Vida Blue, a left-handed pitcher known for his hard-throwing style, passed away at the age of 73. Blue was a major attraction in baseball during the early 1970s and contributed to the Oakland Athletics’ success in winning three consecutive World Series titles. However, drug problems derailed his career. The Athletics announced his death on Saturday, but did not disclose the cause.
Blue’s talent is undeniable. He was awarded the 1971 American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player after achieving a 24-8 record with a 1.82 ERA and 301 strikeouts with 24 complete games, eight of which were shutouts. Blue is one of only 11 pitchers who have won both honors in the same year.
After his award-winning season, Blue and the A’s owner, Charlie Finley, clashed over his salary. As a result, Blue played sparingly in 1972 while the A’s won the first of three straight World Series titles. Blue played a significant role in the 1973 and 1974 titles, but his relationship with Finley was tumultuous. Finley broke up the A’s championship core instead of paying the stars in free agency.
Blue was publicly at odds with Finley, leading the A’s owner to trade him twice. However, both deals were blocked by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn in June 1976 to the Yankees and December 1977 to the Cincinnati Reds because they were not in the best interests of baseball.
Blue played for 17 seasons with the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals. He finished with a 209-161 record, a 3.27 ERA, 2,175 strikeouts, 143 complete games, and 37 shutouts. He was a six-time All-Star and helped pitch the Swingin’ A’s to consecutive World Series titles from 1972-1974.
In 1983, Blue was released by the Royals and ordered to serve three months in federal prison and fined $5,000 for misdemeanor possession of approximately a tenth of an ounce of cocaine. He was among the players ordered to be subject to random drug testing for the rest of their careers by baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth in 1985.
After sitting out 1983 and 1984, Blue returned to baseball with the Giants for two seasons. In 2005, Blue was sentenced to six months in jail after failing to complete his probation for his third DUI in less than six years. However, he was allowed to avoid imprisonment by participating in a residential alcohol treatment program.
The baseball community mourns the passing of Vida Blue. The Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals expressed their condolences and paid tribute to Blue’s legacy.
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