Minnesota.Twins.MLB.com

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

Bert Blyleven is fifth on the all-time strikeout list with 3,701 K's. (Tim DeFrisco/Allsport)

Blyleven's name is near the top of almost every major all-time pitching category. Yet he hopes his numbers must somehow improve like a fine wine does with age. They must look more remarkable to voters during his eighth year of Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility than they did the previous seven if he wants election.

Why Blyleven isn't already among the immortals in Cooperstown remains a bit of a mystery.

He has 287 wins, which is 25th on the all-time list. He is fifth in career strikeouts with 3,701. He is ninth in games started with 685. His 60 shutouts are also ninth all-time. The 53-year-old native of Zeist, Holland, also owns two World Series rings.

But for the past seven years, not enough voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America have entered Blyleven's name on their ballots.

"I'll be honest. It's frustrating," said Blyleven, who pitched from 1970-92 for the Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels while earning a reputation as one of the game's great competitors.

"The writers never had to face him. If they did, they'd vote for him," said George Brett, a 1999 first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee.

Exclusive video coverage of the Hall of Fame election announcement will be on MLB.com Jan. 4 at 12 p.m. CT. Eligible players must receive 75 percent of the vote to be inducted.

Blyleven finished ninth in voting in each of the past three years. But in a possible indication that people are taking a closer look at his numbers, he received 35.9 percent of the vote last year -- the first time he topped 30 percent since becoming eligible for the ballot in 1998.

At baseball events, Blyleven says current Hall of Famers often tell him he should already have his plaque alongside theirs.

"What the writers look at, I don't know," Blyleven said. "All the current Hall of Famers say I should be there. They don't have to say that. It's nice to have your peers acknowledge your career."

Count Brett among them.

"It was not a lot of fun opening the morning sports page and saying, 'Oh God, I have to face Bert,'" said Brett, who starred as the Royals' third baseman from 1973-93. "With many pitchers, you'd say, 'OK, I'll get my 1-for-4.' With Bert, it was a good chance you were going 0-for-4.

"He was as good as there was for a long time. Bert is up there with the toughest four or five guys I faced in my career."

Blyleven spent the first 11 seasons of his career in Minnesota from 1970-76 and returned to the Twins for the 1985-88 seasons. Among the personal achievements were a 1977 no-hitter with the Rangers, a 20-win season in 1973 and two All-Star Game appearances in 1973 and 1985.

With a 5-1 postseason record, Blyleven won his first World Series with the Pirates in 1979 and the other with the Twins in 1987.

Detractors might say that Blyleven lacked more postseason games, more 20-win seasons and more All-Star Games. What stands out the most -- he doesn't have more wins. A magic number of 300 victories would likely have guaranteed enshrinement.

"Guess what? Only 21-22 guys have won 300 games. That can't be the reason why," Blyleven said.

From Blyleven's era, Fergie Jenkins (284), Jim Palmer (268), and Catfish Hunter (224) lacked 300 wins. All are Hall of Famers.

"He missed (300 wins) by 13 games," Brett said. "He played for some bad teams. He could have played for another year. There were probably a lot of times he lost, 1-0. If not for that, this guy's a no-brainer."

Anyone opposed to Blyleven's induction should mull this over: he is the only eligible pitcher among the top 13 in strikeouts not in the Hall. He is one of only two pitchers in the top 20 in games pitched not inducted.

Of the top 20 in shutouts pitched, only Blyleven is not in. Currently 13th all-time in innings pitched with 4,970, every pitcher ahead of him is a Hall of Famer, along with many that are behind him.

"For some reason, the writers either want more or I'll never get in," Blyleven said.

That continues to shock one of Blyleven's former teammates.

"For Bert Blyleven not to be in the Hall of Fame at this point absolutely floors me," said Mark Langston, who pitched with Blyleven on the Angels from 1989-92. "It kind of jades me a little bit about the Hall of Fame, with the stats that this guy has and, basically, the Hall of Fame should be on numbers.

"I'm just blown away. In fact, we [former players] all are. We talk about Bert every year when the Hall of Fame comes up. All of us that get together and [say] what a crime it is for him not to be in the Hall of Fame."

Blyleven used to hold out hope that his father would be around to see him inducted into Cooperstown. But Joe Blyleven died of Parkinson's Disease this fall at age 78.

"Of course it's sad," Blyleven said. "But when that day does come, he'll be there. He'll be with me every day, whether I'm in the Hall of Fame or not. He remains in my heart."

Blyleven's mother, Jenny, recently offered this encouragement:

"She said, 'In our hearts, you've always been a Hall of Famer,'" Blyleven recalled.

Clearly, the Blylevens aren't alone with their opinions.

"Hopefully, he'll get in," Brett said. "I'd think he'd be a perfect fit."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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