Vintage 1983 Mitchell & Ness BERT BLYLEVEN #28 Cleveland Indians MLB Jersey HOF

Description

Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Company
Vintage 1983 Authentic Reproduction
Cleveland Indians Baseball Jersey
Bert Blyleven #28 /
Pitcher (R)
MLB Hall Of Fame (2011 Inductee)
Near mint to mint condition and close to brand new Mitchell & Ness Cooperstown Collection throwback 1983 baseball jersey. No hang tags. Please ask questions in advance. Thanks for shopping Blue Streak Collectibles!
Size: LARGE
Approximate Width (Chest Measurement): 22 Inches Across / 44 Inches Completely Around
Approximate Length (Top Center Neck To Center Bottom) 31.5 Inches
Material:
100% Polyester
2-layered "28" is a sewn-on tackle twill embellishment (back)
2-layered "INDIANS" is sewn on tackle twill embellishment (front)
Vintage Chief Wahoo Batting logo patch embellishment is a sewn-on the left sleeve
V-neck collar
Care: Machine wash (low temperature), mild detergent, no chlorine bleach, hang dry / air dry
Major League Baseball Officially Licensed
Vintage MLB "Cooperstown Collection"
Bert Blyleven
(born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch American former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992. A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven was a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. He ranks fifth all-time among pitchers in strikeouts, 14th in innings pitched, and 27th in wins. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. From 1996 to 2020, he was a color analyst for Minnesota Twins television broadcasts.
Blyleven was born in the Netherlands but was raised in Garden Grove, California where he attended Santiago High School. His father moved the family to Melville, Saskatchewan when Blyleven was two years old, and he then moved his family back to Southern California when Blyleven was five years old. He became interested in baseball as a young boy watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett announce the Dodgers' radio broadcasts. Blyleven was quoted as saying, "My dad built me a mound in the backyard with a canvas backdrop over our horseshoe pits, and I would go back there and just throw and throw and throw until I developed it, and it became my curveball. And I could throw it over at any time, any count."
Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969. After just 21 minor league starts, he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to ten victories, and he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1973, he pitched nine shutouts, the most of any AL pitcher that season.
However, Blyleven's early career with the Twins was not always pleasant as he was hounded by critics and fans. Unhappy with his salary there, Blyleven was traded (along with teammate Danny Thompson) to the Texas Rangers in a six-player deal on June 1, 1976. He pitched well with the Rangers, posting a 2.76 ERA. On September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury, Blyleven no-hit the California Angels 6–0 at Anaheim Stadium. The no-hitter was his final start as a Ranger; not until Cole Hamels during the 2015 season would a pitcher be traded after pitching a no-hitter in his most recent start for the team that traded him. His 2.74 career ERA with the Rangers remains the best in team history.
Following an incident in which Blyleven blatantly gave the finger to a television camera obviously focused on him during one of the Rangers' rare nationally broadcast games, he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first four-team blockbuster deal in Major League Baseball history on December 8, 1977, that also involved the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and a total of 11 players changing teams. The Pirates also acquired John Milner from the Mets. The Rangers received Al Oliver and Nelson Norman from the Pirates and Jon Matlack from the Mets. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. The Mets got from the Braves Willie Montañez and from the Rangers Tom Grieve and Ken Henderson who was sent to New York to complete the transaction three months later on March 15, 1978. With the Pirates, he led the team in ERA, strikeouts, and complete games in 1978, and he helped them to a World Series victory in 1979. His 20 no decisions in 1979 are the most by an MLB starting pitcher in a season, dating back to at least 1908.
Blyleven became disgruntled with the Pirates and threatened to retire during the 1980 season if he was not traded. The Pirates traded him to the Cleveland Indians on December 9, 1980. Blyleven sat out most of the 1982 season with an elbow injury and struggled again in 1983, but he came back in 1984 with one of his best seasons: a 19–7 record with a 2.87 ERA. He missed a second 20-win season that year when he was forced to miss a couple of starts after breaking his foot when joking around in the bullpen. In 1985 he again led the American League in shutouts with five. That year, he pitched 293.2 innings and completed 24 games, a feat that has not been repeated since. Blyleven was unhappy playing for the lackluster Indians and forced a trade back to the Twins, where he passed the 3,000-strikeout mark and helped the Twins to a 1987 World Series victory.
