What years did Vida Blue play?

Vida Blue played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1986.

Was Vida Blue a pitcher?

Yes. Vida Blue pitched in the major leagues, recording 209 wins and 2175 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Vida Blue hit?

Vida Blue hit 4 career home runs with 53 hits.

What teams did Vida Blue play for?

Vida Blue played for 3 teams: the Oakland Athletics (1969–1977), the San Francisco Giants (1978–1981, 1985–1986), and the Kansas City Royals (1982–1983).

How many MVP awards did Vida Blue win?

Vida Blue won 1 MVP award, in 1971.

How many Cy Young Awards did Vida Blue win?

Vida Blue won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1971.

What awards did Vida Blue win?

Vida Blue won the MVP award (1971) and the Cy Young Award (1971). He was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

What were Vida Blue's career stats?

In 502 games, Vida Blue went 209-161 with a 3.27 ERA, 2,175 strikeouts, 3,343.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 53 hits and 4 home runs.

What was Vida Blue's salary?

Vida Blue's last recorded salary was $450,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $450,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $250,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.

What position did Vida Blue play?

Vida Blue played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Vida Blue and how much did he weigh?

Vida Blue was listed at 6 feet and 189 pounds.

What was Vida Blue's career ERA?

Vida Blue finished with a 3.27 career ERA, going 209-161 with 2,175 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Vida Blue have?

Vida Blue recorded 2,175 career strikeouts.

Vida Blue

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1969-1986)

Vida Blue was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1986 for the Athletics, the San Francisco Giants, and the Kansas City Royals, a span of 18 seasons. Across 502 career appearances, he went 209-161 with a 3.27 ERA and 2,175 strikeouts. He also batted .104 with 4 home runs. Vida Blue was a 6-time All-Star, an MVP, and a Cy Young. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 26790.0.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 209–161

ERA 3.27

WHIP 1.23

SO 2,175

Pitcher PIV 26790.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: B / L
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 189 lb
Born: 7/28/1949 in Mansfield, LA, USA
Died: 5/6/2023 in Tracy, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1969-07-20
Last Game: 1986-10-02
Awards: 6× All-Star · MVP · Cy Young

Full name: Vida Rochelle Blue

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Career Pitching Statistics

Vida Blue — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
209	161	502	473	143	37	2	3343.1	2,939	1,213	263	1,185	2,175	3.27	26790.0

Career ERA 3.27 vs. league average 3.75 across their career seasons — 12.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vida Blue Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1969	OAK	AL	1	1	12	4	0	0	1	42.0	49	31	18	24	6.64	3.61 (-84%)	-3215.5
1970	OAK	AL	2	0	6	6	2	2	0	38.2	20	9	12	35	2.09	3.89 (+46%)	1996.6
1971	OAK	AL	24	8	39	39	24	8	0	312.0	209	63	88	301	1.82	3.47 (+48%)	10548.4
1972	OAK	AL	6	10	25	23	5	4	0	151.0	117	47	48	111	2.80	3.26 (+14%)	1614.0
1973	OAK	AL	20	9	37	37	13	4	0	263.2	214	96	105	158	3.28	3.75 (+13%)	-944.5
1974	OAK	AL	17	15	40	40	12	1	0	282.1	246	102	98	174	3.25	3.63 (+10%)	3338.2
1975	OAK	AL	22	11	39	38	13	2	1	278.0	243	93	99	189	3.01	3.71 (+19%)	2784.7
1976	OAK	AL	18	13	37	37	20	6	0	298.1	268	78	63	166	2.35	3.51 (+33%)	7589.1
1977	OAK	AL	14	19	38	38	16	1	0	279.2	284	119	86	157	3.83	4.00 (+4%)	2816.0
1978	SFN	NL	18	10	35	35	9	4	0	258.0	233	80	70	171	2.79	3.69 (+24%)	6854.2
1979	SFN	NL	14	14	34	34	10	0	0	237.0	246	132	111	138	5.01	4.00 (-25%)	-1451.1
1980	SFN	NL	14	10	31	31	10	3	0	224.0	202	74	61	129	2.97	3.84 (+23%)	3583.8
1981	SFN	NL	8	6	18	18	1	0	0	124.2	97	34	54	63	2.45	3.58 (+32%)	-185.5
1982	KCA	AL	13	12	31	31	6	2	0	181.0	163	76	80	103	3.78	3.86 (+2%)	-2162.8
1983	KCA	AL	0	5	19	14	1	0	0	85.1	96	57	35	53	6.01	3.87 (-55%)	-1641.4
1985	SFN	NL	8	8	33	20	1	0	0	131.0	115	65	80	103	4.47	3.89 (-15%)	-2490.0
1986	SFN	NL	10	10	28	28	0	0	0	156.2	137	57	77	100	3.27	3.97 (+18%)	-2244.2
Career · 17 seasons			209	161	502	473	143	37	2	3,343.1	2,939	1,213	1,185	2,175	3.27	—	26,790

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Vida Blue — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
508	512	37	53	9	0	4	15	0	49	271	.104	.186	.145	.330	-3,374

Career AVG .104 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 59.7% below league average.

