In his most productive campaigns, Blyleven was overshadowed by Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver, Catfish Hunter, and Nolan Ryan while toiling for small-market and primarily mediocre teams in Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Critics pointed unfairly to Blyleven’s 250 losses and an unfounded reputation for losing big games as reasons for his Hall-unworthiness, while overlooking his championship with the Pirates in 1979 and the Twins in 1987. Blyleven’s oft-times prickly relationship with his teammates, managers, and sportswriters didn’t help his cause.

In his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, in 1998, Blyleven garnered only 17.5 percent of the necessary 75 percent of the vote required for enshrinement. Over the course of the next 13 years the case for Blyleven grew, as advanced statistical metrics, such as WAR (wins above replacement), ERA+ (ERA adjusted to a player’s ballpark and league), FIP (fielding independent pitching), and a rejection of won-loss records in favor of hits, strikeouts, and walks per nine innings, offered new lenses to analyze a pitcher’s effectiveness.1 These modern metrics revealed Blyleven as not just one of the best pitchers of his generation, but also one of the best in baseball history. In 2011 Blyleven was elected to the Hall of Fame with 79.7 percent of the vote.

In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Blyleven attributed his “stubbornness and determination” throughout his big-league career to his immigrant parents, who fled war-torn Europe in search of a better life.2 Netherlands natives Johannes Cornelius and Jannigje Blijleven married when the country was under Nazi occupation. Three years after the birth of their third child, Rik Aalbert, on April 6, 1951, the Blijlevens emigrated from Zeist, Netherlands, to Saskatoon, (Saskatchewan) Canada, and eventually settled in Garden Grove in Southern California in 1957. With their names anglicized, Joe and Jenny Blyleven raised their family which grew to seven children (four girls and three boys) with Dutch values of diligence, integrity, and commitment in a household of limited means.

Bert began playing baseball at the age of 9, having been introduced to the game by his father, a carpenter by trade, who became a fan of the American pastime by listening to Dodgers games on the radio. The youngster was quickly converted from catcher to pitcher when the coach discovered the strength of the right-hander’s arm. After that conversion, Blyleven’s father built a pitcher’s mound in their backyard so Bert could practice. Bert described his parents as his “mentors,” who were regulars at his games, where the elder Blyleven often drew the ire of umpires and spectators for his constant arguing of balls and strikes.3 Well aware of Sandy Koufax’s chronic arm pain, Joe forbade Bert to throw the curveball until he was about 14 years old, leaving his son to envision Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully vividly describe Koufax’s devastating pitch.

The 6-foot-3, 160-pound Blyleven began to attract big-league scouts by the end of his junior year at Santiago High School in Garden Grove and in the local American Legion league. The author of at least two no-hitters and a 21-strikeout performance in his prep career, Blyleven earned all-league honors as a senior in 1969, and participated in several contests showcasing promising prospects in Southern California. The Minnesota Twins selected Blyleven in the third round with the 55th overall pick in the 1969 amateur draft. Team scouts Jesse Flores Sr. and Dick Wiencek offered an estimated $15,000 bonus and signed the 18-year-old hurler at the Blyleven residence.

According to Blyleven, Flores told the elder Blyleven that Bert would be in the majors in less than two years. Flores’s bold prediction was off by about a year. Just weeks after graduating from high school, Bert commenced his 24-year career in professional baseball by progressing rapidly through the Twins’ affiliate in the Rookie Gulf Coast League and wining all five of his decisions for the Orlando Twins in the Class A Florida State League. That fall he exceeded expectations by emerging as the best pitcher (7-0, 1.50 ERA) in the Florida Instructional League, where he was selected as an all-star by both scouts and managers.

Just 18 years old, Blyleven participated in the Twins’ spring training as a non-roster invitee in Orlando in 1970. “I fell in love with him right away,” said Minnesota skipper Bill Rigney, who recognized that the youngster with just 25 starts in his first season of pro ball needed more seasoning.4 Blyleven was assigned to the Evansville (Indiana) Triplets in the Triple-A American Association, but his tenure in Triple A lasted only seven starts, one of which was a sparkling 10-inning complete-game shutout with 17 strikeouts against Iowa on May 15, 1970.

When their right-handed starter Luis Tiant, who was 6-0 at the time, was sidelined with a fractured right shoulder in late May, the Twins promoted Blyleven. Team scout Early Wynn thought the teenager was ready for prime time. “With his live fastball and marvelous coordination,” said the former 300-game winner, “[Blyleven] reminds me of Herb Score.”5 On June 5, 1970, Blyleven debuted against the Washington Senators at RFK Stadium. The youngest player in the majors, as well as the first in major-league history to be born in the Netherlands, the 19-year-old hurler surrendered a home run on a 3-and-2 fastball to the first batter he faced, Lee Maye, but settled down to yield just five hits while striking out seven in seven innings to earn the victory, 2-1. Pitching consistently for the AL West Division champions, Blyleven fanned 12 in a complete-game victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on August 4 to set a new Twins record for strikeouts by a rookie, and tied an AL record by whiffing the first six California Angels batters he faced in a 5-1 loss on September. “His curveball,” said Blyleven’s batterymate George Mitterwald, “is, well, fantastic.”6

Blyleven finished with a 10-9 record, becoming just the 25th pitcher to reach double digits in victories as a teenager, and posted a 3.18 ERA in 164 innings. The Sporting News named him the AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Despite AP reports that Blyleven would start in the best-of-five ALCS versus the Baltimore Orioles, Rigney chose a different young hurler, Tom Hall (11-6), with only 11 starting assignments for the season, to make a crucial postseason start after Cy Young Award winner Jim Perry (24-12) lost Game One.7 In relief of veteran starter Jim Kaat, who was on the ropes in the third inning of Game Three, Blyleven tossed two innings in Baltimore, yielding two hits and an unearned run in the Twins’ third straight loss, which eliminated Minnesota from the postseason.

Essentially a two-pitch hurler (curveball and fastball) thus far in his career, Blyleven developed an off-speed pitch during spring training in 1971, and the results were immediate. He blanked Milwaukee on four hits in his first start, followed by a three-hit shutout at Kansas City five days later. “I’m holding the ball differently and it’s moving in on the hitters,” said Blyleven. “When I throw the fastball I hold the ball the same way I do on a changeup.”8 Minnesota beat reporter Bob Fowler also noticed another change in the 20-year-old “man-child.”9 Blyleven had packed on an estimated 20 pounds to his frame; at 210 pounds Blyleven seemed stronger and more durable. “He’s the most coachable pitcher I’ve ever handled,” said pitching coach Marv Grissom, who lauded Blyleven’s unparalleled work ethic.10

On a staff that finished 11th of the 12 teams in ERA (3.81) in 1971, Blyleven emerged as the club’s best pitcher, overtaking graybeards Perry (35 years old) and Kaat (32), yet his record stood at a misleading 10-15 after a 6-3 loss in Baltimore on August 22. In 12 of those losses, Blyleven received only three or fewer runs of support from an otherwise above-average offense, and thus acquired the reputation as a tough-luck loser that stuck with him for the remainder of his career.

While the Twins stumbled to a disappointing fifth-place finish (74-86), Blyleven concluded his first full campaign on a tear, winning six straight decisions, including two shutouts and a 10-inning scoreless no-decision, and carving out a 1.69 ERA in 69⅓ innings. He finished fourth in the AL in strikeouts (224) and fifth in ERA (2.81), and led the circuit in strikeouts-to-walks ratio (3.80).

Blyleven’s biggest moment of 1971 was probably when he married Patricia Ann Whitehead in July. They had four children, Todd, Tim, Kimberly, and Tom. Todd followed his father’s footsteps. In 1990 he was drafted out of Villa Park High School by the California Angels in the 39th round, and in 1991 he was selected out of Cypress College by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 90th round. The big (6-foot-5) right-handed pitcher spent his five-year professional career primarily in the low minors for three organizations.

In 1972 Blyleven picked up where he had left off the previous season, winning his first four decisions to set a new Twins record with 10 consecutive victories, as the club got off to a hot start and occupied first place as late as May 20. But those successes proved to be short-lived. The team took a nosedive in June. Rigney was fired on July 5 and postseason aspirations faded quickly. Blyleven slumped, too, losing 12 of 15 decisions to fall to 10-15 on August 19. “I was throwing across my body,” said Blyleven of his pitching woes. “I was landing on the heel on my left foot.”11 Working closely with new skipper Frank Quilici and pitching coach Al Worthington to improve his mechanics, Blyleven found his groove over the last five weeks of the season, posting a 1.45 ERA in his final nine starts covering 74⅔ innings. Despite a team-record 2.84 ERA, the Twins finished in third place (77-77). Blyleven’s 17-17 record failed to tell the story of his success. The Twins scored three runs or less in all but one of his losses. He posted a robust 2.73 ERA in 287⅓ innings, and once again ranked fourth in punchouts (228).

