Hall of Fame profiles of Blyleven, Alomar

The Hall of Fame induction weekend is upon us, and while I've taken issue with the way the institution is treating this year's recipients of the Frick, Spink, and O'Neil awards, I'm particularly excited to see this year’s class of BBWAA and Expansion Era Committee choices—Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, and Pat Gillick—honored. Having watched both Alomar and Blyleven excel with multiple teams over the years, it was both a privilege and a labor of love to advocate their election to Cooperstown. I first became aware of Blyleven in 1979 when he helped the Pirates win a world championship; with my own Dodgers fated to a sub-.500 season, my nine-year-old bubblegum card-collecting self was in search of a bandwagon, and the "We Are Family" Bucs led by Willie Stargell and Dave Parker were the best bandwagon around. Later, I would watch Blyleven help the 1987 Twins to an unlikely World Series victory as well, but I really had no idea how well he stacked up again...