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Vida Blue
| Note: The following information has not been confirmed by
the athlete, but is accurate to the best of our knowledge. |
Contact Information (where autograph
requests should be mailed to):
Contact Person and/or Name of
Organization: Vida Blue Baseball
Address: P.O. Box
1449 Pleasanton, CA 94566
Charity
Information:
Name of charity or charities
the donations go to ??Vida Blue Baseball??
Signing Habits:
1) If you sign items for free,
what are the maximum number of items you will sign for free? No
2) Do you answer questions
sent by fans? N/A
3) Do you prefer when fans
send you their own pens/markers? N/A
4) What can fans do to make it
easier for you to sign their items?
N/A
Donation Charges:
| Item |
Price |
Item |
Price |
| Cards |
$10 |
Flats up to 8x10 |
$25 |
| Flats up to 16x20 |
|
Baseballs |
$35 |
| Magazines |
$50 |
Flats larger than 16x20 |
|
| Mini Helmets |
|
Glove |
$50 |
| Large Helmet |
|
Bats |
|
| Jerseys |
|
Inscriptions |
|
| Other Index Card |
$7 |
Other _________ |
|
Who should the check/money
order be made out to: Vida Blue
Payment can be made by: Cash,
Money Orders, Cashier’s Checks
Biography
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949,
in Mansfield, Louisiana) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting
pitcher. In his 17-year career, he played for the Oakland Athletics (1969-77),
San Francisco Giants (1978-81, 1985-86), and Kansas City Royals (1982-83).
In 1970, after spending the season in the minor leagues, Blue was called up in
September and made two starts that provided a glimpse of what was to come for
the 21-year old. On September 11, he shut out the Kansas City Royals 3-0, giving
up only one hit, to Pat Kelly in the eighth inning. Ten days later, he no-hit
the Minnesota Twins 6-0 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the lone baserunner
coming on Harmon Killebrew's fourth-inning walk. The no-hitter capped a season
that witnessed four no-hitters; like Blue's, the other three were also pitched
in California-based stadiums:
June 12—Dock Ellis, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0 over the San Diego Padres at San
Diego Stadium, first game of a doubleheader
July 3—Clyde Wright, California Angels, 4-0 over the Athletics at Anaheim
Stadium
July 20—Bill Singer, Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0 over the Philadelphia Phillies at
Dodger Stadium
Blue possessed a sharp, breaking curveball and above average change-up, but his
out pitch was an overpowering fastball. Dialing up to nearly 100 miles per hour,
he is considered by baseball historian Bill James to be the hardest-throwing
lefty, and second hardest thrower of his era, finishing only behind all-time
strikeout king Nolan Ryan.
Blue had a 24-8 record in 1971; he also struck out 301 batters, winning both the
Cy Young and MVP awards. He was the starting pitcher for the AL in the 1971
All-Star Game, and for the NL in the 1978 All-Star Game. Charlie Finley, owner
of the Oakland Athletics, offered Blue $10,000 to change his name to Vida "True"
Blue, but Blue declined.
Blue won 20 games in 1973 as he led the A's to the World Championship that year.
He won 22 games in 1975.
In 1976, baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed an attempt to sell Blue to the
New York Yankees and in 1977, Kuhn cancelled an attempted trade of Blue to the
Cincinnati Reds. In both instances, Kuhn said the trades would be bad for
baseball because they would have benefitted already powerful teams without
making them give up any significant talent in return.
In 1978, Blue won 18 games as he led the Giants to 83 wins as they battled all
year for the National League West Division which was won that year by the Los
Angeles Dodgers. His great year was rewarded as he won the Sporting News
National League Pitcher Of The Year.
Blue also made a name and career after baseball for himself in the San Francisco
Bay Area by donating his time to many charitable causes, mostly promoting
baseball in the inner city.
Blue battled drug addiction over the course of baseball career. After the 1983
season, he and former teammates, Willie Wilson, Jerry Martin and Willie Aikens,
pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase cocaine. In 1985, he testified in the
scandalous Pittsburgh drug trials.
****
Pitcher
Born: July 28, 1949 (1949-07-28) (age 58)
Batted: Switch Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 20, 1969
for the Oakland Athletics
Final game
October 2, 1986
for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics
Win-Loss 209-161
Strikeouts 2175
ERA 3.27
Teams
Oakland Athletics (1969-1977)
San Francisco Giants (1978-1981, 1985-1986)
Kansas City Royals (1982-1983)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (AL): 1971, 1975, 1977
All-Star (NL): 1978, 1980-81
1971 AL Cy Young Award
1971 AL MVP
Led AL in ERA (1.82), WHIP (.952), Hits Allowed/9IP (6.03), Strikeouts/9IP
(8.68) and Shutouts (8) in 1971
Ranks 92nd on MLB Career Wins List (209)
Ranks 91st on MLB Career Hits Allowed/9IP List (7.91)
Ranks 88th on MLB Career Innings List (3,343 ⅓)
Ranks 51st on MLB Career Strikeouts List (2,175)
Ranks 61st on MLB Career Games Started List (473)
Ranks 57th on MLB Career Shutouts List (37)
Ranks 74th on MLB Career Batters Faced List (13,837)
****
Trivia
He was the last player before Ichiro Suzuki
to wear his given name on the back of his uniform instead of his surname, having
done so with the Giants.
Vida Blue is the name of a song by punk band ALL on their 1998 album Mass Nerder.
Even though he was listed as a switch hitter, he admitted he only batted
right-handed about 6-7 times during his career.
Throws left-handed, but writes right-handed.
Career statistics
Games: 502
Games Started: 479
Wins: 209
Losses: 161
Winning %: .565 (56.5 %)
Earned Run Average (ERA): 3.27
Strikeouts: 2,175
Complete games: 143
Shutouts: 37
All-Star appearances: 5
In his 1971 MVP and Cy Young-winning season, his best, he collected these stats:
24 wins
8 losses
1.89 ERA
301 strikeouts
24 Complete games
8 Shutouts
In 1971, Blue also led the American league in ERA and shutouts.
In an article in Esquire magazine in 1976, sportswriter Harry Stein published an
article called the "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," a list of five ethnic
baseball teams. Blue was the left-handed pitcher on Stein's black team.
References
1 ESPN.com - The Mighty Fastball
*"The Mighty Fastball June 15, 2004 ESPN.com"
*"A Bolt of Blue Lightning" *August 23, 1971) TIME Magazine.
****
Source: Wikipedia.org at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vida_Blue
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