The unequivocal ace of the staff, Blyleven got off to a rough start in 1973, losing six of his first eight decisions with an ERA north of 4.00 as he struggled once again with pitching mechanics. “He wasn’t following through,” said pitching coach Worthington. “He was releasing the ball too soon.”12 With the aid of film (a novelty at the time), Blyleven adjusted, and subsequently won 10 of his next 14 starts and posted a 1.48 ERA in 121 innings in one of the most dominating stretches in his career. Seven of those victories were shutouts, including the first of his five career one-hitters, against Kansas City on May 24. The spree of whitewashes cast the 22-year-old hurler with his trademark pronounced high leg lick and his tongue sticking out of his mouth into the national spotlight. “[Blyleven] makes the baseball dance and twist on the way to the plate,” wrote the AP after his 4-0 victory over the Angels and their speed-baller, Nolan Ryan, on June 29.13 “He is the best curveball pitcher I’ve ever seen,” said Boston’s DH, Orlando Cepeda, who had battled Koufax as a member of the Giants in the 1960s.14

Blyleven fashioned the best season ever by a Twins hurler, setting team records in shutouts (a major-league-leading 9), complete games (25), innings (325), and strikeouts (258), while winning 20 games and posting a career-low 2.52 ERA. Despite those gaudy numbers, he finished a distant seventh in Cy Young Award voting, hurt by his 17 losses and playing for a third-place team that finished at 81-81, 13 games behind first-place Oakland. Sportswriters might have overlooked Blyleven, whose teammates scored three runs or fewer in 16 of his losses (28 total runs), but fellow pitchers did not. “The best pitcher in the league is Bert Blyleven,” said Oakland ace Catfish Hunter. “He’s got the best stuff.”15 By one contemporary metric (WAR), Blyleven was not just the best pitcher in the league, but the most valuable player.16 His only blemish was his performance in the All-Star game in Kansas City, where he yielded two hits and walked two in just one inning and was charged with the loss.

Emboldened by his success, Blyleven demanded that the Twins double his salary in 1974, leading to tensions with club owner Calvin Griffith, who was notoriously tight-fisted and the last major-league owner who derived his income solely from the team. Though he received a substantial raise to a reported $55,000, Blyleven’s relationship with the front office was in a free-fall. Playing through occasional lower back pain, Blyleven split his 34 decisions, finished a distant second once again to Ryan in strikeouts (249 to 367) and posted a stellar 2.66 ERA, but few saw him as the Twins finished last in attendance. Griffith rejected Kansas City’s offer to buy the hurler for a million dollars, but Blyleven’s days with the Twins nonetheless seemed numbered.

After losing a contentious salary arbitration, Blyleven received another blow when he came down with a sore shoulder to start the 1975 season. Eventually diagnosed with a torn muscle, the 24-year-old hurler landed on the 21-day DL in early June. Blyleven seemed as strong as ever upon his return, completing 15 of 22 starts with a sturdy 2.62 ERA. He pitched at least 10 innings on three occasions, including an 11-inning shutout with 13 strikeouts against Milwaukee at County Stadium on August 27. It was his 24th career shutout, breaking Kaat’s team record. Described as “enigmatic” by the AP, Blyleven’s stellar season (15-10, 3.00 ERA, 20 complete games, and 233 strikeouts) barely registered on the national radar for the fourth-place Twins, who once again finished last in attendance.17 And for the second straight season, Blyleven failed to receive even one vote for the Cy Young Award.

With his frustrations mounting, Blyleven formally asked for a trade after the 1975 season. Firebrand Gene Mauch, hired to replace Quilici, did not take kindly to his outspoken hurler, deriding him as a “pattern pitcher” whom batters had long figured out.18 Despite desperately needing a cash infusion for his club, Griffith refused to sell Blyleven and rejected multiple trade offers. It was a contentious time in baseball. Under the leadership of Marvin Miller, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, pitchers Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dave McNally of the Montreal Expos successfully challenged baseball’s century-old reserve clause, effectively ushering in free agency with arbitrator Peter Seitz’s ruling in December. Armed with this freedom, Blyleven, as well as many other big leaguers, decided to play out their option by not signing a contract for the 1976 season in order to become free agents.

With trade rumors swirling, Blyleven’s seven-year tenure with the Twins came to a close after a forgettable outing on May 31 in front of 8,379 at Metropolitan Stadium. As Blyleven left the mound in the ninth inning of an eventual complete-game 3-2 loss to California, he gave the jeering and booing crowd a three-finger salute. “I couldn’t care less about the fans,” he said after the game.19 AL President Lee MacPhail subsequently fined the hurler and ordered him to issue a public apology.20 One day after his unsportsmanlike exit, Blyleven was traded along with infielder Danny Thompson to the Texas Rangers for shortstop Roy Smalley III (nephew of Mauch), pitchers Bill Singer and Jim Gideon, infielder Mike Cubbage, and an estimated $250,000. (Thompson, battling leukemia, died that December.)

In his debut with the Rangers on June 5 at Arlington Stadium, Blyleven tossed an 11-inning complete game with 10 punchouts, but lost 3-2 to Detroit’s Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. After Blyleven was clobbered for 14 earned runs on 19 hits (including four home runs) in 15⅓ innings during his next two outings, critics lampooned the trade for a hurler who was not under contract and who was widely expected to play elsewhere the next season. Turning a deaf ear to criticism, Blyleven worked out his kinks with Texas pitching coach Sid Hudson, who suggested that he throw a sinker. On June 21 Blyleven tossed a sparkling 10-inning, one-hit shutout to beat Oakland, 1-0, pick up his first win with his new club, and reach the 100-victory plateau for his career. Five days later Blyleven hurled another 10-inning, 1-0 shutout, scattering 10 hits against Chicago. In his return to Minnesota on July 26, Blyleven took no pity on his former teammates and a small weeknight crowd at Metropolitan Stadium, blanking them on two hits. While Texas finished in fourth place in the AL West (76-86), Blyleven’s cumulative 13-16 record overshadowed his 2.87 ERA in 297⅔ innings and 219 strikeouts.

Blyleven returned to the Rangers in 1977 on a one-year-contract in an injury-plagued season. A groin pull forced the 26-year-old pitcher to miss starts on at least three occasions, and Blyleven’s campaign seemed to be over on September 6 after a “roughed-up” loss (five runs, six hits, three walks in 3⅔ innings) at Minnesota. Defying odds, he returned on September 22 to toss what proved to be his only no-hitter, a 6-0 victory with seven strikeouts and one walk over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium while facing just 28 batters. “I wasn’t coming out,” said the pitcher, whose groin tightened in the first inning, “even if I had to throw it underhanded.”21 In 30 starts, Blyleven (14-12) had a 2.72 ERA in 234⅔ innings.

Just about a month after Blyleven signed a six-year deal with the Rangers in the offseason, he was shipped on December 8 to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a rare four-team trade that also involved the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.22 Overall, 11 players (including Blyleven) changed addresses during the deal, which was consummated near the end of the winter meetings in Hawaii. Disappointed that he was not sent to a team in Southern California, where he and his family lived in the offseason, Blyleven did not seem overly excited to be headed to Pittsburgh, whose manager, Chuck Tanner, was known for having a quick hook with his starters. “I really don’t care where I play,” he said. “I’ll pitch for Bert Blyleven and do the best I can.”23 Such comments did not endear the hurler to Pirates fans, who lost longtime favorite and All-Star outfielder Al Oliver to Texas in the swap. The optimistic Tanner waxed excitedly about Blyleven’s pitching attributes and exclaimed, “Bert Blyleven is capable of winning 25 games!”24

In the context of his career, Blyleven’s three-year tenure in Pittsburgh was underwhelming and marked by an increasingly acrimonious relationship with Tanner. Blyleven’s first victory as a Pirate (an 11-inning, six-hit, 1-0 shutout of the Mets on April 26) was probably the highlight of the 1978 season, during which he went 14-10 (3.03 ERA) in 34 starts and was bothered by persistent shoulder pain.

No longer mentioned among the best pitchers in baseball, Blyleven got off to a horrendous beginning in 1979, winless in his first nine starts with an ERA of 5.17. Requiring regular cortisone shots in his ailing shoulder, Blyleven called the period the “most frustrating” in his life.25 While the “We Are Family” Pirates coalesced into one of the most memorable and tight-knit teams in club history to win 98 games and capture the NL East Division crown, Blyleven was portrayed in the press as a “mystery man” who was more concerned with his own statistics than team success.26 “It’s tough pitching for Tanner,” said Blyleven (12-5), who led the staff in starts (37) and innings (237⅓), but completed only four games. “[He] goes to the bullpen so often. … I’m a competitor. I don’t like to be taken out of the game.”27 Blyleven looked back on 20 no-decisions that he had when the regular season ended.

As the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds during a pair of anxious extra-inning affairs at Riverfront Stadium in the first two games of the best-of-five NLCS, Blyleven seemed frustrated with years of criticism that he lacked concentration and couldn’t win the big game, calling his reputation a “bad rap.”28 He secured the Pirates’ berth in the World Series and quieted critics, at least temporarily, with an eight-hit, complete-game victory, 7-1, on October 5 at Three Rivers Stadium.

