Steve Blass is not your prototypical Hall of Famer. But when it comes to The Hall of Very Good™…he fits right in.
And some of baseball’s best and brightest minds agree.
John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball: “It may be said that (Steve Blass) was like the girl with the curl: when he was good, he was very, very good, and when he was bad he was horrid. But Blass was a national hero for a moment, and how many ballplayers can say that?”
Jon Leonoudakis, producer/director of “Not Exactly Cooperstown”: “Steve Blass is a character straight out of baseball mythology: a World Series champion and stellar pitcher whose star fell from the sky. Did the devil come to collect his due? Was it a curse come true? Did a rival slip him a Mickey that turned out to be a witch’s potion? It must’ve been some sort of serious mojo to cast such a spell on the man. Everything I’ve read about Mr. Blass paints him as a good fellow and a great teammate. He deserves to be remembered as such, and not as some sort of victim of a cruel twist of fate. Steve Blass walked out of that shadow long ago, a champion in the game of life.”
ESPN SweetSpot Blogger Dave Schoenfield: “The 1969-1971 Baltimore Orioles would be remembered as one of the great dynasties of all time, if only they’d won at least two World Series instead of one. The Mets upset them in 1969, but it was Steve Blass (with help from Roberto Clemente) who beat them in ’71. Blass tossed a complete-game win in Game 3 and then tossed one of the least-remembered Game 7 gems, going the distance, outdueling Mike Cuellar 2-1 with another complete game. It’s nice to see him recognized with his election to The Hall of Very Good™.”
Author of Steve Blass: A Pirate for Life, Erik Sherman: “While most observers would point to Steve Blass’ epic pitching performance in the 1971 World Series against the Orioles as his crowning achievement, his career numbers were every bit as impressive. Of his 103 Major League victories, a stunning 57 of them were complete games with 16 of those being shutouts. Nobody enjoyed and appreciated being a professional baseball player more than Steve. That is what made his inexplicable loss of control at the pinnacle of his career—less than a year removed from his finest season as an NL All-Star—so tragic. Still, he was the ace of the staff for a storied Pittsburgh Pirates franchise of the 1960s and early 1970s.”
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