Vida Blue

Hard-throwing lefty who anchored Oakland's dynasty and won Cy Young and MVP in 1971.

Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (July 28, 1949 – May 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1986, most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 to 1974. He won the American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971.

Quick Facts

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
Born: 28 July 1949
Birthplace: Mansfield, Louisiana, U.S.
Died: 6 May 2023
Place of death: Tracy, California, U.S.
Debutleague: MLB

Lore & Background

Blue was born and raised in Mansfield, Louisiana, the oldest of six children. He attended DeSoto High School, where he pitched for the baseball team and quarterbacked the football team. In his senior year, he threw for 3,400 yards and 35 touchdown passes while rushing for 1,600 yards in football, then threw a no-hitter with 21 strikeouts in seven innings in baseball. He was a power pitcher whose signature pitch was a fastball consistently at 94 mph, reaching 100 mph. Pete Rose said Blue 'threw as hard as anyone' he ever faced, and Bill James cited Blue as the hardest-throwing lefty and second-hardest thrower of his era behind Nolan Ryan. Blue was a six-time All-Star and the first of only five pitchers to start the All-Star Game for both the AL (1971) and the NL (1978).

Reader's Guide

Blue pitched for the Athletics (1969–1977), San Francisco Giants (1978–1981; 1985–1986), and Kansas City Royals (1982–1983). He no-hit the Minnesota Twins 6–0 on September 21, 1970, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, becoming the fourth-youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter. In 1971, he went 24–8 with an AL-leading 1.82 ERA, eight shutouts, and 301 strikeouts, winning the Cy Young and MVP. He started the league opener, the All-Star Game, and the playoff opener in the same season (1971). After a contract holdout in 1972, he went 6–10 with a 2.80 ERA. He was an integral member of the Athletics' five straight AL West titles (1971–1975) and three World Championships (1972–1974). In 1978 with the Giants, he went 18–10 with a 2.79 ERA and started the All-Star Game. He was traded to the Royals in 1982, going 13–12 with a 3.78 ERA in 1982 and 0–5 with a 6.01 ERA in 1983 before being released. After pleading guilty to attempting to purchase cocaine, he was suspended for the 1984 season. He returned to the Giants in 1985, going 8–8 with a 4.47 ERA, and in 1986 went 10–10 with a 3.27 ERA, winning his 200th career game on April 20. He signed with Oakland for 1987 but retired that February.

Did You Know?

Blue was the youngest AL player to win the MVP Award in the 20th century.
He was on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazine in 1971.
Blue had a small role in the 1972 film Black Gunn, starring Jim Brown.
On September 28, 1975, Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad, and Rollie Fingers combined to no-hit the California Angels 5–0.