”31 in 31″ – The 1970’s – Card #16
Vida Blue – 1970 Topps – #21
Not only did Vida Blue win the Cy Young in his first full-time season as a starter, he also was the league’s MVP. Beat that!!! Blue had a monster year in 1971 for the Oakland A’s. He went 24-8 with 24 complete games and 8 shutouts. Add that impressive record to his 1.82 ERA with 301 strikeout and you have one of the most impressive seasons by a pitcher during the decade of the 1970’s.
Vida Blue finished his career with a 209-161 record and 1,185 strikeouts. He finished in the Top 7 for the Cy Young award 5 times and was a 6-time All-star. Blue was part of the legendary Oakland A’s teams that won 3 consecutive World Series titles in 1972, 1973, and 1974. Blue pitched in 8 games in the Fall Classic and went 3-0, a perfect record on baseball’s biggest stage!!
1 response so far ↓
tastelikedirt // January 18, 2009 at 7:01 am |
I have to find the stat in a book somewhere, but in 1971 something like 25% of all major league attendence was at game that Vida Blue started in. I have to find the exact % but it was Crazy! Also the A’s didn’t have very good attendance back then. He was filling stadiums on the road.