With the Pirates down after they lost Game One of the World Series, Blyleven started Game Two against the Baltimore Orioles, scattering five hits and two runs in a six-inning no-decision in the Pirates’ eventual 3-2 victory at Memorial Stadium. Blyleven’s most important outing of the season, and of his career thus far, came in Game Five on October 14 in Pittsburgh, ironically in his first relief stint since his rookie season. With the Pirates facing a three-games-to-one disadvantage and trailing 1-0 in an elimination game, Blyleven took over for Jim Rooker to begin the sixth frame and tossed four scoreless innings, yielding three hits. The Pirates exploded for seven unanswered runs, making Blyleven the victor. Pittsburgh won the final two games in Baltimore to complete their comeback and win a dramatic World Series.

The nadir of Blyleven’s career came the following spring when he walked out on the Pirates after an outing on April 29 versus Montreal when he was yanked with two on and two out during a shaky sixth inning. “It wasn’t a snap decision,” said Blyleven, who returned to California and demanded a trade. “I’ve been thinking about it for more than a year.”29 The hurler cited “nonsupport and lack of confidence from my manager” as reasons for his self-imposed retirement.30 “I may seem strange, but for the first time in a long, long time, I feel happy.”31 While Blyleven was vilified nationally as an entitled millionaire who symbolized the fan’s perception of all-that-was-wrong with the skyrocketing salaries in professional sports, his teammates were shocked. “I can’t understand why he left,” said Bill Madlock. “I would respect him more if he left for personal reasons.”32 Blyleven ultimately returned, was reinstated on May 11, and was in the starting rotation two days later in San Francisco, where Tanner left him in for the whole contest of a 5-0 defeat. But the damage had been done. A pariah in the clubhouse, Blyleven lashed out at the media for what he perceived as unfair treatment, and went on a “silence kick,” refusing to grant interviews to reporters.33 The Pirates finally traded their disgruntled hurler (8-13, 3.82 ERA in 32 starts) along with Manny Sanguillen on December 9 to the Cleveland Indians for four marginal players (utilityman Gary Alexander and pitchers Victor Cruz, Bob Owchinko, and Rafael Vasquez. The “checklist” end results from this transaction proved that “addition by subtraction” does not always work. In 1981 Alexander batted .213 in 51 plate appearances; Cruz was 1-1 in 22 relief outings; Owchinko was traded at the end of spring training to the Oakland A’s for reliever Ernie Camacho; Vasquez, who was a highly thought of prospect within the Pirates organization in the late ’70’s, ended up 4-8 after being dispatched to Double-A Buffalo.34

Blyleven immediately propped up Cleveland’s staff, which had produced the worst team ERA (4.68) among all 26 big-league teams in 1980. After losing on Opening Day, the 30-year-old hurler tossed six consecutive complete-game victories en route to a 7-4 record and 2.83 ERA before the 1981 season was interrupted for nearly two months by the players’ strike. Snubbed for the All-Star Game, which kicked off the so-called second half of the season, on August 9 in Cleveland, Blyleven was widely praised by Indians skipper Dave Garcia as the “leader of the staff.”35 Known throughout his career for his offseason exercise regimen and stamina, Blyleven developed a sore elbow in September, prematurely ending his season with an 11-7 record and a sparkling 2.88 ERA in 159⅓ innings. Few outside of Cleveland took note of Blyleven’s stunning renaissance. While Milwaukee’s newly acquired reliever Rollie Fingers won the Cy Young Award, Blyleven was the easily the most valuable pitcher in the AL, according to one contemporary metric (WAR), but did not receive a single vote for the coveted award.

After he missed most of spring training in 1982, Blyleven’s career seemed in jeopardy when he was diagnosed with a torn muscle in his right elbow after making just four starts. He underwent surgery performed by renowned surgeon Dr. Frank Jobe, and missed the rest of the season.

According to Cleveland sportswriter Terry Pluto, many wondered if Blyleven would ever pitch again. His return in 1983 was further complicated by a fracture of his left elbow suffered in an apparent fall at his home in California.36 But with Dutch perseverance, Blyleven, described as the “most encouraging development” of spring training, made an unexpected recovery.37 He pitched steadily yet unspectacularly in the first half of the season before shoulder and elbow miseries landed him on the DL three separate times in the second half of the season, once again raising doubts about his future.38

Blyleven’s return to pitching prominence was one of the feel-good stories of the 1984 season. He did not make a start for almost four weeks after he stepped on a ball in the outfield while shagging batting-practice flies in Milwaukee in mid-May and fractured his foot. Still, Blyleven went 19-7 and posted a stellar 2.87 ERA in 245 innings for the last-place Indians and new manager Pat Corrales. In Blyleven’s seven losses, his teammates managed to score a total of six runs. Praised by The Sporting News as the “best pitcher in the American League,” Blyleven increasingly relied on his curveball, sinker, slider, and changeup to augment his fastball.39 “I think all the injuries in the last two years have forced me to become a better pitcher,” said Blyleven, who finished third in voting for the Cy Young Award.40 The 15-year veteran had lost none of his competitive spirit. “I get enjoyment from striking out a guy and making him look bad,” admitted Blyleven bluntly. He then added, in sabermetric-like language, “I’ve always been a strikeout pitcher. It’s the best way to get rid of the hitter. If he doesn’t make contact, there can be no chance for a mistake.”41

But by his fifth start in 1985, Blyleven was at a boiling point. Frustrated that he had not been traded despite his public demands since the previous spring, Blyleven was struggling with an ERA just over 5.00. He blew his top on April 28 after allowing three home runs in an exasperating outing at Baltimore by making an obscene gesture to the jeering crowd at Memorial Stadium when he was removed from the game in the bottom of the eighth. Reprimanded by AL President Bobby Brown, Blyleven subsequently reeled off three shutouts in his next six starts, then commenced a string of 10 consecutive complete games from June 6 through July 24. Named to the AL All-Star team for the second and last time, Blyleven struggled (three hits and two earned runs in two innings), but received a hearty welcome on July 16 from the sellout crowd at the Metrodome, the Twins’ domed stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Blyleven, whom Cleveland had placed on waivers after the June 15 trading deadline, was later claimed by Minnesota, which acquired the 34-year-old hurler on August 1, along with a player to be named later (pitcher Rich Yett), in exchange for three prospects, infielder Jay Bell, pitcher Curt Wardle, and minor-league outfielder Jim Weaver. Blyleven made a smooth transition to the Twins, posting an 8-5 record and completing nine of his 14 starts. Finishing a distant third once again in the Cy Young Award voting, Blyleven (17-16 record, 3.16 ERA) led the AL in starts (37), shutouts (5), and strikeouts (206), while pacing the majors in complete games (24) and innings (293⅔). As of 2015, the latter two figures have not been matched by any big leaguer.

Blyleven’s post-surgery renaissance continued in his first full season in 1986 after his return to the Twins. “Bert’s delivery always has been smooth, loose, a lot of leg drive, everything going forward at the same time,” said skipper Ray Miller.42 On August 1 Blyleven tossed an overpowering two-hitter against the Oakland A’s, striking out a career-high 15, including the 3,000th in his career, to become the 10th major leaguer to reach that milestone.43 He reached another, albeit infamous milestone on September 29 when he yielded his 47th home run of the season, to Jay Bell (who was making his major-league debut and hit the first pitch Blyleven threw to him) in a victory over Cleveland at the Metrodome to break Robin Roberts’ record set in 1956 for the most gopher balls in a season. “I don’t like this ballpark,” said Blyleven, who ultimately surrendered 50 round-trippers in ’86 with 31 of those blasts coming at the Metrodome. “I’m a fastball pitcher and the ball carries here.”44 The baseball really carried in the Metrodome on September 13 when Blyleven allowed five home runs in 5⅓ innings to Texas. Blyleven (17-14, 4.01 ERA) fanned 215 and led the AL in innings (271⅔).

Led by a quartet of young sluggers (Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, and Tom Brunansky), the Twins (85-77) captured the AL West crown in 1987. In the postseason, Blyleven (15-12, 4.01 ERA in 267 innings) put to rest any suggestion that he could not win the big game. In the best-of-seven ALCS he defeated the heavily favored Detroit Tigers (98-64) twice, including the Game Five clincher in Tiger Stadium. He ran his postseason winning streak to five games in Game Two of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, scattering six hits and yielding two runs in seven innings in an 8-4 victory at the Metrodome with the partisan home crowd cheering loudly while waving “Homer Hankies.” “When you put fifty-five thousand screaming people in here, it’s something,” said Blyleven, soaking in every moment. “The best thing to do is just not think.”45 Though he picked up the loss, 4-2, in Game Five at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (seven hits, three runs, two earned in six innings), the Twins defeated the Cardinals in Games Six and Seven when they returned to the fever-pitched decibels of the Metrodome to capture their first championship since the franchise relocated from Washington, DC, after the 1960 season.

Blyleven’s second stint with the Twins ended after the 1988 season when he was traded to the California Angels for two prospects (first baseman Paul Sorrento and reliever Mike Cook) with limited big-league experience; both teams also tossed in a minor leaguer. Blyleven had struggled in 1988, notching just 10 victories and was bothered by a bruised right thumb. He also led the majors in two dubious categories: the highest ERA among starters (5.43) and losses (17, tied with Atlanta’s Tom Glavine).