Blyleven's first two full seasons back with the Twins produced major league records for home runs allowed in a single season (50) and in back-to-back seasons (96). He never surrendered more than 24 home runs in any year before, and after the 1986–87 campaigns, he averaged 21 allowed homers per season over the course of his career.
Blyleven went to the California Angels in 1989 and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 17–5 record in his first season; he led the league for his third and final time in shutouts (5). Blyleven missed the entire 1991 season following rotator cuff surgery. He came back in 1992 but was mostly unproductive, going 8–12 with a 4.74 ERA. He retired following that season with a career 287–250 record with 3,701 strikeouts and a 3.31 ERA. (Only 16 other pitchers have at least 3,000 career strikeouts.) He tried out for the Twins again in the spring of 1993, but did not make the squad, which made his retirement official. He pitched for the MLB All-Stars in the 1993 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam.
MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said of Blyleven: "[his curveball] was nasty, I'll tell you that. Enough to make your knees buckle. Bert was a terrific pitcher—a dominating pitcher."
Blyleven was a pitching coach for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Bert Blyleven's number 28 was retired by the Minnesota Twins in 2011.
After his first year of Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility in 1998, Blyleven was widely considered to be the best eligible pitcher not yet enshrined. According to Matt Welch of Reason Magazine, "…there had long been a strong case that the Dutch-born curveballista was the most deserving player on the outside of Cooperstown looking in."[16] Still, it was not until his 14th year of eligibility, in 2011, that he was elected; he received 79.7% of the vote. He currently ranks 5th all-time in strikeouts, 9th all-time in shutouts, and 27th all-time in wins. At the time of his election, he was the only eligible member of the 3,000 strikeout club and the only pitcher with 50 or more shutouts not in the Hall of Fame.
Blyleven received only 17.55% of the vote for Hall of Fame admission in 1998 (his first year of eligibility), and his vote total dropped to 14.1% in 1999. No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. However, ESPN.com columnist Jayson Stark said, "No player has ever—and again, that word is 'ever'—had his Hall of Fame candidacy helped more by the sabermetrics boom than Blyleven." Specifically, according to Welch, "the president and chief investment officer of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel in Long Beach, California, a guy by the name of Rich Lederer, began spending some of his off-hours writing analysis on the Interwebs about Blyleven's overlooked case."
By 2006, his total had increased to 53.33%. In 2007, Blyleven's total dipped to 47.7% (75% is the minimum required for admission to the Hall). In 2008, he received 336 votes, or 61.9% of the vote. In 2009, he gained only two votes, for a total of 338, 62.7%. In 2010, Blyleven had 74.2% of the votes, missing admission to the Hall of Fame by only 5 votes (0.8%).
Blyleven was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 after receiving 79.7% of the vote on his 14th attempt. "It's been 14 years of praying and waiting," he said on a conference call from Fort Myers, Florida. "I thank the baseball writers of America for, I'm going to say, finally getting it right." Blyleven was the first Dutch-born player inducted, and his Hall of Fame plaque depicts him with a Minnesota Twins cap.
Blyleven was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2002 and was chosen to the fan-elected "Wendy's- Minnesota Twins All-Metrodome Team" on July 28, 2009. On July 16, 2011, the Minnesota Twins formally retired Blyleven's number.
In 1996, Blyleven became a television color analyst for the Twins, calling games for WCCO-TV and Midwest Sports Channel (later Fox Sports North). Blyleven's commentary was occasionally risqué for a baseball broadcast but provided interesting and friendly conversation between him and play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer. One of his trademarks was circling fans with the telestrator on screen. Fans—both at home and at road games—carried signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert". This led to a fundraising campaign with the Parkinson's Foundation and a sponsorship with the Minnesota Lottery.
When announcing partner Bremer attempted to circle fans with the telestrator, he drew geometric forms that were non-circular, and Blyleven and fans started to jostle Bremer with phrases like "Rhombus me, Dick" or "Triangle me, Dick".
