Agree with you...GM- there is no question that he is one of the top pitchers to ever play this game...Halfway through his career, we already knew that.
BB/DS etc...they were good, very good. And maybe I side on them to just tip it to the HOF....Koosman, would never even be a consideration to me. But man- looking back- he may be better than most pitchers we see today.
But any stat that even questions Maddux- is stupid
No stat questioned Maddux. The stats suggest Blyleven is an absolute HOFer, the reason for his delay is most likely flawed human beings being hung up on his large number of losses. I just perused through a number of greatest starting pitchers of all-time lists and he was on just about all of them except the ones with only 10. On those most of those he was listed as just missing the cut/honorable mention.
Here is an example:
17. Bert Blyleven
Minnesota Twins, 1970-76, ’85-88; Texas Rangers, 1976-77; Pittsburgh Pirates, 1978-80; Cleveland Indians, 1981-85; California Angels, 1989-92
2-time All-Star
1979 (Pirates), ’87 (Twins) World Series Champion
Key stats: 287-250, 3.31 ERA, 242 CG, 60 SHO, 3,701 K, 95.3 WAR
Baseball Hall of Fame, Class of 2011
Bert Blyleven could make a case as one of the most underappreciated pitchers of all-time. A two-time All-Star in 22 seasons, Blyleven never led his league in ERA and only once earned the strikeout crown. However, he ranks 38th all-time with a 95.3 career WAR, and sits 11th on the career leaderboard with a 96.5 career WAR for pitchers. Thanks in large part to a devastating curveball, Blyleven also ranks among the top 10 pitchers all-time with 60 career shutouts and is fifth all-time with 3,701 strikeouts.
Bert Blyleven is closer Maddux then he is Koosman. BTW, Koosman is not mentioned on a single list.
ESPN's list of greatest players of all-time at #73
http://www.espn.com/mlb/feature/video/_/id/8652210/num/54
From the Honorable Mention section of 10 greatest starting pitchers of all-time:
Bert Blyleven (1970-92, 287 wins, 3.31 ERA, 2.80 K/BB)
Similar to Ryan, Blyleven was a workhorse who became revered for sticking around for as long as he did. He logged nearly 5,000 innings in a career that spanned more than two decades, but his ERA and strikeout rate weren't anything special compared to those who made the cut. It took 14 years of eligibility before he got inducted into the Hall of Fame, which should serve as proof that he's not one of the 10 greatest starting pitchers in the sport's history. He's not far from that list, though.
Love these quotes:
“[Blyleven] makes the baseball dance and twist on the way to the plate,” wrote the AP after his 4-0 victory over the Angels and their speedballer, Nolan Ryan, on June 29. “He is the best curveball pitcher I’ve ever seen,” said Boston’s DH, Orlando Cepeda, who had battled Koufax as a member of the Giants in the 1960s. Blyleven fashioned the best season ever by a Twins hurler, setting team records in shutouts (a major-league-leading 9), complete games (25), innings (325), and strikeouts (258), while winning 20 games and posting a career-low 2.52 ERA. Despite those gaudy numbers, he finished a distant seventh in Cy Young Award voting, hurt by his 17 losses and playing for a third-place team that finished at 81-81, 13 games behind first-place Oakland. Sportswriters might have overlooked Blyleven, whose teammates scored three runs or fewer in 16 of his losses (28 total runs), but fellow pitchers did not.
“The best pitcher in the league is Bert Blyleven,” said Oakland ace Catfish Hunter. “He’s got the best stuff.” By one contemporary metric (WAR), Blyleven was not just the best pitcher in the league, but the most valuable player.
