Baseball BeatAugust 11, 2004
"If Cooperstown is Calling, It's No Fluke..."
By Rich Lederer

Courtesy of Seth Stohs, I recently learned Only The Lonely: The Hall of Fame Trials and Tribulations of Bert Blyleven article I wrote in December has been posted on none other than Bert Blyleven's Official Website.

Blyleven's home page includes a welcome letter and hyperlinks to Autographs, Columns, Biography, Career Statistics, and Hall of Fame. Visitors who click on the Hall of Fame link are directed to a page entitled "Hall of Famer? -- You Decide..."

There are many baseball fans that feel I deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I have been on the ballot now for seven years and on the last ballot I received almost 35% of the baseball writer's votes. My site will give you the opportunity to see where I rank on the All-Time lists in pitching categories and see why I should or should not be elected.

There are six articles referring to Bert being inducted into the Hall of Fame--three by Rob Neyer, one by Michael Wolverton, one by Joe Saraceno, and another by yours truly. My article was originally published on the baseballbeat.blogspot.com site although it is also located in the archives of my new address at all-baseball.com.

  • By any measure, Blyleven should be in, by Michael Wolverton, published at ESPN.com
  • Letters on the Hall, by Rob Neyer, published at ESPN.com
  • December Archives, by Rob Neyer, published at ESPN.com
  • Five for the Hall of Fame, by Rob Neyer, published at ESPN.com
  • The Hall of Fame Trials and Tribulations of Bert Blyleven, by Richard Lederer, published at baseballbeat.blogspot.com
  • Blyleven's pitch for Hall is legit, by Jon Saraceno, published at USAtoday.com

    Bert also presents eight tables showing how his numbers stack up against other Hall of Famers. These lists are eerily similar to the ones I created for my article. He also shows his other accomplishments below these tables, such as his no-hitter and five one-hitters, Rookie Pitcher of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year awards, two World Series championships and a postseason record of 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, and the number of top ten rankings in various statistical categories.

    There is no doubt that Blyleven has the credentials to gain admission to Cooperstown. The only thing missing at this point are the required number of votes. We'll see if we can rectify that situation come this winter.

  • Comments

    Hey, the next Baseball Abstract is the first one I bought! I'm waiting with baited breath for your summary. Thanks. :)