Congratulations to the newest member of the Baseball’s Hall of Fame, Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven! FINALLY!!!!

The honor was way overdue! It’s finally time for his Uncle Charlie to join fellow Twins Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, and Kirby Puckett in Cooperstown.

Now let’s get that jersey retired, and start taking bets on the number times Bert will circle it as it displays down the left field pole at Target Field!

Blyleven, who pitched 11 of his 22 seasons in Minnesota, was elected after garnering 79.7% of the vote, with 75% required for election. It was his 14th year on the ballot.

The right-hander notched 287 career wins, 27th on the all-time list, and is fifth in career strikeouts with 3,701. He is 11th in games started with 685 and his 60 shutouts are ninth all-time. Blyleven also ranks 13th all-time in innings pitched with 4,970. In his second stint with the Twins from 1985-1988, Blyleven led the Twins to the World Series title in 1987, going 3-1 with a 3.42 ERA in four starts that postseason.

The first time I witnessed Bert Blyleven, the non-pitcher, the prankster in action was on TV when a local station.
In the segment, it showed Bert doing crazy things like giving “rookies the hot shoe” and making weird faces, and wearing goofy glasses. There has to be that type of player on every team. The guy that keeps thing loose, and makes everybody around him less tense. Read on…

“He fakes a bluff.”
-Ron Fairly

Really? Was he bluffing with this quote? Not likely.

Ron Fairly was one of those players who made the best out of his days in Major Leagues. He was an All-Star twice, and batted just above .250 for his entire career. He played in 4 World Series, including 1965, where he launched 2 bombs for the Dodgers over the Twins. He was never a household name or baseball legend, but 90% of the league can say the same thing.

I remember getting several of his baseball cards in the wax packs of TOPPS bubble gum back in the 70′s. For some reason, I always seemed top open up a pack, hoping for a Bert Blyleven, Harmon Killerbrew or Rod Carew, and ending up getting a Ralph Garr, Ron Fairly or Ken McMullen. “Commons” is what we would call these cards, and they were of little value to us, the kids on the streets in Watertown, SD.

I find Fairly’s quote entertaining, because in a way it too, sums up my entire career wrapped into a life of ups and downs. I am not a star, corporate executive or upper class. I am a plain old WASP (White Angle Saxon Male) from the midwest, with a college education, a wife, 2 kids and a Ford-150. I vote my conscience, don’t like conflicts, pay my taxes and go to church. I am not a boat rocker. I learned along time ago that the higher up the ladder you climb, the more of your ass is exposed to those looking up at it.

That being said, I can’t help that the ills of history all seem to be blamed on people just like me; the commons, the grunts of society, the Norms.

Am I just faking my bluff?

One of my favorite things about opening week for Twins baseball is Bert Blyleven’s unabated self-promotion of his birthday on April 6^th each year.

Call me a sucker for personality, but I find Bert to be very entertaining, and I am glad he is Twins baseball’s color commentator.  I don’t laugh at loud at his jokes (all the time), or slap my knees and drop to the ground in giddiness, but I do like his presence in the booth.

This last Tuesday, as the Twins were winning 5-3 against the Angels, Bert was at it again. This year the TV broadcast from the big A was a virtual tribute to Bert with gifts, cake, and a Tsunami of birthday wishes.

It got me thinking, just what exactly is the Twins record on this unofficial Twins Territory National Holiday? How many games have the Twins played on April 6- the very obvious day of Bert Blylevn’s birth?

I “tweeted” a post on Twitter, and added a wall comment on the Twinnin Facebook fan page to see if anyone had  the answers.  The response was null, so I did the research, and found the following stats:

Bert’s Birthday Baseball Facts:

