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Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949, in Mansfield, Louisiana) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. In his 17-year career, he played for the Oakland Athletics (1969-77), San Francisco Giants (1978-81, 1985-86), and Kansas City Royals (1982-83). In 1970, after spending the season in the minor leagues, Blue was called up in September and made two starts that provided a glimpse of what was to come for the 21-year old. On September 11, he shut out the Kansas City Royals 3-0, giving up only one hit, to Pat Kelly in the eighth inning. Ten days later, he no-hit the Minnesota Twins 6-0 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the lone baserunner coming on Harmon Killebrew's fourth-inning walk. Blue possessed a sharp, breaking curveball and above average change-up, but his out pitch was an overpowering fastball. Dialing up to nearly 100 miles per hour, he is considered by baseball historian Bill James to be the hardest-throwing lefty, and second hardest thrower of his era, finishing only behind all-time strikeout king Nolan Ryan. Blue had a 24-8 record in 1971; he also struck out 301 batters, winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards. He was the starting pitcher for the AL in the 1971 All-Star Game, and for the NL in the 1978 All-Star Game. Charlie Finley, owner of the Oakland Athletics, offered Blue $10,000 to change his name to Vida "True" Blue, but Blue declined. Blue won 20 games in 1973 as he led the A's to the World Championship that year. He won 22 games in 1975. In 1976, baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed an attempt to sell Blue to the New York Yankees and in 1977, Kuhn cancelled an attempted trade of Blue to the Cincinnati Reds. In both instances, Kuhn said the trades would be bad for baseball because they would have benefitted already powerful teams without making them give up any significant talent in return. In 1978, he won 18 games as he led the Giants to 83 wins as they battled all year for the National League West Division which was won that year by the Los Angeles Dodgers. His great year was rewarded as he won the Sporting News National League Pitcher Of The Year. Blue also made a name and career after baseball for himself in the San Francisco Bay Area by donating his time to many charitable causes, mostly promoting baseball in the inner city. Blue battled drug addiction over the course of baseball career. After the 1983 season, he and former teammates, Willie Wilson, Jerry Martin and Willie Aikens, pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase cocaine. In 1985, he testified in the scandalous Pittsburgh drug trials.
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