All I wanted to do from that time, he says now, was get back to my wife. The Dutchman didnt stay long in his native country. And I pull my pants out, and I sit back and I watch Willie come out of the shower and go, Wheres my pants? , But it wasnt just pranks. His first year on the ballot, 1998, Blyleven received 17.5 percent of the vote. Blyleven admits his frustration with the voting process boiled over in 2001 when he hastily beseeched baseball writers to leave him off their ballots to end his annual misery. The boy grew up pursuing his fathers footsteps. In Los Angeles -- and, eventually, Dallas, where the Blylevens moved in 2017 -- an aversion to freeways is a complicating factor in day-to-day life. If it didnt, he ditched it. You are reading his story because he is the son of Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, and with that profile comes the recognition of what he risked. He was a star pitcher for Villa Park High School at the same time Berts career was winding down with the Angels. He was always that way, Bert says. He asked them questions and tried to refine his routine. Thats when Bert Blyleven the pitcher was born. Arent we going to stop?. But if youre looking for apologies or regrets or even lengthy explanations, you wont get them from Blyleven. The group, including Blylevens daughter Kimberly, 16, and son Timothy, 8, was taken about 37 miles to Southern Inyo Hospital. Thats where Todds baseball story -- and, in many ways, his life story -- went off track. Inspired by the message in that chapel service in the dugout all those years earlier, Todd was -- and is -- the type of person who pulls over to the side of the road to assist a stranded motorist. Todd knew the shooter must be reloading. It was 6:30 a.m. Todd, Cathie and all the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting ventured into the first day of their permanently altered lives. Today, at 48, Todd works in sports technology. His journey to Cooperstown lasted 14 years and at different times was met with hope, desperation, excitement and genuine anger in 2001 when he implored Hall of Fame voters to leave him off the ballot. Years earlier, they would have gone on a trip like this huddling close and holding hands. He said, Why? , Roof explained the need to be respected and to stick up for your hitters. But connecting with the man who had lifted Rachael out of the Vegas venue, allowing her to die with dignity in the hospital and not on the ground, was meaningful to Sayeh. Yeah, theres a lot of people that watch it day in and day out, but theres one person or maybe a handful thats never seen a game. I want the weekend to be for her, he said. Gayle and I are safe and we are praying for all the people that lost their lives and others that lost everything . If he saw Bob Gibson or Jim Palmer or Nolan Ryan doing something on the field before a start, he would try the same. Photos courtesy Todd Blyleven, design by Tom Forget. Bert remembers the time he was still with the Pirates and pitched the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia. The boy sat amongst his older brethren and listened as the chaplain, a bearded Vietnam veteran in a polo shirt, gave the players a prayerful pump-up speech centered around the biblical tale of David and Goliath. During his playing days, Blyleven was a proud union representative who fought for his teammates and for himself, leaving the Twins twice via trade after contentious contract negotiations. Circle Me, Bert? Those are the lessons Bert handed down to Todd. Bert was a tough guy, and Todd was a tough kid. Roof got his revenge. After they turned down the Astros, Todd fell all the way to the Angels 39th-round pick. It all comes down, of course you know, to pitching. My nephew played Little League, she replied. If you give up 50 home runs in a season, youre not backing off of anybody, the hall of famer said. It took Harmon four years to get in, he said of Twins icon Harmon Killebrew. At all. But Blyleven wasnt always so easy to repay. They met near the Desert Rose lobby, where they kissed and embraced and, with that healing reunion, took a first step toward putting their many marital troubles behind them. All the while, feelings of success, of attainment, of self-confidence eluded and evaded him. But after obsessing and fretting all those years about his role in life, hes learned that his profession is secondary to the impact he can have on his family and on this world by listening to others, by helping others and by respecting how short and precious life is. As time went on, he says, I wore it out on special occasions and when we would dress up a little bit. But with that not-so-chance second chance, they got it right. There were nine of us, seven kids, and to go out