Vida Blue, the most important member of the Oakland Athletics all the way through their World Series three-peat from 1972-74 and a 17-year main leaguer, gave up the ghost at the age of 73, as showed via the crew on Sunday. The reason for his dying was once no longer supplied. The A’s gave a commentary lamenting the lack of “one of the few players with a more decorated career than Vida Blue” who was once a “three-time champion, an MVP, a six-time All-Star, a Cy Young Award winner, and an Oakland A’s Hall of Famer.” The crew said that Vida will all the time be a “franchise legend and a friend,” extending their inner most condolences to his circle of relatives and pals all the way through this onerous time.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Blue was once drafted via the then-Kansas City Athletics in the second one spherical of the 1967 draft. The left-hander made his MLB debut as a 19-year-old in 1969, and the following 12 months, he threw a nine-strikeout no-hitter in opposition to the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 21. Ten days previous, Blue had thrown a one-hitter in opposition to the Kansas City Royals.
In 1971, Blue had one of the crucial largest pitching seasons in baseball historical past, going 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 312 innings. He made 39 begins and threw 24 entire video games that 12 months, incomes AL Cy Young and MVP honors. At age 22, Blue become the youngest participant to win the AL MVP award within the twentieth century.
However, a freelance dispute with A’s proprietor Charlie Finley restricted Blue to twenty-five video games in 1972, and he labored basically out of the bullpen all the way through the postseason. Blue took the loss in Game 6 of the World Series in opposition to the Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds, regardless that Oakland went directly to win the collection in seven video games. All instructed, Blue had a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings that October.
From 1971-76, Blue was once merely one of the crucial recreation’s best possible pitchers with the A’s, pitching to a 2.72 ERA and averaging simply over 264 innings in step with season. He was once at his greatest within the postseason- particularly recording a four-inning save within the decisive Game 5 of the 1972 ALCS in opposition to the Detroit Tigers and throwing a two-hit shutout in opposition to the Baltimore Orioles in Game 3 of the 1974 ALCS.
Despite his luck at the mound, Blue had a bitter courting with Finley. In 1976, he instructed newshounds, “I hope the next breath Charlie Finley takes is his last. I hope he falls flat on his face and dies of polio.” Not lengthy after, Finley tried to promote Blue’s contract to the New York Yankees and business him to the Reds. However, commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed each strikes.
It wasn’t till March 1978 that Finley effectively traded Blue, sending him to the San Francisco Giants in a seven-player change. Blue spent 1978-81 with the Giants and 1982-83 with the Royals sooner than scuffling with drug habit. He neglected the general two months of 1983 and all of 1984 sooner than coming round again with the Giants in 1985 and 1986.
Following the 1983 season, Blue and a number of former teammates pled in charge to making an attempt to buy cocaine, and he additionally testified within the Pittsburgh drug trials. Blue spent 4 years at the Hall of Fame poll (1992-95) and crowned out at 8.7% of the vote, neatly in need of the 75% wanted for induction. He believed that his drug issues contributed to him being stored out of the Hall of Fame, announcing after falling off the Hall of Fame poll in 1995, “I had some issues in my life that might have had a tendency to sway voting. There are some guys in the Hall of Fame who don’t have halos.”
All instructed, Blue completed his occupation with a 209-161 report and a three.27 ERA in over 3,300 innings from 1969-86. He was once a three-time 20-game winner and a five-time All-Star, completing within the most sensible seven of the Cy Young balloting 5 occasions and receiving MVP votes in 4 seasons. Blue gained 3 World Series championships with the A’s from 1972-74.
Blue completed some notable feats all the way through his occupation, changing into the primary pitcher ever to start out the All-Star Game for each leagues (1971 with A’s and 1978 with Giants). In a groovy little bit of trivialities, he’s the closing switch-hitter to win the AL MVP award. Pete Rose famously remarked that Blue threw as arduous as any pitcher he confronted, and Blue has lengthy been thought to be one of the crucial hardest-throwing lefties in historical past.
After retiring from the game, Blue settled in San Francisco and labored with quite a lot of charitable organizations that promoted baseball in interior towns, along with performing some tv paintings.