Career OBP .186 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 42.6% below league average.

Career SLG .145 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 62.0% below league average.

Career OPS .330 vs. league average .704 across their career seasons — 53.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vida Blue Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1969	OAK	AL	12	10	1	0	0	0	0	2	4	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	OAK	AL	6	15	1	3	1	1	3	1	7	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	OAK	AL	39	102	6	12	1	0	2	4	63	.118	.249 (-53%)	.316 (-47%)	.365 (-65%)	.682 (-57%)	-870.6
1972	OAK	AL	27	45	4	2	0	0	0	5	34	.044	—	—	—	—	-474.7
1973	OAK	AL	38	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	OAK	AL	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	OAK	AL	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	OAK	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	OAK	AL	38	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	SFN	NL	35	79	8	6	1	1	2	16	51	.076	.257 (-71%)	.323 (-26%)	.378 (-67%)	.702 (-48%)	-551.5
1979	SFN	NL	37	83	7	10	1	1	3	6	35	.120	.265 (-55%)	.329 (-45%)	.397 (-58%)	.727 (-52%)	-691.6
1980	SFN	NL	31	68	3	5	1	0	1	3	34	.074	.264 (-72%)	.326 (-66%)	.387 (-77%)	.714 (-72%)	-785.3
1981	SFN	NL	18	35	4	7	2	0	1	3	10	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	KCA	AL	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	KCA	AL	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	SFN	NL	33	30	0	4	1	0	0	3	12	.133	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	SFN	NL	28	43	3	4	1	1	3	6	20	.093	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 17 seasons			508	512	37	53	9	4	15	49	271	.104	—	—	—	—	-3,374

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Vida Blue — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
17	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	12	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Vida Blue — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	BB	SO	AVG
1975	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	0	.000
1974	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	0	.000
1974	WS	OAK	2	4	0	4	.000
1973	ALCS	OAK	2	0	0	0	.000
1973	WS	OAK	2	4	0	4	.000
1972	ALCS	OAK	4	1	0	0	.000
1972	WS	OAK	4	1	2	1	.000
1971	ALCS	OAK	1	3	0	3	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Vida Blue — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	5	17	10	2	64.2	55	31	23	47	4.31

Playoff Pitching by Year

Vida Blue — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1975	ALCS	OAK	0	0	1	1	0	3.0	6	3	0	2	9.00
1974	ALCS	OAK	1	0	1	1	0	9.0	2	0	0	7	0.00
1974	WS	OAK	0	1	2	2	0	13.2	10	5	7	9	3.29
1973	ALCS	OAK	0	1	2	2	0	7.0	8	8	5	3	10.29
1973	WS	OAK	0	1	2	2	0	11.0	10	6	3	8	4.91
1972	ALCS	OAK	0	0	4	0	1	5.1	4	0	1	5	0.00
1972	WS	OAK	0	1	4	1	1	8.2	8	4	5	5	4.15
1971	ALCS	OAK	0	1	1	1	0	7.0	7	5	2	8	6.43

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1010 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Vida Blue — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	266	268	14	24	1	7	.090
Away	242	244	23	29	3	8	.119

Pitching — Home / Away

Vida Blue — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	262	1825.2	1486	554	625	1209	2.73
Away	240	1517.2	1453	659	560	966	3.91

Last 10 Games — Batting

Vida Blue — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO
1986-10-02	SFG	HOU	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1986-09-27	SFG	LAD	W	2	0	0	0	0	1
1986-09-22	SFG	CIN	W	2	0	0	0	0	2
1986-09-17	SFG	SDP	L	2	1	1	1	0	1
1986-09-10	SFG	CIN	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1986-09-05	SFG	WSN	W	1	0	0	0	1	0
1986-08-31	SFG	PHI	L	2	0	0	0	1	2
1986-08-26	SFG	WSN	W	2	1	0	0	0	0
1986-08-22	SFG	NYN	L	2	0	0	0	0	1
1986-08-17	SFG	LAD	L	2	0	0	0	0	2

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Vida Blue — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1986-10-02	SFG	HOU	—	5.0	2	0	0	4	3	0
1986-09-27	SFG	LAD	W	5.0	5	2	2	2	3	1
1986-09-22	SFG	CIN	—	4.0	6	3	2	2	3	1
1986-09-17	SFG	SDP	—	5.1	4	2	2	1	2	1
1986-09-10	SFG	CIN	L	3.2	6	5	5	3	1	2
1986-09-05	SFG	WSN	—	5.0	7	2	2	5	2	0
1986-08-31	SFG	PHI	L	7.0	6	4	4	4	10	2
1986-08-26	SFG	WSN	—	9.0	1	0	0	3	6	0
1986-08-22	SFG	NYN	L	4.2	8	4	4	4	2	1
1986-08-17	SFG	LAD	L	7.2	11	2	1	1	2	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Vida Blue — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	502	473	127	427	19	21