“I’ve dreamt about this since I was growing up,” said Blyleven about pitching in Anaheim in front of friends and family in 1989.46 In what sportswriter Tim Harrigan of the AP called a “brilliant year,” the 38-year-old Blyleven resurrected yet again his career, posting a 17-5 record with a 2.73 ERA in 241 innings to finish fourth in the Cy Young Award balloting for the third-place Angels.47 In his last start of the campaign, he tossed his AL-best fifth shutout, and the 60th of his career, blanking Kansas City on seven hits. Blyleven attributed his success to his slider, which tended to ride in on left-handed hitters, as well as excellent command of his low-and-outside fastball.48 He walked a career-low 1.6 batters per nine innings.

Plagued by shoulder pain in 1990, Blyleven (8-7, 5.24 ERA) was forced to end his season prematurely when he was diagnosed with a torn muscle after a start on August 10. After an arthroscopic procedure in October, Blyleven reported to spring training in 1991. But when his pain resurfaced, he was once again examined by the Angels’ orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Lewis Slocum, who discovered a serious tear in his rotator cuff.49 Ten days after his 40th birthday, Blyleven had his second shoulder operation in less than eight months, and subsequently missed the entire 1991 season.

Few sportswriters thought the 41-year-old hurler could return to baseball in 1992. But as he had done so many times in his career, Blyleven proved his critics wrong. On May 19 he took the mound for the first time in more than 21 months and tossed six innings, yielding eight hits and three runs to the New York Yankees. Granted free agency after the 1992 season, Blyleven had no plans to retire. Despite losing seven of his last eight decisions, he pitched noticeably better over his final 12 starts with the Angels, finishing with an 8-12 record.

Only 13 victories shy of the magical 300 mark, Blyleven signed an incentive-laden contact with the Twins in 1993. He was roughed up in spring training and did not make the Opening Day roster. He subsequently announced his retirement, bringing his big-league career to an end. His name is displayed prominently among the career leaders in many pitching categories, including wins (287, 27th), losses (250, 10th), starts (685, 11th), innings (4,970, 14th), strikeouts (3,701, 5th), and shutouts (60, 9th). Blyleven accumulated 96.5 WAR (11th among pitchers), ahead of Christy Mathewson, Gaylord Perry, Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, and Nolan Ryan.

Blyleven was also considered one of the baseball’s best and most notorious pranksters, famous for his “hot foot.”

Blyleven’s name is synonymous with Twins baseball even though he played half of his career with other teams. In 1996 he was named color commentator for Twins television broadcasts, developing a style that matched his personality on the field. Known for his insightful analysis, occasional controversial comments, and unequivocal “homer” support of the club, the still brash Blyleven began his 21st season as commentator in 2016. Blyleven was elected to the Twins Hall of Fame in 2002, and had his number 28 retired by the club in 2011. His close association with the Twins was forever cemented when he chose to be portrayed wearing a Twins cap on his Hall of Fame plaque upon his election to that shrine in 2011. He also served as pitching coach for the Dutch national baseball team in 2009 and 2013 in the World Baseball Classic.

As of 2016, Blyleven lived with his second wife, Gayle, in Fort Myers, Florida, and the Twin Cities.

Last revised: September 1, 2016

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also accessed Blyleven’s player file and questionnaire from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, Bill Lee’s The Baseball Necrology, the SABR Minor Leagues Database, accessed online at Baseball-Reference.com, The Sporting News archive via Paper of Record, and Ancestry.com.

Notes

1 With the rise of sabermetric analysis, WAR, ERA+ and FIP have become three of the most compelling metrics used to analyze a pitcher’s value and effectiveness. WAR (Wins Above Replacement) attempts to measure a player’s value in wins he provides the team in comparison to a replacement-level player. ERA+ (Adjusted ERA) adjusts a pitcher’s ERA according to ballpark factors and the league average. FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) attempts to measure a pitcher’s effectiveness by removing fielding variables.

2 Bert Blyleven’s Hall of Fame induction speech, July 24, 2011. Player’s Hall of Fame file, Cooperstown, New York.

3 Ibid.

4 The Sporting News, July 4, 1970: 10.

5 The Sporting News, June 13, 1970: 39.

6 The Sporting News July 4, 1970: 10.

7 AP, “Blyleven earns playoff start,” Winona (Minnesota) Daily News, October 1, 1970: 22.

8 Pat Thompson, “Blyleven 4 hits Brewers,” Winona (Minnesota) Daily News, April 8, 1971: 2.

9 The Sporting News, May 1, 1971: 9.

10 Ibid.

11 The Sporting News, August 19, 1972: 15.

12 The Sporting News, June 9, 1973: 3.

13 AP, “Darwin’s slam boosts Twins Over Angels, 4-0,” Winona (Minnesota) Daily News, July 1, 1973: 18.

14 AP, “Blyleven logs 7th shutout, 12th win,” Winona (Minnesota) Daily News, July 12, 1973: 16.

15 The Sporting News, December 8, 1973: 52.

16 Blyleven achieved a 9.9 WAR.

17 AP, “Blyleven, Twins Zip Yanks, 3-0,” Daily Journal (Fergus Falls, Minnesota), July 22, 1975: 12.

18 AP, “Rangers Offer Three Players for Blyleven,” Daily Journal (Fergus Falls, Minnesota), December 31, 1975: 13.

19 AP, “Blyleven Booed After 3-2 loss,” Daily Journal (Fergus Falls, Minnesota), June 1, 1976: 9.

20 AP, “MacPhail Orders Public Apology by Blyleven,” Winona (Minnesota) Daily News, June 3, 1976: 17.

21 The Sporting News, October 8, 1977:12.

22 A scorecard might have been needed to keep track of the 11 players who were involved in the rare four-team trade involving the Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, and New York Mets. Atlanta sent Willie Montañez to New York. Texas shipped Tommy Boggs, Adrian Devine, and Eddie Miller to Atlanta, and a player to be named later (Ken Henderson) and Tom Grieve to New York. Pittsburgh sent Nelson Norman and Al Oliver to Texas. New York sent Jon Matlack to Texas. New York sent John Milner to Pittsburgh. Blyleven was sent to Pittsburgh.

23 The Sporting News, December 24, 1977: 51.

24 The Sporting News, December 24, 1977: 51.

25 Charley Feeney, “Blyleven Not Happy About Winless Start,” Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 15, 1979: 13.

26 The Sporting News, June 30, 1979: 24.

27 Charley Feeney, “It’s Blyleven vs. LaCoss in Game 3,” Pittsburgh Post Gazette, October 5, 1979: 9.

28 Ibid.

29 Charley Feeney, “Blyleven Walks Out, Wants Trade,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 1, 1980: 9.

30 The Sporting News, May 17, 1980: 5.

31 Ibid.

32 Phil Axelrod, “Madlock Baffled by Blyleven’s Departure,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 2, 1980: 16.

33 The Sporting News, June 21, 1980: 33.

34 One of the worst trades in Pirates history.

35 The Sporting News, September 19, 1981: 21.

36 The Sporting News, April 4, 1983: 26.

37 Ibid.

38Ibid.

39 The Sporting News, October 22, 1984: 14.

40 AP, “Cleveland’s Blyleven Pushes for a Trade,” Des Moines (Iowa) Register, September 11, 1984: 18.

41 AP, “Indians Hurler Blyleven focuses on Strikeouts at Expense of Shutouts,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), April 10, 1984: 44.

42 The Sporting News, March 31, 1986: 32.

43 Blyleven joined the following members of the 3,000-strikeout club with the date of their entry in parentheses: Walter Johnson (1923), Bob Gibson (1974), Gaylord Perry (1978), Nolan Ryan (1980), Tom Seaver (1981), Steve Carlton (1981), Ferguson Jenkins (1982), Don Sutton (1983), and Phil Niekro 1984.

44 AP, “Cleveland Rookie Helps Blyleven Secure Record,” Star-Democrat (Easton, Maryland), October 1, 1986: 26.

45 AP, ‘Blyleven returns to roots, wins for Twins,” The Tennessean (Nashville), October 19, 1987: 18.

46 AP, “Twins Deal Blyleven to California,” Star-Democrat (Easton, Maryland), November 4, 1988: 9.

47 Tim Harrigan, AP, “The Big A. Blyleven back among best in the league,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), September 30, 1989: 38.

48 Dave Luecking, “His Biggest Prank. Blyleven Proves He’s not Washed Up,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 27, 1989: 66.

49 Robyn Norwood, “Tour de Pain: At 40, Angels’ Blyleven Is Given Little Chance to Pitch Again After Major Surgery — but He Has Pedaled that Route Before,” Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1991.

John Frank “Jack” Lelivelt was born on November 14, 1885, in the Netherlands. His Dutch name was probably Jan Franciscus Lelivelt. He was the second child born to Franciscus Zecharius “Frank” Lelivelt and Theodora “Dora” (Mattijssen) Lelivelt.3 Jack’s brother, Bill, was born in 1884. The family arrived in America in 1887 and settled in Chicago,4 where Frank worked as a carpenter. Jack and Bill grew up playing baseball. The brothers were teammates in 1904 on the amateur Wholesale Dry Goods team of the National Union League.5 The family lived two miles from the Chicago Cubs’ ballpark. Jack played hooky from school to play baseball6 and to watch major-league games,7 which caused his mother to worry that he would become a failure.

