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.

What teams did Bert Blyleven play for?

Bert Blyleven played for 5 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1970–1976, 1985–1988), the Texas Rangers (1976–1977), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978–1980), the Cleveland Indians (1981–1985), and the California Angels (1989–1990, 1992).

Did Bert Blyleven win a Cy Young Award?

No. Bert Blyleven did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Bert Blyleven win?

Bert Blyleven was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Bert Blyleven's career stats?

In 692 games, Bert Blyleven went 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA, 3,701 strikeouts, and 4,970.0 innings pitched. At the plate he had 59 hits and 0 home runs.

What was Bert Blyleven's salary?

Bert Blyleven's last recorded salary was $900,000, in 1992. His highest recorded salary was $2,000,000, in 1991, and his lowest was $650,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1992.

What position did Bert Blyleven play?

Bert Blyleven played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Bert Blyleven and how much did he weigh?

Bert Blyleven was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds.

What was Bert Blyleven's career ERA?

Bert Blyleven finished with a 3.31 career ERA, going 287-250 with 3,701 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Bert Blyleven have?

Bert Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts.

Bert Blyleven

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

Bert Blyleven was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1992 for 5 teams, including the Minnesota Twins, a span of 23 seasons. Across 692 career appearances, he went 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA and 3,701 strikeouts. He also batted .131 with 0 home runs. Bert Blyleven was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 and was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 74909.7.

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

⭐ 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

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bert Blyleven — 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.

Bert Blyleven Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1970	MIN	AL	10	9	27	25	5	1	164.0	143	58	47	135	3.18	3.89 (+18%)	2754.5
1971	MIN	AL	16	15	38	38	17	5	278.1	267	87	59	224	2.81	3.47 (+19%)	7036.8
1972	MIN	AL	17	17	39	38	11	3	287.1	247	87	69	228	2.73	3.26 (+17%)	4806.8
1973	MIN	AL	20	17	40	40	25	9	325.0	296	91	67	258	2.52	3.75 (+33%)	12365.4
1974	MIN	AL	17	17	37	37	19	3	281.0	244	83	77	249	2.66	3.63 (+27%)	9329.9
1975	MIN	AL	15	10	35	35	20	3	275.2	219	92	84	233	3.00	3.71 (+19%)	5276.7
1976	MIN	AL	4	5	12	12	4	0	95.1	101	33	35	75	3.12	3.51 (+11%)	1989.4
1976	TEX	AL	9	11	24	24	14	6	202.1	182	62	46	144	2.76	3.51 (+22%)	4202.3
1977	TEX	AL	14	12	30	30	15	5	234.2	181	71	69	182	2.72	4.00 (+32%)	4502.1
1978	PIT	NL	14	10	34	34	11	4	243.2	217	82	66	182	3.03	3.69 (+18%)	5133.9
1979	PIT	NL	12	5	37	37	4	0	237.1	238	95	92	172	3.60	4.00 (+10%)	2055.2
1980	PIT	NL	8	13	34	32	5	2	216.2	219	92	59	168	3.82	3.84 (+1%)	3526.7
1981	CLE	AL	11	7	20	20	9	1	159.1	145	51	40	107	2.88	3.58 (+20%)	3063.9
1982	CLE	AL	2	2	4	4	0	0	20.1	16	11	11	19	4.87	3.86 (-26%)	58.0
1983	CLE	AL	7	10	24	24	5	0	156.1	160	68	44	123	3.91	3.87 (-1%)	3991.3
1984	CLE	AL	19	7	33	32	12	4	245.0	204	78	74	170	2.87	3.81 (+25%)	2848.8
1985	CLE	AL	9	11	23	23	15	4	179.2	163	65	49	129	3.26	3.89 (+16%)	3246.8
1985	MIN	AL	8	5	14	14	9	1	114.0	101	38	26	77	3.00	3.89 (+23%)	2324.3
1986	MIN	AL	17	14	36	36	16	3	271.2	262	121	58	215	4.01	3.97 (-1%)	-2439.9
1987	MIN	AL	15	12	37	37	8	1	267.0	249	119	101	196	4.01	4.29 (+7%)	-3905.0
1988	MIN	AL	10	17	33	33	7	0	207.1	240	125	51	145	5.43	3.73 (-45%)	417.1
1989	CAL	AL	17	5	33	33	8	5	241.0	225	73	44	131	2.73	3.71 (+27%)	3997.4
1990	CAL	AL	8	7	23	23	2	0	134.0	163	78	25	69	5.24	3.86 (-36%)	-297.5
1992	CAL	AL	8	12	25	24	1	0	133.0	150	70	29	70	4.74	3.75 (-26%)	-1375.3
Career · 24 seasons			287	250	692	685	242	60	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

Bert Blyleven — 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.

