Vida Blue, a former Cy Young-winning pitcher and MVP who won three straight World Series championships with the Oakland A’s in the 1970s and was a six-time All-Star, has died, the team announced.
He was 73.
A cause of death was not revealed.
“There are few players with a more decorated career than Vida Blue,” the Athletics said in a statement on Twitter. “He was a three-time champion, an MVP, a six-time All-Star, a Cy Young Award winner, and an Oakland A’s Hall of Famer. Vida will always be a franchise legend and a friend. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends during this arduous time.”
Blue attended a ceremony in Oakland during the A’s-Mets series last month honoring the 50-year anniversary of the 1973 championship team.
Vida Blue, who won three World Series titles with the Oakland A’s, has died at the age of 73.APThe southpaw from Louisiana, who pitched a no-hitter in 1970, won the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in the same season in 1971, when he went 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 301 strikeouts in 312 innings, pitching 24 complete games and eight shutouts along the way.
After that breakout season, the 22-year-old Blue and owner Charlie Finley were locked into a contract dispute that reportedly led Blue to briefly retire.
He ended up pitching in only 151 innings in ’72 and mostly pitched out of the bullpen in the postseason.
Vida Blue during a ceremony honoring the 50-year reunion of the Oakland Athletics 1973 World Series championship on April 16, 2023.Getty Images
Vida Blue (c.) with Wes Stock (l.) and Joe Rudi (r.) during a ceremony honoring the 50-year reunion of the Oakland Athletics 1973 World Series championship on April 16, 2023.Getty ImagesBlue pitched five more seasons for Oakland before he was traded to the Giants.
He pitched four seasons for San Francisco and was then dealt to Kansas City, where he pitched two seasons for the Royals.
In 1983, Blue was sentenced to three months in jail for possession of approximately a tenth of an ounce of cocaine amid a federal cocaine investigation, according to an AP report at the time, and was banned from MLB for the 1984 season.
Vida Blue won the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 1971.APBlue pitched two more seasons for the Giants in 1985 and ’86.
He finished his career with a 209-161 record, a 3.27 ERA and 2,175 strikeouts.
“Vida Blue rest in peace, my mentor, hero, and friend,” former Oakland A’s star Dave Stewart wrote on Twitter. “I remember watching a 19 year old phenom dominate baseball, and at the same time alter my life. There are no words for what you have meant to me and so many others. My heart goes out to the Blue family.”