Jack batted and threw left-handed. He got his start in professional baseball in May 1906 as a 20-year-old center fielder for the Lake Linden (Michigan) Sandy Cities of the Class C Northern Copper Country League. In August he hit a grand slam against the Duluth (Minnesota) White Sox, which was reported to be “one of the longest hits ever made in Duluth.”8 He finished the season with a .299 average in 93 games. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack had a chance conversation with the owner of the Lake Linden team. The owner mentioned that he had grown tired of paying the cost of repairs to the home-run fence at Lake Linden’s ballpark. It seems he kept getting bills from the repairman that said, “board splintered by Lelivelt.” Upon hearing the story of the fence-busting slugger, Mack purchased Lelivelt from the Lake Linden team.9

Lelivelt looked good at spring training with the Athletics in 1907, but the leap from Class C to the major leagues was too great, so Mack sent him to the Hartford Senators of the Class B Connecticut State League. He batted .265 in 89 games for Hartford and was sent in August to the Reading (Pennsylvania) Pretzels of the Class B Tri-State League, where he hit .263 in 29 games.10 The Reading Times described a catch Lelivelt made in Reading against Harrisburg:

“Lelivelt’s great catch [in left field] had the crowd wild. [Mike] O’Neill drove out a line hit that looked good for three bases. Lelivelt made a gigantic leap into the air, stuck out his mitted hand and grabbed the sphere. It was one of the prettiest plays ever seen on the local diamond.”11

Lelivelt continued his impressive fielding on the 1908 Reading team. In April he made game-saving catches in center field of balls hit by Toronto’s Moose Grimshaw and future Hall of Famer Pete Hill of the Brooklyn Royal Giants, a Negro League team.12 In a June game in Reading against Altoona, Lelivelt “speared” a ball in left field “with his ungloved hand on the dead run, making one of the most sensational catches ever seen on the local grounds.”13 Against Johnstown in August, he made another game-saving catch.14

Lelivelt was one of the leading hitters of the Tri-State League. His 1908 statistics were similar to those of his Reading teammate Frank “Home Run” Baker.15 Third baseman Baker batted .299 in 119 games with 11 doubles, 12 triples, 6 home runs, and 23 stolen bases; outfielder Lelivelt batted .305 in 124 games with 12 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, and 32 stolen bases.

Mack needed a third baseman in Philadelphia, so he gave Reading the rights to Lelivelt in exchange for Baker.16

On May 11, 1909, Lelivelt went 4-for-5 with a home run and six RBIs in a 12-0 Reading victory over Johnstown.17 After he had batted .345 in 41 games in 1909, Reading sold him to the Washington Senators. On June 24, 1909, Lelivelt made his major-league debut, playing left field and going 0-for-4 against the Boston Red Sox. The next day he got his first major-league hit, off Boston’s Frank Arellanes.18 On July 19 Jack’s brother, Bill Lelivelt, made his major-league debut as a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Just five years after they played for Wholesale Dry Goods in Chicago, the brothers were major leaguers.

In the outfield, Jack struggled with groundballs,19 but he excelled on fly balls. His fielding improved with tutoring from his Washington teammate Germany Schaefer.20 In a game in Cleveland on July 9, Lelivelt robbed Joe Birmingham of a home run:

“The new center fielder stretched … high in the air, captured the ball, and then turned a handspring and somersault combined, landing right-side-up with the ball in his glove. Even the Cleveland fans cheered him when he came to bat.”21

Lelivelt made two more great catches against Cleveland in a doubleheader on August 3, and a week later his 12th-inning catch “saved the day” against St. Louis.22 Opponents underestimated the rookie’s ability to get to balls and make accurate throws. On August 5 Lelivelt threw out Nap Lajoie at home plate after Lajoie tagged up on a fly ball caught by Lelivelt; Lajoie did not slide, thinking there was no chance he would be thrown out.23 On August 11 Ty Cobb took off from second base on Sam Crawford’s fly ball to left-center field, assuming Lelivelt would not make the catch; Lelivelt made the catch and threw the ball to second base for a double play.24 Three days later Crawford attempted to advance from first base to third base on Claude Rossman’s single, but Lelivelt’s throw to third base “got him easily.”25

The 23-year-old Lelivelt batted .292 in 91 games, which was the highest average on the Senators. Except for Baker, he was the best-hitting rookie in the American League in 1909.26 Mack admitted his mistake in letting him go:

“He did not seem to be fully ripe or up to big league standard. Now, I admit, he has the goods and I was in error. I am anxious to see Lelivelt make good, for he is not only a great young ballplayer, but one of the nicest youngsters that ever broke into the game.”27

The Washington Post praised Lelivelt’s hitting:

“When Jack Lelivelt is getting base hits, they are never of the questionable kind. He drives a ball prettier than any other player on the team. His very stand at the plate inspires confidence, and when he swings, it is straight from the shoulder. The best feature of Jack’s hitting lies in the fact that he has no regular field in which to hit. He is just as apt to hit hard into left as into right.”28

In December Lelivelt was on a team of major-league “all-stars” that traveled to Cuba. The team played five games in Havana against the Havana Reds and the Almendares Blues. Lelivelt batted .350 (7-for-20) in the five games; only Schaefer had more hits among the all-stars.

On Opening Day, April 14, 1910, with President William Taft looking on, Walter Johnson threw a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Athletics. Lelivelt played left field and batted third for the Senators. He hit two doubles and a sacrifice fly, and had two RBIs, against Philadelphia’s ace left-hander, Eddie Plank.29 Two weeks later Lelivelt delivered a walk-off single in the 12th inning to beat the Red Sox, 2-1.30 He went into a slump that saw his average drop to .228 in June, but his bat came alive, and by August he led the team with a .274 average.31 He finished the season with a .265 average in 110 games.

During the 1910 season Lelivelt was mentored by Washington manager Jimmy McAleer, who had been a great defensive outfielder in his playing days.32 In a game against the New York Highlanders on April 23, Lelivelt made a “circus catch” of Jimmy Austin’s line drive, which “saved the game, for there were two men on the bases at the time.”33 Lelivelt saved the game on May 24 against Detroit when he made a “one-handed, jumping, back-handed catch of Crawford’s terrific liner, with Cobb waiting to score.”34 Sporting Life noted that “these catches are habitual with him.”35 A peculiar play occurred in Washington on July 25 when Chicago’s Billy Purtell hit a sharp grounder over third base. The ball caromed off the face of the left-field stands and off Lelivelt’s leg into an area beyond the stands, where it struck a goat. Lelivelt retrieved the ball and held Purtell to a double, but the umpire ruled that it was a home run.36

In 1911 Lelivelt batted .320 in 72 games for Washington. He missed time at the end of the season with a “badly sprained tendon” in his left leg.37 In July the Senators had agreed to trade “players to be named later” for three players on the minor-league Rochester, New York, team. At the end of the season, Rochester manager John Ganzel demanded a pair of quality players from Washington, including Lelivelt, and the Senators complied,38 although a .320 hitter was clearly undeserving of a demotion. After Clark Griffith became the Washington manager, he tried to reacquire Lelivelt in February 1912, but Ganzel would not give him up.39 Griffith blamed his predecessor McAleer for making a foolish deal.40

As a member of the 1912 Rochester Hustlers of the Double-A International League, Lelivelt feasted on minor-league pitching. On Opening Day, April 19, he hit a three-run homer in a 4-1 victory over Providence.41 From April 23 to June 3 he had a 33-game hitting streak during which he batted .444.42 In a game against Toronto on May 31, he hit a ball to left field that went “out of sight.” Since no one could find the ball, he was awarded a home run.43 Lelivelt batted .351 in 125 games for Rochester and was traded on August 23 to the New York Highlanders.

In his return to the American League on August 27, Lelivelt played center field and went 5-for-8 in New York’s doubleheader sweep of Cleveland.44 Four days later, Washington fans cheered him and Griffith fumed as Lelivelt hit a “smoking double to left field” to drive in the only run in New York’s 1-0 defeat of the Senators.45 In a 6-1 victory over Mack’s Athletics on September 4, Lelivelt “robbed Baker of a home run in the eighth, with two on bases, when he jumped into the air and pulled down a drive with one hand.”46 Two days later Lelivelt’s daring baserunning in New York made headlines. He was on third base when Philadelphia’s great second baseman Eddie Collins caught an easy pop fly.

