Blyleven elected to HOF; Parker exhausts eligibility
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
After 14 years on the ballot, former Pirates right-hander Bert Blyleven is now a Hall of Famer. Blyleven received 463 votes from 581 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who had a ballot. That was equivalent to 79.7 percent, more than the 75 percent needed for induction.
Joining Blyleven as part of the 2011 Hall of Fame class is second baseman Roberto Alomar, whose name appeared on 90 percent of the ballots.
Blyleven’s Cooperstown plaque will show the 22-year Major Leaguer in a Twins cap, but Blyleven did spend three of his seasons wearing black and gold. Blyleven was traded by the Rangers to Pittsburgh in December 1977 as part of a four-team deal that also involved the Braves and Mets.
From 1978-80, Blyleven made 105 appearances (103 starts) for the Pirates. He finished 34-28 with a 3.47 ERA and averaged 233 innings over the span.
While Blyleven finally received the call, Dave Parker once again did not. The former outfielder received 15.3 percent of the vote, his highest total since 2001. He never appeared on more than 24.5 percent of the ballots. Parker reached that threshold back in 1998.
This marked the 15th time Parker has been on the ballot, and he has now exhausted his eligibility. The former NL MVP and two-time batting champ was a part of three World Series teams in his 19-year career. One of those came with Pittsburgh in 1979. Parker batted .345 in that Fall Classic.
Parker, a seven-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove award winner, finished his career with a .290 average, 339 homers and 1,493 runs driven in.
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