Vida Blue had a career year in 1971. He won the Cy Young and the MVP awards, was an All-Star, lead the league in ERA and Shutouts, won 24 games, struck out 301 and had a WHIP below 1.000.
Outside of 1971, he was in 5 other All-Star games, had 2 other 20 win seasons and 8 other seasons with 200+ strikeouts. He also had 2 career no-hitters and his Oakland A’s won the World Series in 1972, 1973 and 1974.
In 1976, Vida Blue… went 18-13 with a 2.35 ERA and finished 6th in Cy Young voting.
So… take your time… and tell me… Is it Shea? Nope. Looks like old Yankee Stadium again.
Betcha didn’t know… that the team’s official name in the 1970’s was the Oakland A’s (as opposed to Athletics).
SSPC vs. Topps: This isn’t a great card, but the 1976 Topps Vida Blue has a kind of weird, tilted portrait… so I’ll give SSPC the edge on this one.
Favorite songs from 1976:
What better way to finish up a post about Vida Blue than with (Vida) Blue Oyster Cult!