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

Bert Blyleven — 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

Bert Blyleven — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	SO	AVG
1987	ALCS	MIN	2	0	0	0	0	.000
1987	WS	MIN	2	1	0	0	1	.000
1979	NLCS	PIT	1	3	1	1	1	.333
1979	WS	PIT	2	3	0	0	0	.000
1970	ALCS	MIN	1	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bert Blyleven — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
5	1	8	6	0	47.1	43	13	8	36	2.47

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bert Blyleven — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1987	ALCS	MIN	2	0	2	2	13.1	12	6	3	9	4.05
1987	WS	MIN	1	1	2	2	13.0	13	4	2	12	2.77
1979	NLCS	PIT	1	0	1	1	9.0	8	1	0	9	1.00
1979	WS	PIT	1	0	2	1	10.0	8	2	3	4	1.80
1970	ALCS	MIN	0	0	1	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

Bert Blyleven — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	359	216	12	29	0	17	.134
Away	340	235	7	30	0	8	.128

Pitching — Home / Away

Bert Blyleven — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	354	2595.0	2432	948	669	1959	3.29
Away	338	2375.0	2200	882	653	1742	3.34

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bert Blyleven — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1992-10-04	LAA	TEX	L	4.2	12	6	6	0	3	1
1992-09-29	LAA	KCR	L	9.0	7	2	2	1	2	1
1992-09-24	LAA	MIL	L	5.1	10	4	4	0	2	0
1992-09-18	LAA	MIN	L	6.0	6	3	3	1	3	0
1992-09-12	LAA	MIN	L	6.0	7	5	3	0	4	1
1992-09-06	LAA	BAL	W	6.0	4	2	2	1	4	1
1992-08-31	LAA	CLE	L	7.0	7	4	2	3	2	0
1992-08-25	LAA	BAL	L	5.0	8	4	4	1	2	2
1992-08-20	LAA	BOS	W	6.1	3	0	0	1	2	0
1992-08-14	LAA	OAK	W	6.0	6	1	1	0	3	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bert Blyleven — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	692	685	287	662	30	48

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bert Blyleven — 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.

Bert Blyleven Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	692

Awards & Honors

Bert Blyleven — 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

Bert Blyleven's recorded salaries total $9,550,000 over 8 seasons, 1985 to 1992. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Blyleven's career ran from 1970 to 1992. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Bert Blyleven — 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 recorded salary (partial)			$9,550,000

Award Voting History

Bert Blyleven — 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.

Compare Bert Blyleven

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Bert Blyleven: the record in brief

The profile opens with Bert Blyleven's first major league game on June 5, 1970; the last one listed came on October 4, 1992. Club by club, the record runs the Minnesota Twins (1970 to 1988), the Texas Rangers (1976 through 1977), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978 through 1980), the Cleveland Indians (1981 through 1985), and the California Angels (1989 through 1992). The bio lists Blyleven as a pitcher who both batted and threw right-handed. Blyleven is listed at 6'3" and 200 pounds. Blyleven was born on April 6, 1951, in Zeist, Utrecht, Netherlands. Blyleven's full given name, per the bio, is Rik Aalbert Blyleven.

Blyleven's career pitching line is 287 wins, 250 losses and a 3.31 ERA over 692 appearances. The totals include 3,701 strikeouts, 242 complete games, and 60 shutouts. Against a 3.79 league ERA for the same years, Blyleven was 12.4% better. The best win total was 20, in 1973. 1973 was Blyleven's sharpest full season, a 2.52 ERA against the league's 3.75.

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.
What teams did Bert Blyleven play for?: Bert Blyleven played for 5 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1970–1976, 1985–1988), the Texas Rangers (1976–1977), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978–1980), the Cleveland Indians (1981–1985), and the California Angels (1989–1990, 1992).
Did Bert Blyleven win a Cy Young Award?: No. Bert Blyleven did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Bert Blyleven win?: Bert Blyleven was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Bert Blyleven's career stats?: In 692 games, Bert Blyleven went 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA, 3,701 strikeouts, and 4,970.0 innings pitched. At the plate he had 59 hits and 0 home runs.
How much did Bert Blyleven earn in his career?: Bert Blyleven's recorded salaries total $9,550,000 over 8 seasons, 1985 to 1992. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Blyleven's career ran from 1970 to 1992. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Bert Blyleven's salary?: Bert Blyleven's last recorded salary was $900,000, in 1992. His highest recorded salary was $2,000,000, in 1991, and his lowest was $650,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1992.
What position did Bert Blyleven play?: Bert Blyleven played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bert Blyleven and how much did he weigh?: Bert Blyleven was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds.
What was Bert Blyleven's career ERA?: Bert Blyleven finished with a 3.31 career ERA, going 287-250 with 3,701 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bert Blyleven have?: Bert Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts.