MLB Hall of Fame: It's about time for Bert Blyleven

December 22, 1:19 PMMLB ExaminerTony DeMarco

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Now that Goose Gossage finally is in, this is the one candidacy that is hard to comprehend.

How Bert Blyleven has lasted 12 years on the ballot is beyond me.

Let's get to the numbers, and the company Blyleven keeps among the all-time leaders:

He's fifth all-time in strikeouts with 3,701. Only Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Steve Carlton have struck out more, and every Hall of Fame pitcher except two (Ryan and Carlton) struck out fewer hitters.

Blyleven is ninth all-time in shutouts with 60. Among the rest of the top 20 in this category are 19 Hall of Famers. That's right, Blyleven is the only one among the top 20 who isn't in the Hall of Fame.

He is 11th all-time in starts with 685 -- seven of the top 10 are Hall of Famers, and No. 4 (Maddux) will be as soon as he is eligible, and No. 7 (Clemens) would be an automatic if not for other issues.

Blyleven is 14th all-time in innings with 4,969.1 -- the top 12 are Hall of Famers, and No. 13 is Maddux.

And Blyleven is 27th all-time in wins with 287. No, it's not 300, and that obviously has worked against Blyleven, but it's time to put that line of thinking to rest.

When Randy Johnson becomes the 25th member of the 300 club next season, he will be the last for a generation. Mike Mussina retired at 270, and the active pitchers in the 200s aren't going to make it -- Jamie Moyer (246), Kenny Rogers (219), Curt Schilling (216), Andy Pettitte (215), Pedro Martinez (214).

You want post-season success? Blyleven played on two world champions in 1987 and 1991, went 3-0-2.59 in LCS play and 3-1-2.35 in the World Series. And along the way, there were three AL shutouts titles, two innings pitched titles, and one strikeouts title.

And now, for the knocks -- a 287-250 (.535) career record, only one 20-win season, two All-Star appearances and only four top-seven finishes in Cy Young balloting, none higher than third. 

That's the case that has worked against Blyleven over the last 11 years, but keep this important number in mind -- the combined winning percentage of the teams he played on was only .499.

And here's another: In Blyleven's 11 3.00-ERA-or-below seasons -- that's right, 11 -- he had two .500 W/L records and one sub-.500 W/L record. That's called pitching in some tough luck.

But it's time for Blyleven's luck to change. He fell 72 votes short with 62 percent of the vote in 2008, so this would represent a tough climb in a year when Rickey Henderson is a lock, and Jim Rice has a very good chance of getting in. But Blyleven shouldn't have to wait much longer.

 BLYLEVEN'S CAREER STATISTICS                                            PHOTO CREDIT: From Bert Blyleven.com