Bert Blyleven

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1970-1992)

⭐ Hall of Fame 2011
W–L 287–250
ERA 3.31
WHIP 1.20
SO 3,701
Pitcher PIV 74909.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 200 lb
Born
4/6/1951 in Zeist, Utrecht, Netherlands
MLB Debut
1970-06-05
Last Game
1992-10-04
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2011 (BBWAA)
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Rik Aalbert Blyleven

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
287 250 692 685 242 60 0 4970.0 4,632 1,830 430 1,322 3,701 3.31 74909.7

Career ERA 3.31 vs. league average 3.79 across their career seasons — 12.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1970 MIN AL 10 9 27 25 5 1 0 164.0 143 58 47 135 3.18 3.89 (+18%) 2754.5
1971 MIN AL 16 15 38 38 17 5 0 278.3 267 87 59 224 2.81 3.47 (+19%) 7036.8
1972 MIN AL 17 17 39 38 11 3 0 287.3 247 87 69 228 2.73 3.26 (+17%) 4806.8
1973 MIN AL 20 17 40 40 25 9 0 325.0 296 91 67 258 2.52 3.75 (+33%) 12365.4
1974 MIN AL 17 17 37 37 19 3 0 281.0 244 83 77 249 2.66 3.63 (+27%) 9329.9
1975 MIN AL 15 10 35 35 20 3 0 275.7 219 92 84 233 3.00 3.71 (+19%) 5276.7
1976 MIN AL 4 5 12 12 4 0 0 95.3 101 33 35 75 3.12 3.51 (+11%) 1989.4
1976 TEX AL 9 11 24 24 14 6 0 202.3 182 62 46 144 2.76 3.51 (+22%) 4202.3
1977 TEX AL 14 12 30 30 15 5 0 234.7 181 71 69 182 2.72 4.00 (+32%) 4502.1
1978 PIT NL 14 10 34 34 11 4 0 243.7 217 82 66 182 3.03 3.69 (+18%) 5133.9
1979 PIT NL 12 5 37 37 4 0 0 237.3 238 95 92 172 3.60 4.00 (+10%) 2055.2
1980 PIT NL 8 13 34 32 5 2 0 216.7 219 92 59 168 3.82 3.84 (+1%) 3526.7
1981 CLE AL 11 7 20 20 9 1 0 159.3 145 51 40 107 2.88 3.58 (+20%) 3063.9
1982 CLE AL 2 2 4 4 0 0 0 20.3 16 11 11 19 4.87 3.86 (-26%) 58.0
1983 CLE AL 7 10 24 24 5 0 0 156.3 160 68 44 123 3.91 3.87 (-1%) 3991.3
1984 CLE AL 19 7 33 32 12 4 0 245.0 204 78 74 170 2.87 3.81 (+25%) 2848.8
1985 CLE AL 9 11 23 23 15 4 0 179.7 163 65 49 129 3.26 3.89 (+16%) 3246.8
1985 MIN AL 8 5 14 14 9 1 0 114.0 101 38 26 77 3.00 3.89 (+23%) 2324.3
1986 MIN AL 17 14 36 36 16 3 0 271.7 262 121 58 215 4.01 3.97 (-1%) -2439.9
1987 MIN AL 15 12 37 37 8 1 0 267.0 249 119 101 196 4.01 4.29 (+7%) -3905.0
1988 MIN AL 10 17 33 33 7 0 0 207.3 240 125 51 145 5.43 3.73 (-45%) 417.1
1989 CAL AL 17 5 33 33 8 5 0 241.0 225 73 44 131 2.73 3.71 (+27%) 3997.4
1990 CAL AL 8 7 23 23 2 0 0 134.0 163 78 25 69 5.24 3.86 (-36%) -297.5
1992 CAL AL 8 12 25 24 1 0 0 133.0 150 70 29 70 4.74 3.75 (-26%) -1375.3
Career · 24 seasons 287 250 692 685 242 60 0 4,970.0 4,632 1,830 1,322 3,701 3.31 — 74,910

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
699 451 19 59 7 0 0 25 0 5 193 .131 .144 .146 .290 -4,055

Career AVG .131 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 49.2% below league average.

Career OBP .144 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 55.5% below league average.

Career SLG .146 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — 61.7% below league average.

Career OPS .290 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — 58.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1970 MIN AL 27 50 2 7 0 0 0 1 0 1 25 .140 .253 (-45%) .325 (-52%) .385 (-64%) .711 (-58%) -455.6
1971 MIN AL 38 91 3 12 1 0 0 2 0 1 37 .132 .249 (-47%) .316 (-52%) .365 (-61%) .682 (-57%) -784.1
1972 MIN AL 39 94 9 15 2 0 0 6 0 2 36 .160 .243 (-35%) .310 (-43%) .353 (-49%) .664 (-46%) -646.5
1973 MIN AL 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 MIN AL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 MIN AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 MIN AL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 TEX AL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 TEX AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 PIT NL 37 85 4 11 2 0 0 11 0 1 35 .129 .257 (-50%) .323 (-57%) .378 (-60%) .702 (-58%) -772.6
1979 PIT NL 38 70 1 9 1 0 0 3 0 0 33 .129 .265 (-52%) .329 (-61%) .397 (-64%) .727 (-63%) -700.2
1980 PIT NL 37 61 0 5 1 0 0 2 0 0 27 .082 .264 (-69%) .326 (-70%) .387 (-75%) .714 (-73%) -696.3
1981 CLE AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CLE AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 CLE AL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CLE AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 CLE AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 MIN AL 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 MIN AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 MIN AL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 MIN AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 CAL AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 CAL AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 CAL AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 24 seasons 699 451 19 59 7 0 0 25 0 5 193 .131 — — — — -4,055

