Blyleven loved a challenge, and though it required crawling under the Kingdome stands, he proved Roof wrong. My mental makeup back then, Blyleven said, was, Hey, if you can hit it, hit it. . Blyleven remembers it a little differently, going back to the day then-Twins pitching coach Marv Grissom took him out to the mound with nothing but a ball, a glove, a folding chair and the goal of getting Blyleven to open up his delivery and use the lower half of his body. Mrs. Blyleven was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital. And I think he did the right thing. In his actions as much -- or more -- than his words, Joe taught Bert about Dutch perseverance. I needed that softness, I needed that hug, I needed to kiss, I needed to know that this is not normal and that everythings gonna be fine.. The Twins began phasing him out as a part of their TV broadcasts several seasons ago, and this is his first season without a game. This was Todds nature, to help those in need. Bert and his wife, Gayle, had traveled to Dallas soon after the shooting to spend time with Todd, Cathie and the kids. The top of the seventh inning, were hitting, and I sit down next to Bert and I said, Somewhere in this inning, youve got to hit somebody, Roof recalled. Todd interpreted that dream to mean he is not alone, that some higher power protected him and allowed him to get back safely to his wife and kids. Away from the more crowded area near the stage and temporarily removed from the angst of his unsatisfied heart, Todd had the space to dance loosely and sing loudly. In high school, I was more of a hitter than I was a pitcher. Thomas Blyleven, 6, was ejected from the vehicle and suffered two broken arms. As a player, he more than once flipped off fans, and as a broadcaster years later, he cursed on the air when he didnt realize the show was live. Yet something about that chapel service and that message always stuck with Todd. Today, hes fortunate they didnt listen. If, she said, he laid bricks, dug ditches, he would be great at those jobs. Other pitchers like Don Sutton, guys that I thought my numbers were comparable to, I thought four or five years, maybe the sixth year, is when youll see that big increase. 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Whats a strike? She was just 33 years old. Hes pissed. I miss it. Suddenly, word spread of an active shooter on the roof of the Tropicana, and hundreds of scared souls scrambled inside. Knowing something was coming, Blyleven arrived at the ballpark the next day and stuffed all his clothes in the safe under his locker. But after obsessing and fretting all those years about his role in life, hes learned that his profession is secondary to the impact he can have on his family and on this world by listening to others, by helping others and by respecting how short and precious life is. Blyleven and his wife, Gayle, reside in Fort Myers, and have six children and eight grandchildren. The night of the shooting, Bert had received a call from his daughter, Kim, alerting him to what was happening at the concert Todd and Cathie were attending. Once the authorities gave the clearance for people to leave the Tropicana, Todd headed in the direction of his wife, and she him. They are involved in helping raise funds for Parkinson's Association and other charitable . It really does show me that there are some good people in the world. You are reading his story because he is the son of Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, and with that profile comes the recognition of what he risked. No replacement had been named, but Sunday starter Chuck Finley will not be moved up in the rotation. ! Sign Up Log In Messenger Facebook Lite Watch Places Games Bert Blyleven @BertBlyleven28. It goes by so quick, so enjoy every moment. Anthony Castrovince has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2004. Todd knew the shooter must be reloading. The Astros visited his home and offered him a signing bonus commensurate with a second-round pick in advance of the 1990 Draft. When he had gotten ahold of Cathie and was told that Todd had gone back in the venue, he, too, was concerned but unsurprised. And mentally, Todd felt ill-equipped to handle the pressures of his evolving life. Welcome to the Baseball Hall of Fame. They had danced uncomfortably together at a country bar and awkwardly said goodbye at the end of the night. I dont think I fully maximized my opportunity that was given.. I told Dave, If you want me to go from suite to suite and make sure that the beer is not sour in those suites, Ill be more than happy to do that throughout the game.. He got two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh, and then, after Roof pointed at his head and then his leg as the only sign, Blyleven plunked the next hitter on the kneecap. Blyleven also had an affinity for certain bodily functions, in particular passing gas. After they turned down the Astros, Todd fell all the way to the Angels 39th-round pick. When they played pickup basketball together, Todd would get knocked to the ground by his dad and told, No blood, no foul., First, he was Dad, Todd says of Bert. They went to the community healing garden