“There was no chance in the world for Lelivelt to score on the catch. Anyway, he ran far up the line in an effort to make Collins throw the ball to the catcher. Then just when Collins, who was looking directly at him, was about ready to toss the ball to the pitcher, Lelivelt kept going and headed for the plate. Collins was so astounded at this unexpected display of nerve that he made a wild throw to [catcher Jack] Lapp, and Lelivelt crossed the plate in safety. Fans and players roared with laughter and Collins kicked himself all over the diamond.”47

In an 8-3 victory over St. Louis on September 10, Lelivelt hit a single, double, and triple, and drove in three runs.48 He went 4-for-5 against Boston on September 26. In the season finale on October 5, he hit two home runs in an 8-6 triumph over Washington; these were the only home runs of his major-league career. Lelivelt finished the season with a .362 average in 36 games for the Highlanders. Including his Rochester numbers, he had 222 hits in 1912, including 39 doubles, 21 triples, and 5 home runs. The New York Press reported that “Jack has the making of a second Ed Delahanty.”49

The New York Highlanders became the New York Yankees in 1913. Lelivelt was expected to hold a starting position in the Yankees outfield, but in January 1913, he suffered “a torn muscle in his thigh.”50 In 1912 he had below-average speed for a major leaguer, and by 1913, he was too slow to play the outfield. He played sparingly for New York during the first six weeks of the 1913 season, and on May 25 he was traded to the Cleveland Naps of the American League. The Naps used him “principally on the coaching lines and as a pinch hitter.”51 He finished the season with a .294 average and only 51 at-bats in 41 games.

In 1914 Lelivelt was again given a reduced role on the Naps. He started 11 games in the outfield and appeared in 23 other games, mostly as a pinch-hitter, and hit .328 (21-for-64). He accepted a demotion in late June to the Cleveland Bearcats of the Double-A American Association, with the promise of playing every day as the first baseman. Because of his limited range, Lelivelt believed that his future as a major leaguer would be at first base, and this was an opportunity to show that he could play the position. His bat never slowed down: He hit .295 in 92 games for the Bearcats. Some sportswriters observed:

• “Jack Lelivelt may be slow afoot, but he can still whale the apple.”52
• “Jack Lelivelt is a ballplayer, a hitter who is dangerous at all times.”53
• “If Jack were a little faster, he would be a wonder.”54

Lelivelt played first base for the Kansas City Blues in 1915 and led the American Association with a .346 average. He led the league in hits, doubles, and total bases. He batted .306 for the Blues in 1916, and after the season, he married Ethel Mae Slack in Kansas City. In January 1917, the 31-year-old Lelivelt said:

“I believe I could come back next season [to the major leagues] and make good, for my legs are better than they have been for three years. I had been suffering from fallen arches, and the treatment I have been undergoing has at last wrought a permanent cure.”55

Lelivelt was not given the opportunity to return to the majors. He remained in the American Association for the next three seasons, batting .294 for Kansas City in 1917, .325 for Louisville in 1918, and .287 for Minneapolis in 1919. He played 134 games in the outfield and stole 21 bases in 1919.56

In 1920 Lelivelt was player-manager of the Omaha Rourkes, a team named for its owner, William Rourke. Lelivelt played first base and batted .309, while leading the Rourkes to a fourth-place finish in the eight-team Class A Western League. The team was sold, and new owner Barney Burch did not like how Lelivelt managed the team. Lelivelt resigned as manager after 16 games of the 1921 season, but stayed on as the Omaha first baseman and hit like never before: a .416 batting average with 274 hits, including 70 doubles, 9 triples, and 14 home runs.

For the next four seasons Lelivelt was a player-manager in the Western League, leading the Tulsa Oilers (1922-1924) and the St. Joseph (Missouri) Saints (1925). Over that four-year period, he played first base, batted .355, and compiled a .563 winning percentage as the manager. His 1922 Tulsa team won the Western League pennant and defeated Mobile in the “Class A championship” series.

At age 40, Lelivelt retired as a player and became manager of the 1926 Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. In May and June 1926, Milwaukee won a record 21 consecutive games. From 1926 to 1928, the Brewers were pennant contenders under Lelivelt’s leadership and had a .564 winning percentage. Lelivelt was given credit for reviving baseball interest in Milwaukee, where attendance was at an all-time high.57

The Brewers got off to a slow start in 1929 and had a 21-37 record when Lelivelt resigned or was fired in June, but he was quickly hired as manager of the Los Angeles Angels of the Double-A Pacific Coast League. The Angels were owned by William Wrigley, Jr., owner of the Chicago Cubs. Lelivelt was recommended by Cubs manager Joe McCarthy, who was his teammate at Louisville in 1918.58 Lelivelt turned the Angels into winners. In 1930 the team finished in first place in the first half and in second place in the second half of the PCL season, but lost the postseason playoff series to the Hollywood Stars.

Lelivelt held open tryouts for Southern California youngsters. In 1931, 300 aspiring ballplayers attended a tryout, including 19-year-old George “Tuck” Stainback.59 By swatting several balls over the fence during batting practice, Stainback earned a contract with the Class D Bisbee (Arizona) Bees. He played the next two seasons for the Angels and then joined the Cubs in 1934.

Lelivelt’s Angels won the 1933 PCL pennant with a 114-73 record; Bobo Newsom was the ace of the pitching staff with a 30-11 record and was the league MVP. The next year the Angels won the pennant with a phenomenal 137-50 record. Angels outfielder Frank Demaree was the MVP, winning the Triple Crown with a .383 average, 45 home runs, and 173 RBIs. Historian W.R. “Bill” Schroeder wrote about Lelivelt and his 1934 team:

“Having followed Pacific Coast League Baseball for more than 40 years, and having watched all of the teams in action over that period of time, I am certain that the 1934 Los Angeles Angels were the most formidable outfit in the history of the circuit. … It is my belief that Jack Lelivelt would have proven to be a most capable major league manager, had he been granted such an opportunity. He possessed many of the good traits of Walter Alston.”60

The Woodland (California) Daily Democrat described Lelivelt’s managerial style:

“Lelivelt isn’t colorful but he seems to have a keen insight to knowing how to get the most out of each man on his club. Fans who have watched him work at ball games will tell you that he never lets up a minute. He is always coaching, instructing or waving a player to do this and that.”61

It was rumored in June 1934 that Lelivelt would replace Charlie Grimm as the Cubs manager,62 but the Cubs decided to stick with Grimm. In December 1934 the 49-year-old Lelivelt survived a heart attack that he suffered while attending the major-league meetings in New York.63

In April 1935 a 16-year-old, Ted Williams, batted .578 in the Pomona (California) Baseball Tournament. Lelivelt sent him a bus ticket and invited him to attend an Angels game and “work out for the Angels brass before the game.”64 The young Williams threw the ticket away, believing he was not good enough to play in the PCL, although a year later, he would sign with the PCL’s San Diego Padres.

Lelivelt’s 1935 Angels finished in first place in the first half and in fourth place in the second half of the season, and lost the postseason playoff series to 20-year-old Joe DiMaggio and the San Francisco Seals. The next season the Angels finished in fifth place with an 88-88 record, and Lelivelt resigned after the season; he was not pleased that team president Dave Fleming had dictated to him which players to play.65 Lelivelt became a Cubs scout in 1937, and again rumors circulated that he would become the next Cubs manager.66 He turned down an opportunity to manage the Baltimore Orioles of the International League67 and accepted an offer to manage the 1938 Seattle Rainiers of the PCL.

Rainiers owner Emil Sick gave Lelivelt free rein and it paid immediate dividends. After a dismal 81-96 record in 1937, the Rainiers finished in second place in 1938 with a 100-75 mark. Eighteen-year-old phenom Fred Hutchinson compiled a 25-7 record as the ace of the pitching staff and was the league’s MVP. The next year the team finished in first place with a 101-73 record but lost in the playoffs. Everything came together in 1940 when the Rainiers finished in first place with a 112-66 record and defeated the Angels in the playoffs. Lelivelt’s approach to guiding the Rainiers was low-key:

“Unobtrusive, quiet, and keeping in the background, Lelivelt performs Herculian managerial feats with such ease and simplicity that are taken as a matter of course. One of the present Rainier regulars, who has seen considerable action in the majors, believes that Lelivelt is superior to seven-eighths of the pilots in the majors today.”68

In November 1940 there was again speculation that Lelivelt would become the next Cubs manager,69 but it was not to be. On January 20, 1941, the 55-year-old Lelivelt suffered a fatal heart attack in Seattle after attending a Harlem Globetrotters basketball game.70 Although his time in the major leagues was short (1909-1914), his impact on minor-league baseball was profound. He was posthumously inducted in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame as a manager.

Notes

For much of the detail in this story, we are indebted to several Dutch sources, in particular a 2009 feature by journalist Leo Verheul, who first met the pitcher 30 years before. Win Remmerswaal was born on March 8, 1954, in The Hague, Holland’s third-largest city and its seat of government. He was the third of four sons born after World War II to Jacobus “Jaap” Remmerswaal and his wife (whose name is presently unavailable). Jaap, who became an assistant editor, had been a fine soccer player with the club VUC in Wassenaar (a wealthy suburb of The Hague). All four of the Remmerswaal boys – Hans, Harry, Win, and Jerry – were talented athletes too, and all four were sports-crazed. “In the early ’60s, [they] could hardly be kept away from the baseball field in Wassenaar, situated directly behind their family home.”[1] Honkbal, as the game is known on Dutch soil, was introduced to the Netherlands in 1911. Official competition began in 1922, and the game took off after World War II with the support and encouragement of the United States.