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1987 ALCS MIN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1987 WS MIN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1979 NLCS PIT 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
1979 WS PIT 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1970 ALCS MIN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
5 1 8 6 0 47.3 43 13 8 36 2.47

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1987 ALCS MIN 2 0 2 2 0 13.3 12 6 3 9 4.05
1987 WS MIN 1 1 2 2 0 13.0 13 4 2 12 2.77
1979 NLCS PIT 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 8 1 0 9 1.00
1979 WS PIT 1 0 2 1 0 10.0 8 2 3 4 1.80
1970 ALCS MIN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 2 0 0 2 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1391 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3592161229017.134
Away34023573008.128

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home3542595.0243294866919593.29
Away3382375.0220088265317423.34

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1992-10-04 LAATEX L 4.21266031
1992-09-29 LAAKCR L 9.0722121
1992-09-24 LAAMIL L 5.11044020
1992-09-18 LAAMIN L 6.0633130
1992-09-12 LAAMIN L 6.0753041
1992-09-06 LAABAL W 6.0422141
1992-08-31 LAACLE L 7.0742320
1992-08-25 LAABAL L 5.0844122
1992-08-20 LAABOS W 6.1300120
1992-08-14 LAAOAK W 6.0611031

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 692 685 287 662 30 48

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1970 MIN P 27 25 5 16 1 1
1971 MIN P 38 38 19 38 2 0
1972 MIN P 39 38 18 45 3 4
1973 MIN P 40 40 21 34 1 0
1974 MIN P 37 37 19 34 3 2
1975 MIN P 35 35 16 48 6 5
1976 MIN P 12 12 5 13 0 1
1976 TEX P 24 24 17 31 0 3
1977 TEX P 30 30 10 35 1 4
1978 PIT P 34 34 11 41 1 4
1979 PIT P 37 37 14 20 0 0
1980 PIT P 34 32 10 30 2 2
1981 CLE P 20 20 9 16 1 2
1982 CLE P 4 4 2 2 0 0
1983 CLE P 24 24 7 26 1 3
1984 CLE P 33 32 21 30 2 2
1985 CLE P 23 23 11 19 0 0
1985 MIN P 14 14 6 13 0 2
1986 MIN P 36 36 15 31 0 0
1987 MIN P 37 37 17 43 4 3
1988 MIN P 33 33 12 22 1 3
1989 CAL P 33 33 14 38 0 6
1990 CAL P 23 23 3 24 1 0
1992 CAL P 25 24 5 13 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 692

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-04-14
1989 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-08-16
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-06-25
1970 TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1992 CAL AL $900,000
1991 CAL AL $2,000,000
1990 CAL AL $1,175,000
1989 CAL AL $1,225,000
1988 MIN AL $1,000,000
1987 MIN AL $1,150,000
1986 MIN AL $1,450,000
1985 CLE AL $650,000
Total Career Earnings $9,550,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1989 Cy Young Award AL 4th 9.0 140 0
1989 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 32.0 392 0
1985 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 9.0 140 1
1984 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 45.0 140 4
1973 Cy Young Award AL 7th 1.0 120 0
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 4.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bert Blyleven (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Don Sutton HOF
    324-256, 3.26 ERA
  2. 93
    Gaylord Perry HOF
    314-265, 3.11 ERA
  3. 90
    Tom Seaver HOF
    311-205, 2.86 ERA
  4. 85
    Fergie Jenkins HOF
    284-226, 3.34 ERA
  5. 80
    Greg Maddux HOF
    355-227, 3.16 ERA
  6. 78
    Steve Carlton HOF
    329-244, 3.22 ERA

Compare Bert Blyleven

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Blyleven's closest peers by position and era.

vs Roger Clemens
vs Greg Maddux
vs Randy Johnson
vs Pedro Martinez
vs Nolan Ryan
vs John Smoltz

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Bert Blyleven in Another Era

What would Blyleven's 1973 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Bert Blyleven's peak season across eras →

Frequently Asked Questions about Bert Blyleven

What years did Bert Blyleven play?
Bert Blyleven played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1992.
Was Bert Blyleven a pitcher?
Yes. Bert Blyleven pitched in the major leagues, recording 287 wins and 3701 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bert Blyleven hit?
Bert Blyleven hit 0 career home runs with 59 hits.
Is Bert Blyleven in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Bert Blyleven was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.