Bert Blyleven, the long-snubbed Minnesota Twin (and Ranger, and Indian, and Pirate, and Angel) finally won induction to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in his 14th year of eligibility.
At the risk of blowing this out of proportion, this is an inexcusable wrong that has finally been righted. Blyleven is a slam dunk from both sabremetric and traditional perspectives.
The durable, baffling starter finished in the top 10 for ERA in 10 seasons, pitched the 14th most innings in MLB history (including #1 in '85 and '86), recorded the 5th most strikeouts in MLB history (finishing in the top 10 in 15 different seasons, leading the pack in 1985), finished 9th on the all-time shutouts list, led the league in shutouts in 1973, 1985 and 1989, and—for what it's worth—recorded 287 wins.
From an advanced stats standpoint, Blyleven recorded a career 87.6 wins above replacement (good for 43rd of all time) with a pitching WAR of 90.1 (good for 13th all time!), finished top 10 in WHIP 11 times (leading the pack in 1977), finished top 10 in K/9 on 14 separate occasions, finished top 10 in K/BB an astonishing 16 times including three seasons ('71, '73, '86) when he beat the field, finished top 10 in ERA+ in 12 different seasons (finishing #1 in 1973), finished 12th all time in base-out runs saved, and 26th all time in win probability added.
Congratulations, Bert. Welcome to the Coop!
Oh, and also Robbie Alomar.
(All data from Baseball-Reference.com. Photo Credit: Twins Dugout)
No comments:
Post a Comment