Masterful Blyleven pitches 10th straight complete game

By 1985, Bert Blyleven had mastered the art of the curveball. His record-setting career would be defined by his signature pitches — the roundhouse and the overhand drop.

On July 24, 1985, he pitched his 10th consecutive complete game – his league leading 15th complete game of the season – in what was already his 16th big league season.

The matchup between Cleveland and Texas took place in Arlington Stadium, and Blyleven gave up seven hits, walked five and struck out nine in an 8-4 victory over the Rangers. Blyleven had won five straight decisions over the Rangers over the past two seasons.

“Tonight, Bert was pitching well for us,” Cleveland second baseman Tony Bernazard said to the Associated Press. “He’s been pitching good games for us and tonight we scored runs for him.”

Blyleven would go on to pitch 24 complete games in 37 starts during the 1985 season – completing 10 in a row from June 6 to July 24. During the season, Blyleven would be traded to the Minnesota Twins. The trade came just before a work stoppage which resulted in a period of negotiation and two days of games being rescheduled.

“The thing is, I love the game of baseball,” Blyleven told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune toward the end of his career. “When I’m not able to play, I hope to continue in baseball.”

Across his 22-year major league career, Blyleven pitched for the Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels. The Netherlands native won two World Series – one with the Pirates in 1979 and one with the Twins in 1987 – and recorded 242 complete games. He won the Sporting News AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award in 1970 and played in two All-Star Games en route to Cooperstown, including pitching two innings in the 1985 Midsummer Classic. He was the American League strikeout leader in 1985 and finished his career with 3,701 career strikeouts, still No. 5 on the all-time list.

Once his playing days were over, Blyleven spent 25 years on the Twins broadcast team. In 2020, he transitioned from broadcasting to a special assistant role in the Twins organization.

The Twins retired No. 28 in Blyleven’s honor in 2011, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Emma Harby is the 2024 public relations intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development