and get a glove and shoes, and sign up for Little League cost a lot of money. Please, she prayed. He said, God really saved them. . I just can't stay on the same path. He was and is unafraid, unabashed and completely confident whether on the mound or in the clubhouse, whether lighting someones shoelaces, posing for a photo wearing a I (tm) to fart, T-shirt, or counting down in the broadcast booth to his Bert-day and circling fans with his Telestrator. Mrs. Blyleven was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital. But with a growing appreciation of Blylevens achievements, thanks in large part to an Internet campaign spurred by Rich Lederer of baseballanalysts.com, his percentages kept climbing. We celebrate strength and power. He crossed the threshold and found an elderly woman who had been shot in a lower extremity. As Aldean and his band fled the stage, Todd and his group dropped to the ground, hands covering their heads. He later expressed discontent with his broadcasting contract, and he almost lost his on-air job in 2006 when, not realizing the show was live, twice used an expletive in telling producers hed made mistakes and needed to restart the taping. As a teenager, she had to routinely deal with the mortification of her father passing gas in public and announcing loudly, Kim, I cant believe you just did that!, Oh my god, Cohn responded when asked about this particular element of her fathers personality. And the angle is so much better with his hard breaking ball and fastball, and its easier to pitch right-handers inside from that angle. Rachael had attended the Route 91 concert with two coworkers. Bert was 2 then, and from Montreal they traveled to Saskatchewan, where Joe worked on a farm until Bert was 6. With what little battery power remained on his phone, he contacted Cathie, who was still holed up in the condo at the Desert Rose Resort, mere steps from Todds location. A madman with an arsenal of 14 AR-15 and eight AR-10-type rifles, a bolt-action rifle and a revolver had opened fire on the concert crowd from his suite on the 32nd floor. He and Cathie married and had two children -- a son, Dylan, and a daughter, Gracie. Those are the words Aldean was singing as Todd, dressed in a white checkered shirt and a cowboy hat and boots that were a gift from Cathie, spun and dipped his niece, Brianna, near the back of the venue. Blyleven and his confounding curveball went on to Cleveland, to Minnesota and to Anaheim, and young Todd followed his father to different fields and different families. That doesnt make it better. I told Dave, If you want me to go from suite to suite and make sure that the beer is not sour in those suites, Ill be more than happy to do that throughout the game.. Gayle and I bringing in the new year on a cruise. Cathie was confused. Back then, my mom and dad didnt make a lot of money. It was Cathie who gave him the kick in the pants to get back in the game. He carried her out and set her near a squad car where a nurse had begun to set up a makeshift triage unit. Joe was a tradesman, a self-made man whose own booming voice would draw the ire of umpires when hed bark about ball and strike calls while Bert was pitching. When he set one woman down outside, he looked in her eyes and realized she was gone. Then he looked his son in the eye. For the first few years of Blylevens career, he spent much of his time watching and listening and learning. Get started U.S. Yearbooks Name Index, 1890-1979. Jenny Blyleven wasnt eager to leave home, but Bert recalls her saying years later that shed follow Joe anywhere., Jenny and Joe met when they were 13 years old and World War II was raging. We went on a Winter Caravan after his rookie season, and we were talking on the bus. And the message mattered most when Todd needed it most -- on the night of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. My shoulder just never responded to the surgery I had, and it was kind of time to retire. Now, though, with Blylevens retired No. I think I watch games as a commentator I did it for 25 years and Im also a huge Twins fan. and 2 phone numbers associated with Gayle in area codes such as 239. They are involved in helping raise funds for Parkinson's Association and other charitable . He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. And there was a Twins fan sitting in the upper deck, and they kept saying, Try to use the telestrator, try to use it somehow. But to me, if theres a fly ball in left center and the centerfielder and leftfielder converged, you cant really draw a line like John Madden did in football with the Xs and Os and all that stuff. Bert Blyleven Official Site We have a limited number of these autographed bats. 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