Harry, who followed his father into soccer, played for Spijkenisse in the Hoofdklasse, the top amateur level. This was a Saturday club; Dutch amateur soccer is still divided into Saturday and Sunday competition (teams based in very religious areas do not play on Sunday). Several professional teams scouted Harry, but he didn’t make the cut because he lacked the mental toughness to succeed in the Netherlands, a soccer power. It is a little-known fact that Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens, the stars of the great 1970s “Clockwork Orange” teams, also played honkbal as young men.

Hans Remmerswaal played second base for the club ADO from The Hague in the Hoofdklasse (this name is also given to the highest division in Dutch baseball). He came close to playing for the Dutch national team in the 1960s. But Win – short for Winneke (Winnie), inspired by Winston Churchill[2] – was the golden boy of the family. His first club team (1970) was SV Wassenaar, but after a year he jumped to Storks, a Hoofdklasse team in The Hague. At the age of 17, he also got his first invitation to play for the Dutch national team. He was a gifted pitcher but could be wild at times. Therefore he wrote in the palm of his glove, “Think before you pitch.”

During the 1973 European Baseball Championship, Remmerswaal played a key role in beating the Italian national team. In a preliminary match, Italy took a 6-4 lead in the third inning, but Win “entered the game and threw 6 2/3 innings of spectacular relief. He would yield no runs and only two hits and two walks. He also struck out nine as the Netherlands prevailed 7-6.” The Dutch beat Italy again in the final, and Win was honored as the tournament’s best pitcher.[3]

Remmerswaal had a very bright mind. Bruce Hurst, a Red Sox teammate, recalled in 2006 that Win could speak seven languages and that he would tell extensive technical stories in the bullpen – for example, why an airplane can fly. In 1974, however, the young Dutchman quit his studies at the Technical University in Delft to chase his dream of becoming a big-league player. First he got a tryout with the Kansas City Royals, but on November 22, 1974, the Red Sox signed him as a non-drafted free agent. Boston’s general manager, Dick O’Connell, had spotted him while touring the Netherlands and brought him over.[4] Dutch national coach Cees Herkemij also played a role.

Remmerswaal’s first three pro seasons were good if not extraordinary. The slender righty (6’2”, 160 pounds) moved up steadily from Class A to Triple-A, moving back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. He did not typically strike out a great many batters, though he once whiffed 15 at Class A Winter Haven in 1975 (losing the game on three unearned runs). However, his control was usually good. In 1977, starting in all of his 23 appearances for Bristol (Connecticut), Win led the Double-A Eastern League with four shutouts.

During his first years in the U.S., Win had a hard time surviving the life of a ballplayer. He really missed Europe with its different cultures. In a 1978 interview with the Dutch magazine Nieuwe Revu, he talked about the wild parties in hotel rooms, which would be trashed. He had to fight not only ruthless competition for the majors but also himself and the temptations of the baseball culture: pills and booze.[5]

Remmerswaal impressed Red Sox manager Don Zimmer in spring training 1978. Zim said of him and fellow pitcher Joel Finch, “Both these kids throw hard. . .I’d never seen either one of them before today and they showed me something.”[6] However, Win’s first full year with Pawtucket was a setback. He walked 5.6 men per nine innings, and his ERA rose to 4.47.

During the winter of 1978-79, Remmerswaal played for the Ponce Leones in Puerto Rico. He got off to a strong 4-1 start, but then slumped, finishing at 5-5.[7] Nonetheless, he impressed the local fans. As with so many other players, the Puerto Rican Winter League was a springboard to the majors – even though he had suffered arm trouble there.[8] Pawtucket put Win in the bullpen in 1979, and he pitched the best ball of his career: a 2.05 ERA with seven saves in 39 games. He struck out 93 men in 92 innings. Much credit for his development goes to Johnny Podres, the old Brooklyn Dodger who was then minor-league pitching coach for the Boston chain.

Joe Morgan managed the PawSox from 1974 through 1982. In 2010 he said, “Midway through the season the Red Sox took a pitcher up [Finch] without asking my advice. Win should’ve been the one. His stats at the time were something like 39 Ks and 19 hits in 41 innings, with four wins. He had a good fastball and slider — plus exceptional control.”[9]

John Tudor, the lefty whose surgical pitching helped the St. Louis Cardinals to pennants in 1985 and 1987, was a teammate of Remmerswaal’s from 1977 through 1980. He said, “Win had a great arm. He was not so much a pitcher as a thrower, but he didn’t have a chance to mature. He had a rubber arm and could throw every day. He’d pitch one day and then the next day he’d be out firing in the outfield. But he kind of abused it.”[10]

Boston finally called up Remmerswaal in early August 1979. Three men born in the Netherlands had played in the majors during the 19^th century, and Bert Blyleven had reached the majors in 1970. All of them had learned the game in the United States, though; for example, Blyleven moved to Canada when he was two and grew up in California. The various other European-born big-leaguers to that point had also been raised in America. Win was the first honkballer to reach the top.

Remmerswaal made his major-league debut on August 3 at Milwaukee’s County Stadium – but apparently he wasn’t bothered by nerves. Steve Renko left the game after five innings, and as author Tom Boswell described it, “Zimmer called the bullpen, barked ‘Get Win up,’ and was told, ‘He’s out in the bleachers buying peanuts.’”[11]

Two days later, in the nightcap of a doubleheader, Remmerswaal got his first big-league win. Although the Red Sox were up 8-0 after three innings, Dick Drago left the game, and Win pitched the middle three innings of a 19-5 laugher. He pitched six more times for Boston before the season was over and wound up with a 7.08 ERA. “It’s not an easy jump from Triple A to the majors,” Johnny Podres commented the following spring.[12]

Win did not go back to Puerto Rico for the winter of 1979-80 because his shoulder was injured. He started the 1980 season back at Pawtucket, but even though he wasn’t having his best year, in late June the Red Sox recalled him. He got into 11 games between then and early August. His finest outing in the majors came on a Thursday night in early July at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. Starter Chuck Rainey left after hearing a pop in his elbow while facing just the second batter of the game. Remmerswaal entered and pitched six two-hit innings, striking out five, allowing one earned run, and getting the victory. Peter Gammons of the Boston Globe wrote, “The Orioles were impressed with Win Remmerswaal, particularly his use of his four pitches. ‘I think Carlton Fisk has a lot to do with it,’ said Ken Singleton. ‘Remmerswaal would throw a pitch and one of us would get a decent hack at it. Normally, a rookie doesn’t throw that pitch again, but Remmerswaal would come right back with it, which is Fisk’s style.”[13]

Later that month, Reggie Jackson of the Yankees said, “Remmersmell, or whatever his name is, has the best arm of anyone on that staff.”[14] However, Win spent most of August idle. He had a little bit of arm soreness, and after a rainout was going to give him a start at Chicago’s Comiskey Park on August 17, continued storms washed that out too. During one game in Cleveland, “Last Call” (the source of this other nickname is unknown) had a female friend deliver a pizza to the Boston bullpen. “The television camera caught the delivery and it was the last supper for Remmerswaal and his bullpen mates. The front office exploded.”[15]

Left with long-relief duty, Remmerswaal appeared in his last three games with the Red Sox during September and October. He finished the year with a 4.58 ERA, which brought his lifetime mark to 5.50.

In the U.S., people remember Win more as the flaky guy who often missed team buses and plane flights than for his pitching results. On one memorable occasion (Sunday, September 21, 1980), he overslept before a game in New York against the Yankees. Hailing a cab, he wound up not at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx but at Shea Stadium in Queens. He did not discover until he got to the locker room that a New York Jets football game was taking place there![16] Sometimes Remmerswaal disappeared for days, but every time the team took him back because he was a talented hurler. After one team-jumping incident in June 1981, Peter Gammons wrote, “The good people of Pawtucket are still trying to figure out what Wilhelmus Remmerswaal is doing.”[17]

Joe Morgan remembered, “You may know about the uncashed paychecks but the meal money was something else. He loved to sleep and I told him he would forfeit his meal money if he were not in the lobby by 9:30 — but it made no difference to him.

“He told me never to bring him in to relieve before a certain time because the time in Holland was not nearly the same.”[18]

“Definitely a different cat!” said John Tudor. “He did all kinds of weird s—t. In one game up in Quebec City, he used a high leg kick and did really well against a good team. The next game he decided to kick even higher and he got killed. He wrote ‘Win’ on his left shoe and ‘Lose’ on the right shoe, and he’d hop off on whichever foot happened that day.

“One time I remember him coming back to the ballpark all sunburned after spending a day floating on the lake with a case of beer in an inner tube. In Kansas City, he sent his dry cleaning out one morning — and we were flying out that night, so we weren’t going to be there for him to pick it up.

“A good guy, I liked him. One of those free spirits.”[19]

Visa problems caused Remmerswaal to miss much of spring training 1981. (He said he was surprised he’d even been missed.[20]) He was out of options, and Boston outrighted him to Pawtucket. Chronic tendinitis in his pitching shoulder ailed Win – it was the beginning of the end of his U.S. career. Stints on the disabled list left him feeling alone and bored, so he started to drink more. Perhaps his only memorable outing that year came in the longest pro baseball game ever, the marathon between the Rochester Red Wings (then an Orioles affiliate) and the PawSox that started on the night of April 18. Win entered in the 18^th inning and pitched 4 1/3 innings. He gave up a run in the top of the 21^st, but Pawtucket came back to tie it. The game didn’t end until the 33^rd inning, which took place on June 23.