arranged in downtown Las Vegas in the aftermath. The scouting demands meant long periods away from his blossoming brood. We're partnering with Homage.com to bring back Bert's legendary t-shirt! What I've learned now, in dealing with my own anxiety, is that it's not something you just get over, Todd says. And though Cathie was dispassionate about the sport, listening to Todd discuss it so enthusiastically allowed her to see what he could not. Instead, she stuck to the local roads. It was a classic case of a man and woman dancing not with each other but around each other. All that stuff. If that whole thing is a movie, it starts to put those minute-long segments back in order for you over time, Todd says of his therapy. Really, when you analyze Berts numbers walks, strikeouts, base runners per nine innings he was, I think, a more effective pitcher than maybe several of the pitchers who are in the Hall of Fame.. My nephew played Little League, she replied. It became important in his personal life when emotional conflicts threatened his marriage. That was the night Todd Blyleven helped save a lot of lives. Dancing. They have also lived in Minneapolis, MN and Hamel, MN. Todd Blyleven is far from the only citizen who risked his life to assist others that night. About Bert Blyleven is a 71 year old Dutch Baseballer born on 6th April, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands. And they eagerly awaited the festivals Sunday, Oct. 1., grand finale, featuring headliner Jason Aldean. Thats about when the enormity of everything he had just been through -- the shocking sounds of shooting, the rushed goodbye to Cathie, the sprints in and out of the concert venue, the lugging of bodies, the vacant stares of the dead, and now this episode at the Tropicana -- finally caught up to Todd. Getentrepreneurial.com: Resources for Small Business Entrepreneurs in 2022. During his playing days, Blyleven was a proud union representative who fought for his teammates and for himself, leaving the Twins twice via trade after contentious contract negotiations. Jenny Blyleven doesnt slather her son with praise, asking him days after he received the necessary votes for induction if they are still putting you in that Hall of Fame. But Blylevens adoration for his parents is evident, and because his father, Joe, died from Parkinsons disease in 2004, Jenny will be Berts most important attendee in Cooperstown. As a teenager, she had to routinely deal with the mortification of her father passing gas in public and announcing loudly, Kim, I cant believe you just did that!, Oh my god, Cohn responded when asked about this particular element of her fathers personality. 34 records for Gayle Kipp. For me to just expect my beautiful wife to just get over [her driving anxiety] because it's a burden on me and maybe I have to drive the kids to their games or whatever? Blyleven and his wife Gayle reside in Ft. Myers, Florida. After the ballgame, everyones still laughing going, Gotcha, gotcha! Blyleven said. Gayle Blyleven, who has been married to Bert for 13 years, on his near-election Wednesday: "He's very positive, probably the most upbeat about this I've seen him in 13 years." Thats when Todd learned that the woman he had carried -- Rachael Parker, a records technician for the Manhattan Beach Police Department -- had passed away in the hospital the morning after the shooting. And then at the end of May, Im doing the Big East championship game. With a Stetson hat atop his head and Durango boots on his feet, he could swing to the music of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith with the kind of confidence he once took to the high school mound. Its not all about baseball and business. Perhaps it was the pressure of the looming Hallmark holiday that got the best of them, but the date did not go well. With what little battery power remained on his phone, he contacted Cathie, who was still holed up in the condo at the Desert Rose Resort, mere steps from Todds location. It turned out to be a false alarm, but nobody had any way of knowing that as they scattered and looked for cover. As he ran, though, Todd spotted a man carrying a younger woman, probably 18 or 19 years old. During the off-season, Blyleven enjoys spending time with his family and playing golf "three or four times per week." He shot a 73 on the day I first spoke to him. Todd explained that he had been horsing around, hanging from the top edge of the dugout prior to the game, when he slipped and landed hard. When do you think youre going to get over this?. It allows me to process the good parts and the bad parts and to lean more on the goodness of things -- the love, people coming out to help, the selfless acts, being back with my wife -- and really appreciate where Im at today.. And yet, at home, he wasnt always pulling on the same rope as his wife. I think we went from Kansas City to Detroit, somebody brought a sign that said, We drove 446 miles from Detroit Lakes to see the Twins. And so I circled the sign and then it just kind of blossomed from there. Thats where Todds baseball story -- and, in many ways, his life story -- went off track. He works as the analyst for Twins TV broadcasts