American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1969 and 1986, most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships between 1972 and 1974. He won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971.
A six-time All-Star, Blue was the first of only five pitchers in major league history to start the All-Star Game for both the American League (1971) and the National League (1978). During his 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics (1969–1977), San Francisco Giants (1978–1981; 1985–1986), and Kansas City Royals (1982–1983).
He won 24 games his first year and pitched a no-hitter on 21 September 1971 for Oakland against Minneapolis. He led the AL with the lowest ERA. In 1978, Blue was traded to San Francisco for seven players. He won 54 games for the Giants over the next four seasons and then was traded to the Kansas City Royals. It was at that time that he was arrested for drug abuse. Blue spent 81 days in prison on a 1983 drugs possession conviction and was suspended for the entire 1984 season. He won a spot on the Giants’ roster for a second hitch in 1985, posting an 8-8 record.
Blue tested positive for cocaine on three different occasions in 1986, 11 July, 6 August and 3 September, a distinct parole violation. Sandy Alderson, A’s vice president, said he was unaware of Blue’s coke use and had he known, would not have signed the pitcher to a 1987 contract estimated at $300,000. On 19 November 1986, the Magistrate ordered the pitcher to complete a 90-day rehab program at an Oakland hospital.
On 24 September 1989, Blue married Peggy Shannon on the pitcher’s mound at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. They had twin daughters and divorced in 1996. Vida Blue died on 6 May 2023 at the age of 73 from medical complications stemming from cancer in Tracy, California.
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