After going 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA in 20 games that season, it was inevitable that the Red Sox organization would release Remmerswaal. He returned to Europe, where he joined Parma in the Italian Baseball League. There he met the love of his life, Clotilde Zangarini, got married and had one daughter named Alessia. But his drinking habits ruined that marriage. During his years in Parma (1983-85), he was fired because of his alcohol abuse but returned to pitch the club to a victory in the European Cup in 1984. After that he fell back into his old ways. After Parma fired him again, he caught on with Nettuno and San Marino, but those were short stints as well. His time in Italian baseball was over.

In 1989, back at home in the Netherlands, Remmerswaal tried to start a career as a manager with the Hoofdklasse club Amsterdam Pirates. But that year was disastrous; the Pirates were relegated to the Overgangsklasse, the next level down from Hoofdklasse.

The Remmerswaal family lost its three other sons well before their time. Harry killed himself in 1993 because of a broken heart, Hans died of cancer, and Jerry suffered a fatal stroke. In December 1997, Win nearly joined them. Despite counseling and efforts at self-help, his alcoholism continued to plague him and his long-suffering parents. (There was even talk, which Win later denied, that he was living on the streets. [21])

After coming down with double pneumonia and pleurisy, Win wound up in a coma and the doctors gave up on him. After three weeks, however, he awoke – with severe damage to his brain and central nervous system.After that he was confined to a wheelchair in the Sammersburg nursing home. Win’s mother died in 2001, and Jaap Remmerswaal, 86 years old as of 2010, was his only regular visitor. When she was a student in America, Win’s daughter Alessia came twice a year too. He also made his peace with Clotilde, and love still existed between them.

In July 2006, Bruce Hurst, Win’s old minor-league roommate who had a 14-year big-league career, came to visit. He had found out about Win’s plight from Diamond Days, the semi-annual Red Sox alumni magazine. “We knew he had problems with his health,” said Hurst, “but we’ve always thought of him.” Hurst, then pitching coach of the Chinese national team, stopped by Sammersburg during Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands. Jaap Remmerswaal said it was one of his son’s best days. A couple of former Dutch opponents came to visit Win, too – but for much of the time his life was quite lonely.

In November 2010, TV West in The Hague aired An Almost Perfect Game, a touching 20-minute documentary about Win Remmerswaal and his career. Even then, one could see that this man had once been an athlete, and the film clips from his major-league career showed his good stuff (especially a sharp breaking ball). His contorted arm gripped a cigarette holder, and Remmerswaal smoked in a series of fierce, desperate puffs. Tacked to the wall behind his bed are his baseball cards and team photos.

As of 2022, four other honkballers have made it to the majors: Rikkert Faneyte, Robert Eenhoorn, Rick van den Hurk, and Greg Halman. (Didi Gregorius, who was born in Amsterdam, learned the game in Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles, though his father pitched for the Amsterdam Pirates.) They can thank Win Remmerswaal, who helped spur the game’s popularity in his homeland. In An Almost Perfect Game, Dutch journalist Theo Reitsma, a former president of KNBSB (the Dutch baseball/softball federation), said, “He had a great talent from an early age – you could see he was coming up. He worked hard to get there and Dutch baseball owes him the utmost respect for having arrived.”

Win Remmerswaal, pioneer of Dutch and European baseball, died after a long illness on July 24, 2022. He was 68.

Originally published in January 2011. Updated on July 28, 2022.

Continued thanks to Joe M. Morgan (letter to Rory Costello, November 15, 2010). Thanks also to John Tudor (telephone interview, December 15, 2010).

More Win Remmerswaal anecdotes

From David Laurila, Interviews from Red Sox Nation, Maple Street Press, 2006.

Mike Tamburro (President of the Pawtucket Red Sox, has been with the club in various capacities since 1977):

Win Remmerswaal is the premier character in the history of the [Pawtucket] franchise, and it’s not even close. Win played here in the early 1980s and was Dutch. Dick O’Connell signed him out of a tryout camp in Europe, and in my opinion, Win came here as a tourist first and a ballplayer second. He threw in the 90s and pitched in the big leagues for a while, and he was as colorful as they come.

One of the best [stories] is the time the team was flying back from either Norfolk or Richmond, and had to change planes in Washington D.C. Win was famous for missing team buses, and he never made it onto the plane in Washington. We got back to Pawtucket, and no Win. The next day, no Win. We had no idea where he was. Finally, on the fourth day, he comes strolling into the office. He has a box of cigars for [owner] Ben [Mondor] — he knew Ben liked cigars — and we asked, “Win, where have you been?” He said, “I realized that I was in the nation’s capital, and that I may never see it again. So I decided to stay for a few days and look around.”

His roommate was Julio Valdez, and they did occasionally rent cars. Now, that was an interesting duo to begin with. One spoke Dutch, the other Spanish — neither had perfect English. They got pulled over because Win was driving on the wrong side of the road. And I think they had rented the car with wrong identification, because neither had a credit card. Somehow they talked themselves out of it — maybe because the cop knew they were ballplayers. Win apparently told the cop, “That’s how we drive in Holland. I didn’t know.”

Another time, Win was driving a rental car down the Mass. Turnpike and ran out of gas. He walked to the nearest town, but instead of going to a gas station he rented another car. He just left the first one sitting by the side of the road. It sat there for a week until they tracked it and found out it been rented by someone with the ball club. They brought it to the ballpark — this was at the end of the season — and left it there. Butch Hobson knew what had happened, so he decided to drive it home to Alabama. When he got there, he just left it in a parking lot near his house.

He was a likeable guy, and very bright. He spoke several languages. Win used to come into Ben’s office to call his father, and Ben would tell him he could use the phone in the back room if he wanted privacy. He’d say to Ben, “Ben, we’ll be speaking Dutch. It doesn’t matter!”

The guys on the team nicknamed him “Poundcake,” and a local announcer once asked Win what his biggest dream was. He told the guy that he wanted to be in Fenway Park; it’s Game Seven of the World Series, and he’s the closer. It’s the ninth inning of a close game, and as he comes jogging in from the bullpen, 35,000 fans are chanting, “Poundcake, Poundcake!”

Lou Schwechheimer (Vice President and General Manager, Pawtucket Red Sox)

The first time Win got called up, the big club was in Milwaukee and we went to his place to let him know. It was eight o’clock in the morning, and we had booked him a 10 o’clock flight. We knocked on the door, but there was no response. So we changed his flight to noon, and kept knocking. Still no response. Some time later, Julio Valdez pulls up in their rental car. It’s missing the front bumper, and the windshield is broken. We ask Julio if he knows where Win is, and he says let’s go in and check. We walk into his bedroom, and we see two black socks sticking out from under the blanket — that’s all we can see. We said, “Win, is that you?” He said, “Yeah, it’s me.” We said, “We’ve been knocking for a couple of hours — why didn’t you answer?” He said, “I figured it was probably you, and that maybe I was getting called up, but if they really want me, they’d be willing to wait.”

Ben Mondor (Owned Pawtucket Red Sox from 1977 until his death in October 2010):

Win’s brother came from Holland to visit once. After he had been here a few weeks, one of us asked him when he’d be going back. Win said he wasn’t sure, but that his brother’s visa was going to be running out in the not too distant future. We told him he should check into it, and he asked what would happen when it ran out. We told him they’d send his brother back, so they just let it happen — his brother got a free flight back to Holland. Win just shrugged and said, “He wanted to go home, anyway.”

Key Dutch-language information:

Verheul, Leo. “Waar een wilg is, is een weg.” (Where there’s a will, there’s a way.) Originally published in the semi-annual Dutch sports magazine Achilles, April 2009. Available online at (http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/11/SPORT/article/detail/267992/2009/11/16/Waar-een-wilg-is-is-een-weg.dhtml)

Grateful acknowledgment to Leo Verheul for his permission to draw upon this article, which was nominated for the Hard Gras Literature prize for best Dutch sports story of 2009.

Köhler, Joop. “Win Remmerswaal was de eerste honkballer van Nederlandse makelij in de major leagues.” Inside (online Dutch baseball and softball magazine), February 2008: 4-5. (http://www.knbsb.nl/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=228)

Haggeman, Henny. Eindhovens Dagblad (The Hague, Netherlands), September 14, 2005.

An Almost Perfect Game, documentary film produced and edited by Jan Hermsen, November 2010. (http://www.westonline.nl/video/programmas/10413)

“Hurst en Remmerswaal na 25 jaar weer samen.” (Hurst and Remmerswaal together again after 25 years.) Honkbal Week, July 28, 2006. (http://www.honkbalweek.nl/download/leesvoer_28_juli_nr8.pdf)

Other sources

www.baseball-reference.com

www.retrosheet.org

Sporting News Baseball Register, 1981

www.storks.nl

www.paperofrecord.com (small items from The Sporting News)

Photo Credit

The Donruss Company. This photo must have been taken on St. Patrick’s Day, because the Red Sox have a tradition of wearing green uniforms to celebrate the occasion.

Notes