and, in July, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Born Rik Aalbert Blijleven in Zeist, Netherlands, in 1951, he was the third child of Johannes Cornelius and Jannigje Blijleven, who had married when the country was still under Nazi occupation. And in the back, theres a beautiful lake. Joe Blyleven and his son didnt know much about baseball then, so they learned together. I got to see the players. Grissom laid the chair, still folded, on the mound and told Blyleven to pitch. He then took reliever Willie Frasers clothes from Frasers locker and put them in his. He asked them questions and tried to refine his routine. But not only did I want to be a big leaguer, I wanted to be my dad.. She couldnt make him understand that, for her, it wasnt that easy. Before California came Canada. Driving on the freeway would cause her to have a panic attack. But Blylevens fighting spirit, whether something to boast of or shy away from, seemed destined for a big stage. This was a chance to escape. He was sitting there for a good two hours-plus with a broken arm, Bert says, because he didn't want to bother anybody., Tough people give tough love. What Todd and Cathie were experiencing was an outgrowth of their upbringing. His learning curve was steep, and in 1969 the Twins drafted the 6-foot-3 18-year-old in the third round. Blyleven loves to talk about his playing days, about an era with no pitch counts, but he seems to particularly enjoy recalling the jokes he played on teammates and opponents alike. And the message mattered most when Todd needed it most -- on the night of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The Pioneer Press chatted with Blyleven, who turned 70 on Tuesday, about his career on the field and as a broadcaster. Blyleven learned quickly and to this day traces his longevity in the big leagues to that simple lesson he received as a teenager. Genealogy profile for Melissa-Gayle Blyleven Melissa-Gayle Blyleven - Genealogy View Melissa-Gayle Blyleven's genealogy family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. He can still remember how brightly that ring shone when he was first presented with it in then-Angels general manager Bill Stonemans office. He carried her out and set her near a squad car where a nurse had begun to set up a makeshift triage unit. Yet for all the light and joy baseball brought back to Todds life, it also cost him. All the other stuff is secondary. I saw Mickey Hatcher after the game, and he said, Boy, you got Tommy good. So one night in March 2000, Todd was dancing at the Crazy Horse Steak House & Saloon in Irvine, Calif. Cathie was there, too, all part of her plot to run into Todd on purpose. His first year on the ballot, 1998, Blyleven received 17.5 percent of the vote. All the rooms are old-fashioned, the wood floors, all that. The dream inspired him to design a large tattoo for his right arm. It took him a good six months or so -- six months of headaches, six months in which he bottled up the goriest details of his experience -- before he committed to getting therapy to help him move forward. They met near the Desert Rose lobby, where they kissed and embraced and, with that healing reunion, took a first step toward putting their many marital troubles behind them. The shots were now closer than ever, clanging off a metal structure just to Todds right. He laid that folding chair right where my foot always landed, Blyleven said. In 1988, he reportedly forced then-Twins general manager Andy MacPhail to negotiate a contract during the season. Bert Blyleven He remains proud of all the hot foots he ignited, all the shoes he froze and the clothes he stole, but he does have a few favorites. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. For all his doubt and difficulties in his daily life, Todd Blyleven was pretty sure about himself on a country dance floor. With his head pounding, he asked a SWAT team member to stand watch outside a bathroom. Those are the words Aldean was singing as Todd, dressed in a white checkered shirt and a cowboy hat and boots that were a gift from Cathie, spun and dipped his niece, Brianna, near the back of the venue. Fox gave me a telestrator and they wanted me to use it. Four members of Angel pitcher Bert Blyleven's family remained hospitalized in Orange Friday with injuries resulting from a single-vehicle accident. Bando returned with a message. Nancy Blyleven was born on 10/25/1955 and is 66 years old. I was to be in spring training for three weeks, but because of the virus and everything, I was not able to do that this spring. In 2010, Garden Grove had a population of more than 170,000, but back then, Bert recalled, the city was mostly orange groves a warm, sunny, safe place where the little boy from the Netherlands learned to play baseball. Bert figured the same son tough enough to quietly nurse a broken arm in the Pirates clubhouse would eventually shake off this experience, too. We went on a Winter Caravan after his rookie season, and we were talking on the bus. For that moment, Todd and the killer were in direct conflict -- the shooter trying to take those lives, Todd trying to save them. 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