On September 2, 2020, Blyleven broadcast his final game for the Twins.
He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida.
Blyleven appeared as himself in the 1990 James Belushi film Taking Care of Business. During a 2006 broadcast, Blyleven forgot the name of the movie and had to be reminded of it by a technician in the broadcast booth.
Blyleven was one of baseball's most notorious dugout pranksters during his playing days. He earned the moniker "Frying Dutchman" by frequently setting fire to his teammates' shoelaces, a practical joke known as a "hot foot". During his time with the Angels, the fire extinguisher in the team's clubhouse at Angel Stadium read: "In case of Blyleven: Pull".
Blyleven did not know his correct name until he was about to get married. He had thought all his life his given name was "Rikaalbert". He learned that his name actually was Rik Aalbert Blijleven after obtaining a copy of his birth certificate in order to get married.
Cleveland Indians Players Who Have Worn #37:
Ernie Clement (2021)
Ben Gamel (2021)
Corey Kluber (2012-2019)
Rajai Davis (2018)
Travis Buck (2011)
David Huff (2010)
Todd Hollandsworth (2006)
Ben Broussard (2002-2003)
Russell Branyan (2002)
Joey Cora (1998)
Derek Lilliquist (1992-1994)
Cory Snyder (1986-1990)
Bert Blyleven (1981-1985)
Rick Manning (1975-1981)
Jackie Brown (1975)
Rusty Torres (1973-1974)
Adolfo Phillips (1972)
Vada Pinson (1970-1971)
Richie Scheinblum (1967-1969)
Tommie Agee (1964)
Al Smith (1964)
Willie Tasby (1963)
Pedro Ramos (1962)
Bobby Tiefenauer (1960)
Bob Smith (1959)
Hal Woodeshick (1958)
Hank Aguirre (1956-1957)
Bud Daley (1955-1956)
Dick Tomanek (1953-1954)
Ted Wilks (1953)
Jerry Fahr (1951)
Marino Pieretti (1950)
Dick Weik (1950)
Gene Bearden (1948)
Ray Boone (1948)
Ernest Groth (1948)
Les Webber (1948)
Bryan Stephens (1947)
George Susce (1941-1944)
Thornton Lee (1935)
Charlie Jamieson (1931-1932)
Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co.
, is an American sports-related clothing company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was established in 1904 as a sports equipment manufacturer, remaining as the oldest sporting company in Philadelphia. After several years of making baseball and American football uniforms, the company switched direction in 1983, when it decided to recreate vintage jerseys.
Nowadays, Mitchell & Ness has license agreements with four of the major sports leagues of the United States (MLB, NBA, NFL, and MLS) to produce and commercialize vintage sports equipment and casual wear.
Some of Mitchell & Ness products include team uniforms (jerseys and shorts) and other casual wear such as t-shirts, tracksuits, jackets, hoodies, hats, knit caps, and other accessories (pennants). The company also has its own brand, "M&N".
In past years, Mitchell & Ness also had license agreements with the NHL and NCAA.
Mitchell & Ness's throwback uniforms were created to reproduce classic to very modern team and player sports jerseys which are either no longer available or hard to find. Mitchell & Ness began producing baseball (Cooperstown Collection) jerseys in 1988, although the company gained popularity in the international retail market ten years after with the introduction of the NBA "Hardwood Classics" line. The company later moved on to reproducing popular throwbacks of American football and NHL players.
Frank P. Mitchell, a former Amateur Athletic Union tennis and wrestling champion, and Charles M. Ness, an avid golfer born in Scotland, together founded "Mitchell & Ness Sporting Goods" in 1904.[5] Their original store made and strung hand-crafted tennis rackets and, using imported woods from Scotland, stolen from England, constructed custom-made golf clubs. In time, they expanded their business, selling uniforms to local baseball and American football teams.[1] When the Philadelphia Eagles entered the young National Football League (NFL) in 1933, Mitchell & Ness supplied the team jerseys and equipment. Mitchell & Ness would continue to outfit the Eagles through the 1963 season.[6]
The first time that the Mitchell & Ness label appeared on a major league baseball uniform, the Philadelphia Athletics, was in 1938. In the early 1940s, Mitchell & Ness began to supply Philadelphia's other major league baseball team, the Phillies. By the end of the decade, the Mitchell & Ness label was appearing on high school and college team uniforms throughout the Philadelphia area.
