an integral role in the 1973 and 1974 titles. But Blue's tumultuous relationship with Finley proved prophetic as the owner broke up the A's championship core instead of paying the stars in free agency.
Most recently, Blue had been an analyst on Giants broadcasts.
A's great Dave Stewart tweeted out his condolences, calling Blue "my mentor, hero, and friend."
A Louisiana native, Blue threw a no-hitter in 1970 and was part of a combined no-hitter in 1975. He appeared in six All-Star Games and was the first pitcher to start All-Star Games for each league, the AL in 1971 and the NL in 1978 while a member of the Giants.
I remember those days as well. He was a great pitcher and good for baseball.
I also recall that Finley wanted him to change his first name to True.
RIP. That name takes me back a few years. Tempus fugit.
Not the first time Charlie tried that. He's the one who dreamed up the "Catfish" for Catfish Hunter.
It still ticks me off that the trade was voided by the commissioner.
Pitching seems to a HOF problem. Blue would seem to equal the stats of Jack Morris or Bert Blyleven or even Jim Kaat, but they were bypassed for a long time, probably because they didn’t have 300 career wins.
thanks...wasn’t sure if it was total innings or total for any year...
They need to be fatter. It’s harder to kidnap something that is fat.
In the modern era, Hall of Fame consideration pretty much comes down to one or both of two things (both of them in comparison to peers of the same era):
1. Great statistical measures over a long career.
2. Brilliant dominance for a period of several years.
Vida Blue doesn't fit either category. He was the best pitcher in baseball for one season. Other than that, he was a very good 15-20 game winner for several seasons -- at a time when this wasn't all that uncommon.
His career was remarkably similar to that of Orel Hershiser -- who rarely ever gets mentioned in Hall of Fame conversations.
Of course, I say this as someone who thinks every player who lasted a decade in the major leagues deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, now that a pedestrian player like Harold Baines is there.
i loved vida blue when I was a kid. He was a great pitcher.
Sometimes, I am baffled by HOF omissions. Another on that comes to mind is Bill Madlock. Four batting titles and a World Series Champion.
Nothing from HOF.
1. Only 3 All-Star Game appearances (related to #2). He’s got to be the only modern player with more batting titles than All-Star game appearances.
2. He must have been injured a lot. 15 years in the majors, and he only played 150+ games twice.
3. Related to #2 … He played for 15 years and barely reached the 2,000-hit mark.
4. It looks like he never got much attention for an MVP award in any season. That right there tells me he was a very quiet, invisible type of singles hitter.
Why are there so few AA baseball players?
Rest in peace.
He’s a man BTW, DJ.
One year in the 70’s, Sonny Siebert of Sox was 10-1 and faced off against Blue ... who was also 10-1.
I was at the game in Fenway. A’s won.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.