OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 17, 1974: Picher Vida Blue #14 of the Oakland Athletics pitches to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1974 World Series at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 17, 1974 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Herb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images)
(TRACY, CA)-He had one of the most excellent names ever and made sports and cultural history in Detroit in the summer of 1971.
Vida Blue, the hard-throwing left-hander with three World Series titles, six All-Star Appearances, and the 1971 American League MVP & Cy Young Awards, has passed away.
Blue pitched in the majors from 1969 to 1986 for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants (twice), and Kansas City Royals.
He overcame off-the-field issues to maintain a solid career.
The hurler owns a 209-161 record, 3.27 ERA, 2,175 career strikeouts and is enshrined in the A’s & Giants Hall Of Fame.
He is not in Cooperstown.
Vida Blue holds some historical distinctions in baseball.
He was the first player in league history to be part of two trades vetoed by the commissioner.
A 1976 swap to the New York Yankees and a 1978 deal with the Cincinnati Reds were both nixed as league boss Bowie Kuhn felt the deals would benefit powerful teams while depleting the Oakland A’s roster.
A’s owner Charlie Finley, who had a stormy relationship with Blue, was also criticized by the league as he was trying to sell Blue’s contract and get cash instead of talent and run the team on the cheap.
Then there was the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit.
Most fans remember this contest for Reggie Jackson hitting a home run off the light tower in old Tiger Stadium.
However, by the end of the first inning, Blue of the American League’s A’s and Dock Ellis of the National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates became the first African-American pitchers to face each other in an All-Star Game.
Upon his retirement, he was a broadcaster in the Bay Area for many years.
A family spokesperson says he had been battling cancer.
Vida Blue was 73.
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