In the late 1970s, Mitchell & Ness had dropped the team business to concentrate on its retail operation. The store became a leading outlet for field hockey equipment and ski gear. Mitchell & Ness almost went bankrupt in 1983. Owner Peter Capolino told the Detroit Free Press, "By 1983 all the expansion I had done had gone to hell. I fired 100 people, closed two warehouses. I reduced the company to a little store at 13th and Walnut Streets (in Philadelphia). It was down to just me and my wife."[7]
In 1983, a customer walked into the store and asked if Mitchell & Ness could repair his 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates game-worn vest, and his 1949 St. Louis Browns game-worn shirt. They were both made of wool flannel as all baseball uniforms had been during that era. Mitchell & Ness found that it could do it, and with the realization that Mitchell & Ness was capable of this task, an idea was born: Reproduce historically accurate wool-flannel baseball uniforms.[8] Mitchell & Ness recruited history buffs and sports gurus most notably Capolino's friend Bob Downes. They dug through old newspapers, periodicals, books, programs, and old film footage. They consulted vintage uniform collectors throughout the country and visited the archives at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.[9]
Major League Baseball (MLB) teams had stopped wearing wool flannel jerseys by 1972 to wear double-knit polyester jerseys. In a dusty warehouse in North Philadelphia, Mitchell & Ness discovered rolls of old baseball flannel from 50 years earlier. They were still carefully wrapped, untouched, and in like-new condition ready to be cut and sewn.[9] The flannel was sewn. The lettering and patches were recreated and applied. The jerseys were completed, and they were offered for sale. The first shirts sold almost overnight. So did the second batch of a dozen or more. In time, Mitchell & Ness attracted customers from across the United States. Sports Illustrated wrote a flattering piece about Mitchell & Ness in June 1987.[2][8] The New York Times wrote about the company two years later.[6]
In 1999, Mitchell & Ness expanded into the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), when it introduced its Hardwood Classics collection of basketball jerseys. Football followed a year later with the Mitchell & Ness Throwback Collection. In 2002, the National Hockey League (NHL) granted Mitchell & Ness rights to remake vintage hockey sweaters.
Mitchell & Ness now has on file every MLB uniform worn since the founding of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869.
In 2007, Adidas purchased Mitchell & Ness in order to get into the retro-apparel style market.[10] On May 29, 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that they had signed Mitchell & Ness as a naming-rights partner of its clothes store at the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park. The Mitchell & Ness Alley Store is in Ashburn Alley beyond left-center field.[11]
On January 24, 2011, the Reading Phillies, AA affiliate of the Phillies announced that they had signed Mitchell & Ness as a naming-rights partner of its apparel store at the R-Phils' FirstEnergy Stadium. On March 23, 2012, Jonathan Yuska was brought on as Head of Mitchell and Ness. In May 2016, Adidas sold Mitchell & Ness to "Juggernaut Capital Partners", a Washington, D.C. based private equity firm.
Owner Peter Capolino reported to Sports Illustrated that Mitchell & Ness had annual sales revenue of .5 million per-year in 1998.[13] Revenues rose to .2 million in 1999[14] and were .8 million in 2000.[15] Sales were more than million in 2001 according to ESPN.com[14] while Capolino reported annual sales of .5 million in 2001 to USA Today.[16] Sales rose to million in 2002.
Please note that Blue Streak Collectibles does not offer combined handling/shipping discounts for multiple items. Unless noted with FREE SHIPPING, we offer a flat rate standard handling/shipping per item and utilize USPS Economy shipping with delivery confirmation/tracking (tracking numbers provided to all customers with buy-it-now or winning bids). We may determine it is best to combine shipments for multiple items purchased/won based on the logistical ability to deliver quickly from time to time but do not offer discounts for doing this. We apologize for any inconvenience but hope you will find we offer the lowest overall prices and best value available for each and every item offered for sale/auction. Thanks for shopping B.S.C.!