Vida Blue

At 74 years old, Vida Blue physical status not available right now. We will update Vida Blue's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Baseball career

Blue was a fast pitcher who batted the strike zone and pounded the strike zone. He toss off balance and a above-average change-up, but his signature pitch was a fastball that threw consistently at 94 mph (151 km/h). According to Quinn Roberts of MLB.com, Blue had "a blistering fastball that could dial up to 100 mph." Pete Rose, the Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers, claimed that Blue "threw as hard as anyone" he has ever encountered, and baseball historian Bill James named him as the second-hardest thrower of his time, behind only Nolan Ryan.

Blue was called up in 1970 after spending the season in the Midwest League singles A Burlington Bees (Iowa) and the Iowa Oaks of the American Association, giving a glimpse of what was to come. He shut down the Kansas City Royals 3–0, giving up only one hit to Pat Kelly in the eighth inning. At Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, the lone baserunner facing Harmon Killebrew's fourth-inning walk ten days later, the Blue no-hit the defense and eventual repeat American League West champion Minnesota Twins, 6–0.

In 1971, Blue had a 24-8 record, winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards. He was the first Athletic to win the latter award since Bobby Shantz, a fellow pitcher, in 1952 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He also led the American League in complete games (24), shutouts (8), and earned run average (1.82). The Athletics captured the American League West championship for the first time since the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1931 World Series. In a thrilling May matchup in Boston, he got off to a good start, going 10-1 alongside Boston's Sonny Siebert, who was 8-0. Siebert and the Red Sox 4–3, 3-3, won the game, and it remains one of the most exciting games in Fenway Park history. He was the first American League player to win the MVP Award in the 20th century. In the 1971 All-Star Game and in the 1978 All-Star Game, he was the starting pitcher for the American League and the National League in the National League. He became the first player to play in the league opener (against the Washington Senators), the All-Star Game, and the playoff opener (against the Baltimore Orioles) in the same season.

In 1971, he was on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazine. He began to play in baseball in 1972, and he played a small part in the film Black Gunn, starring Jim Brown.

Charlie Finley, the Athletics' owner, and Blue's Eddie Finley feud over his compensation during Blue's breakout season in 1971. Blue survived, missing a large portion of the year, and finished with a 6–10 record. He did not make the Athletics' post-season starting rotation, but he was mostly in relief. In the 1972 World Series, he made four appearances, including a save in Game 1, a blown save in Game 4, and a loss in a spot-start in Game 6.

As an integral participant of the Oakland Athletics' five consecutive World Championship pennants from 1971 to 1975, and 1974, the Blues returned to form to win 20 games in 1973, 17 games in 1974, and 22 games in 1975. In Game 5 of the 1972 American League Championship Series, perhaps his finest postseason appearances were four innings of shutout relief against the Detroit Tigers to save Game 5 of the 1972 American League Championship Series and a complete shutout of the Orioles.

The California Angels defeated the California Angels 5–0 on September 28, 1975. Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad, and Rollie Fingers joined together to no-hit the California Angels. That no-hitter is one of only four players to be pitched on the final day of a regular season, including Mike Witt's superb game in 1984, Henderson lvarez's no-hitter in 2013, and Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter on September 28, 2014. John Odom and Francisco Barrios, the Chicago White Sox's John Odom and Francisco Barrios; Mark Langston, Mark Wohlers of the Atlanta Braves; and Kevin Millwood and Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies were among the first no-hitters to pitch in a no-hitter.

Blue's parent Charlie Finley had a turbulent relationship with the Athletics owner. "I hope the next breath Charlie Finley takes is his last," he told reporters after the 1976 season. I hope he has slipped flat on his face and dies from polio." Bowie Kuhn vetoed Finley's plan to sell Blue's contract to the New York Yankees in June of 1976, and the Reds did the same thing on January 30, 1977, denying Blue to Cincinnati for Dave Revering and $1.75 million. Kuhn said in both cases that the trades would be detrimental to baseball because they will help already strong clubs without having them fork out much money in return. Nearly the entire A's roster of stars from Oakland's championship teams left with baseball's new free agency, or were traded off by Finley, transferring Blue, who was still under contract with Oakland, to coach a new group of mostly rookies and other young players. Alvin Dark, who ruled Blue in 1974 and 1975, was shocked that Blue had stayed with the team, adding that he "must have made the labor compromises he wanted." On March 15, 1978, Blue was sold to the San Francisco Giants for Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, Alan Wirth, and $300,000, which Kuhn did not veto. Mario Guerrero was sent by the Athletics just over three weeks later to complete the transaction.

In 1978, Blue led the Giants to 89 victories and a third-place finish in the National League West Division, which was won by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was rewarded for his good year by winning the Sporting News National League Pitcher of the Year award. He and Chili Davis were the last players before Ichiro Suzuki to wear their given name on the back of their uniforms instead of their surname, and both players were able to do so with the Giants.

Blue suffered with heroin use throughout his life. Willie Wilson, Jerry Martin, and Willie Aikens, allies of the 1983-19 season, have pleaded guilty to attempting to buy cocaine. In 1985, Blue appeared in the Pittsburgh drug trials. As he faced multiple DUI charges in 2005, Blue's drug use continued to haunt him throughout his playing career. He confessed that the trials may have caused him to be barred from the Hall of Fame ballot after one year, saying, "I had some illnesses in my life that might have influenced my decision to sway voting." There are some guys in the Hall of Fame who don't have halos."

Post pitching career

Since playing baseball, Blue made a name and career for himself in the San Francisco Bay area by pledging his time to many charitable causes, mainly supporting baseball in the inner city. Blue lives in San Francisco and is heavily involved in the promotion of baseball.

He is currently a baseball analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco Giants' TV home.

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