Season-by-Season Fielding

Vida Blue — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1969	OAK	P	12	4	1	4	0	0
1970	OAK	P	6	6	1	7	0	0
1971	OAK	P	39	39	15	24	0	0
1972	OAK	P	25	23	4	17	2	0
1973	OAK	P	37	37	9	30	0	0
1974	OAK	P	40	40	10	16	3	0
1975	OAK	P	39	38	4	34	1	1
1976	OAK	P	37	37	3	34	1	2
1977	OAK	P	38	38	6	42	3	2
1978	SFN	P	35	35	12	29	0	4
1979	SFN	P	34	34	10	42	1	5
1980	SFN	P	31	31	14	42	1	4
1981	SFN	P	18	18	11	29	1	1
1982	KCA	P	31	31	14	22	2	0
1983	KCA	P	19	14	3	10	0	1
1985	SFN	P	33	20	7	21	2	1
1986	SFN	P	28	28	3	24	2	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Vida Blue Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	502

Awards & Honors

Vida Blue — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1978	Pitcher of the Month	June
1978	TSN All-Star	LHP
1978	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1976	Player of the Week	Week of 1976-08-27
1971	Cy Young Award
1971	Most Valuable Player
1971	TSN All-Star	LHP
1971	TSN Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Vida Blue's recorded salaries total $700,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Blue's career ran from 1969 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Vida Blue — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1986	SFN	NL	$450,000
1985	SFN	NL	$250,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$700,000

Award Voting History

Vida Blue — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1978	Cy Young Award	NL	3rd	17.0	120	1
1978	Most Valuable Player	NL	12th	33.0	336	0
1976	Cy Young Award	AL	6th	8.0	120	0
1976	Most Valuable Player	AL	20th	10.0	336	0
1975	Cy Young Award	AL	6th	2.0	120	0
1973	Cy Young Award	AL	7th	1.0	120	0
1973	Most Valuable Player	AL	29th	3.0	336	0
1971	Cy Young Award	AL	1st	98.0	120	14
1971	Most Valuable Player	AL	1st	268.0	336	14

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Vida Blue (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Vida Blue

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Vida Blue: the record in brief

July 20, 1969 and October 2, 1986 bracket Vida Blue's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Oakland Athletics (1969 through 1977), the San Francisco Giants (1978 to 1986), and the Kansas City Royals (1982 through 1983). Blue, a pitcher by primary position, switch-hit and threw left-handed. Blue is listed at 6 feet, 0 inches and 189 pounds. The birth record reads July 28, 1949, in Mansfield, LA, USA. Blue's death is recorded on May 6, 2023, in Tracy, CA, USA. The given name on file is Vida Rochelle Blue.

The pitching table credits Blue with a 209-161 record and a 3.27 ERA in 502 games. The same table counts 2,175 strikeouts, 143 complete games, and 37 shutouts. That 3.27 ERA compares with a 3.75 league average across the same seasons, 12.9% better. No season topped the 24 wins of 1971. 1971 was Blue's sharpest full season, a 1.82 ERA against the league's 3.47.

Frequently Asked Questions about Vida Blue

What years did Vida Blue play?: Vida Blue played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1986.
Was Vida Blue a pitcher?: Yes. Vida Blue pitched in the major leagues, recording 209 wins and 2175 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Vida Blue hit?: Vida Blue hit 4 career home runs with 53 hits.
What teams did Vida Blue play for?: Vida Blue played for 3 teams: the Oakland Athletics (1969–1977), the San Francisco Giants (1978–1981, 1985–1986), and the Kansas City Royals (1982–1983).
How many MVP awards did Vida Blue win?: Vida Blue won 1 MVP award, in 1971.
How many Cy Young Awards did Vida Blue win?: Vida Blue won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1971.
What awards did Vida Blue win?: Vida Blue won the MVP award (1971) and the Cy Young Award (1971). He was selected to 6 All-Star Games.
What were Vida Blue's career stats?: In 502 games, Vida Blue went 209-161 with a 3.27 ERA, 2,175 strikeouts, 3,343.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 53 hits and 4 home runs.
How much did Vida Blue earn in his career?: Vida Blue's recorded salaries total $700,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Blue's career ran from 1969 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Vida Blue's salary?: Vida Blue's last recorded salary was $450,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $450,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $250,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
What position did Vida Blue play?: Vida Blue played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Vida Blue and how much did he weigh?: Vida Blue was listed at 6 feet and 189 pounds.
What was Vida Blue's career ERA?: Vida Blue finished with a 3.27 career ERA, going 209-161 with 2,175 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Vida Blue have?: Vida Blue recorded 2,175 career strikeouts.