• The Twins have a record of 13-13 all-time on Bert’s Birthday.
• The Regular Season opener for the Twins has occurred 8 times on Bert’s Birthday . (’71, ’73, ’79, ’82, ’92, ’93, ’99, ‘09)
• There was no game on Bert’s Birthday for the Twins World Championship Years (87 & 91)
• Bert pitched 5 times on his birthday (1973- Twins, 1979-Pirates, 1983 &1984- Indians and 1989- Angels) posting 2-1 record,
• In 1973, Bert pitched a complete game on his birthday, a 2-1 win on Opening Day over the Oakland Athletics. He gave up 10 hits, 2 earned runs, allowed 2 bases on balls, and struck out 7 batters. The losing pitcher was Hall of Famer  Jim “Catfish” Hunter
• In 1979, Bert pitched on his birthday for the eventual World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day vs. the Montreal Expos.  He took a no decision for seven innings of work, allowing just 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.  Gary Carter, another eventual Hall of Famer, hit a solo homer off Bert in the 5^th inning.
• In 1983, Bert took a loss on his birthday, starting for the Cleveland Indians at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Bert lasted only 4.1 innings, giving up 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 5 walks and striking out 4.
• Bert won his second game on his birthday in 1984, a 2-0 shutout at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. Pitching for Cleveland, he lasted 7 innings, allowed just 4 hits, no runs, 2 walks and struck out 8.
• Pitching for the Angels in 1989 at Anaheim stadium, Bert lasted 5 innings, allowing 2 earned runs, on 6 hits with 2 walks in a no decision vs. The White Sox on his special day. He gave up homers to Hall of Fame Catcher Carlton Fisk, and Ivan Calderon
• Brad Radke is the unofficial All-Time MVP of Twins who have pitched on Bert’s Birthday, going 2-2 in 4 starts.

Twins Games on Bert’s Birthday:

1971: vs Milwaukee Brewers 2-7    L      0-1* (Loss: Jim Perry)

1973: at Oakland Athletics 8-3  W     1-1* (Win: Bert Blyleven)

1974: at Kansas City Royals     6-23  L     1-2   (Loss: Bill Hands)

1978: at Seattle Mariners          5-4    W   2-2   (Win: Roger Erickson)

1979: at Oakland Athletics        5-3   W   3-2* (Win: Dave Goltz)

1982: vs. Seattle Mariners          7-11  L    3-3* (Loss: Pete Redfern)

1983: vs. Detroit Tigers              5-9    L     3-4   (Loss: Rick Lysander)

1984: vs. Baltimore Orioles       9-4    W    4-4   (Win: Mike Smithson)

1988: at New York Yankees      3-5     L     4-5   (Loss: Juan Berenguer)

1989: vs New York Yankees      7-1      W   5-5   (Win: Shane Rawley)

1992: at Milwaukke Brewers     4-2      W   6-5* (Win Carl Willis)

1993: vs Chicago White Sox       5-10   L    6-6* (Loss: Kevin Tapani)

1994: vs. California Angels        1-4      L    6-7   (Loss: Jim Deshaies)

1996: vs. Baltimore Orioles        8-3     W  7-7   (Win: Brad Radke)

1997: vs. Kansas City Royals     2-12    L    7-8   (Loss: Brad Radke)

1999: vs Toronto Blue Jays         6-1       W   8-8* (Win: Brad Radke)

2000: vs Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-7      L    8-9   (Loss: Hector Carrasco)

2001: at Kansas City Royals        6-2      W   9-9   (Win: Joe Mays)

2002: at Toronto Blue Jays          7-5      W   10-9 (Win: LaTroy Hawkins)

2003: vs. Toronto Blue Jays        1-8       L   10-10 (Loss: Brad Radke)

2004: vs. Cleveland Indians        7-6       W   11-10 (Win: Joe Roa)

2005: at Seattle Mariners            4-1         W   12-10 (Win: Carlos Silva)

2006: at Toronto Blue Jays         3-6         L    12-11 (Loss: Carlos Silva)

2008: vs. Kansas City Royals     1-3         L   12-12 (Loss: Boof Bonser)

2009: vs Seattle Mariners            1-6         L   12-13*(Loss: Francisco Liriano)

2010: at Los Angles Angels         5-3        W  13-13 (Win: Nick Blackburn)

Close but no Cigar… YET

Bert Blyleven, who had 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts and 60 shutouts, missed this year’s MLB Hall of Fame by 5 votes. . He had 400 votes (74.2 percent), up from 338 last year, and gets two more tries on the BBWAA ballot. The highest percentage for a player who didn’t enter the Hall in a later year was 63.4 by Gil Hodges in 1983, his final time on the ballot.

Next year’s vote also will include newcomers Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, Larry Walker, Jeff Bagwell, John Franco and Kevin Brown.

C’mon voters, get it together and vote for Bert. He deserves Cooperstown!!!