Harnessing emotions took years of practice for Blyleven

Bert Blyleven was a cross-country runner in high school. As a major league pitcher, he ran to build stamina and soothe his tormented soul.

"When I was going bad, I always ran a lot," Blyleven said. "I ran to get the frustration and all the bad crap out my body, whether it be Coors Light, or whatever it was."

Blyleven was frustrated a lot, especially early in his career. He won 287 games. He also lost 250. If his legendary curveball opened the door to Cooperstown, his inner drive pushed him through it. But his intensity got the best of him at times, too.

In 1972, Blyleven's third year in the majors, he started 7-3 for the Twins before anguishing through a five-game losing streak. It was a typical Blyleven skid, laced with good outings and poor run support, and he was at his wits' end by June 22.

The Twins held a voluntary off-day workout at Kansas City's old Municipal Stadium, and long after his teammates had returned to the hotel, the 21-year-old Blyleven remained, running sprints. Finally, Doc Lentz, the team's longtime trainer, intervened.

"He says, 'What are you doing? You're going to kill yourself out here,' " Blyleven said. "We sat there on the left field grass and talked, and I broke down and cried.

"I always looked at baseball as life. If you don't look at the positives, life can drag you down. It took me a long time to realize there's only so much I can do. Losing 2-1 or 3-2 -- I was going to work harder. That's what made me a stronger person, but I still hated losing.

It was an important lesson for Blyleven, who took as many hard-luck losses as any pitcher of his era. According to STATS, he made 104 quality starts -- at least six innings pitched with three or fewer earned runs allowed -- that didn't result in a win. That included 46 losses and 58 no-decisions.

No wonder Blyleven was often surly to the press. Still, former Twins manager Tom Kelly said Blyleven always brought out the best in his teammates.

"When he was on the mound, you seemed to play a little bit higher," Kelly said. "Listen, I wasn't a very good player, but when I did play behind Bert a couple times [in 1975], I found myself thinking, 'I'm not making any mistakes here today because it's going to be 2-1, 1-0, 3-2.' There was no room for misplays."

The 1970s were an angry time for baseball players anyway, as they fought for free agency. Even when they got it, it took a while before anybody became millionaires.

After a bitter contract dispute, the Twins traded Blyleven to Texas in 1976. Walking off the field at Met Stadium the night of the trade, Blyleven heard some Twins fans taunting him and gave them the middle finger.

In 1980, Blyleven got so mad at the way Pirates manager Chuck Tanner was using him, he walked out on the team for 10 days. Tanner called him "Cry-leven," and the Pirates traded him to Cleveland that winter.

By the time Blyleven got traded back to the Twins in 1985, he had mellowed, becoming the staff's veteran leader.

"He'd be upset if he lost, and toward the end he gave up some home runs, which I'm sure didn't make him too happy," Kelly said. "But he handled that all very well."

Teammates saw the way Blyleven rubbed off on Frank Viola, making the eventual 1987 World Series MVP a better competitor.

"When [Blyleven] took the ball, he was going to go out there for nine innings," former Twins catcher Tim Laudner said. "It was his turn to pitch, so everyone else put your tennis shoes on. This is his ballgame."