{"id":9283,"date":"2018-09-29T11:12:17","date_gmt":"2018-09-29T16:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.baseballroundtable.com\/?p=9283"},"modified":"2018-09-29T11:12:17","modified_gmt":"2018-09-29T16:12:17","slug":"bell-and-blyleven-linked-in-mlb-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/bell-and-blyleven-linked-in-mlb-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Bell and Blyleven … Linked in MLB History"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this date (September 29) in 1986, Indians\u2019 2B Jay Bell<\/strong><\/span> and Twins\u2019 pitcher Bert Blyleven<\/strong><\/span> crossed paths for the first time \u2013 and the encounter put both players into the MLB record books.<\/p>\n

Bell was a 20-year-old rookie, playing his first MLB game and batting ninth. \u00a0He was a September call up, after a .277-7-74 season at Double-A Waterbury of the Double A Eastern League.\u00a0 Blyleven was in his 17th<\/sup> MLB season, had already won 228 major league games \u2013 and was on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

It clearly looked like “advantage Blyleven.+<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Bell\"<\/a>Bell\u2019s first trip to the plate came with two outs in the top of the third inning. (Blyleven had retired the first eight Cleveland batters in order, fanning three.)\u00a0<\/em>On the future Hall of Famer\u2019s first pitch to the rookie, Bell smacked a home run \u2013 tying an unbreakable MLB record (to date a total of 30 MLB players have homered on the first pitch they ever saw, Bell was just the twelfth to do so).<\/p>\n

But the long ball had more significance.\u00a0 At the time of the at bat, Blyleven was tied with Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for the most home runs given up in a single season at 46. Bell\u2019s round tripper\u00a0was the 47th given up the Blyleven that season\u00a0\u2013 giving him sole possession of the all-time record.\u00a0 Blyleven gave up three more home runs (two more in that September 29 game and one in an October 4 contest against the White Sox) to run the record to 50.\u00a0 Given how today’s pitchers are used that record also seems unbreakable.<\/p>\n

Blyleven gave up at least one home run in 28 of his 36 1986 starts.\u00a0 In the eight starts in which he did not surrender a long ball, he went 8-0.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite all the long balls and a 4.01 earned run average, Blyleven had a respectable season. He led the AL in innings pitched (271 2\/3); his 17 wins (versus 14 losses) were the sixth most in the AL; he tossed 16 complete games (second in the AL); gave up the third-fewest walks per nine innings; and finished fourth in strikeouts with 215.<\/p>\n

Of the record 50 home runs Blyleven allowed in 1986, 27 were solo shots.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Blyleven\"<\/a>Blyleven, by the way, went on to help the Twins to the World Series Championship in 1987 \u2013 going 15-12, 4.01 \u2013 and giving up 46 home runs.\u00a0 This gave the Twins\u2019 righty the record for home runs allowed in consecutive seasons (96). What seems a bit surprising is that those two seasons were the only two \u2013 in Blyleven\u2019s 22 MLB campaigns \u2013 that he gave up more than 24 home runs. He, in fact, had six seasons when he pitched more than 200 innings at gave up less than 20 round trippers.\u00a0 (In 1973, he pitched 325 frames and allowed just 16 home runs<\/em>.) Blyleven\u2019s career record was 287-250, 3.31 \u2013 with 3,701 strikeouts (currently fifth all-time) in 4, 970 innings pitched.\u00a0 He was a one-time 20-game winner, won 15 or more games in ten seasons amd threw 60 complet-game shutouts (ninth all-time).<\/p>\n

Jay Bell got in just five MLB games in 1986, going five-for-sixteen (.357) with two doubles, the one home run and four RBI. He went on to play in 18 MLB seasons \u2013 and added 194 home runs to that record-tying and record-breaking first-pitch blast. He hit .265 over his career, with 860 RBI, 1,123 runs scored and 91 stolen bases. His best year was 1999 (Diamondbacks), when he hit .289, with 38 home runs 112 RBI and 132 runs scored.<\/p>\n

More on Bert Blyleven\u2019s 50-home run season:<\/p>\n