Triple World Series champion Vida Blue dies
Fred Jeter | 5/11/2023, 6 p.m.
Vida Blue, a pitching star on the Oakland A’s three straight World Series titles (1972, ’73, ’74), died Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Tracy, Calif. He was 73.
Mr. Blue was a six-time All-Star and in 1971 won both the American League MVP and Cy Young Awards. That same season he was 24-8 on the mound with a 1.82 earned run average, 301 strikeouts and eight shutouts.
The left-hander hurled 24 complete games in 1971 and 143 for his career. Mr. Blue’s 17-season career record, including stops in San Francisco and Kansas City, was 209-161 with a 3.27 ERA and 2,175 strikeouts.
He debuted with Oakland in 1969 at age 19. As a high school athlete in Mississippi, Mr. Blue starred as a football quarterback and passed up scholarship offers to the likes of Notre Dame and Purdue to pursue baseball.
Mr. Blue’s illustrious teammates on those championship Oakland teams included Reggie Jackson, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and John “Blue Moon” Odom, another Black pitching star.
Following retirement, Mr. Blue served as a radio/TV commentator for NBC Sports Bay Area that covered the Giants.
