Finally, Vida Blue Added to My Memorabilia Collection

When I was a kid just starting to get into baseball, the Oakland A's were at the beginning of a sensational five season stretch. The A's would win three World Series during that stretch, while also making it to five consecutive American League Championship Series.

Those A's were a colorful bunch in personality and uniforms. They were also extremely talented. One of the biggest, most talented stars was pitcher Vida Blue.

Blue went 89-53 with an ERA of 2.90 over those five seasons. As great as that was, his 1971 season was even more remarkable.

Blue went 24-8 with a dazzling 1.80 ERA and .952 WHIP. He struck out 301 batters, while walking only 88. For his efforts, Blue won the Cy Young award, as well as being named Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News.

He also won the AL MVP award that season, a very rare feat for a pitcher. Only 11 pitchers have ever won the Cy Young and MVP awards in the same season. He received 268 voter points, 86 more than teammate Sal Bando who finished in second.

For his career, Blue was 209-161 in 17 seasons with the A's, San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. He retired in the spring of 1987, after signing back with the A's.

Blue has a few interesting trivia bits in his career. He is the last switch-hitter to win the MVP. He is the only pitcher to get a win in the All-Star game for both the NL and AL. He was also the first pitcher to start an All-Star game for both leagues.

After his retirement, Blue stayed in the Bay area. He has been very active working in baseball in various aspects, along with doing philanthropic work.

Despite having thousands of pieces of baseball memorabilia, I somehow did not have any autographs of Blue. That is about to change, thanks to my friends Steve Gassman and Mitch Dubinsky, co-owners of AUTOGRAPH1.

Knowing my passion for collectibles, Steve contacted me about a very cool item AUTOGRAPH1 is offering. AUTOGRAPH1, world-renowned artist John Hanley and Blue are presenting a limited edition lithograph to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Blue’s 1971 super season. I immediately went to John Hanley Art to order my Vida Blue lithograph.

The lithograph is 11'x15”, featuring Blue (with his trademark blue glove) in mid-windup, with a 50th anniversary logo top left and depictions of his Cy Young and MVP awards bottom right. Blue signed and inscribed each piece with “1971 A.L. Cy Young & 1971 A.L. MVP” and Hanley signed and hand-numbered each.

There were only 71 prints made (to pay homage to Blue's '71 season) and I will soon have one of the 71! It is a wonderful addition to my collection, which is mostly signed baseballs and baseball cards. It immediately becomes one of my coolest pieces and will take a place in my home office. In addition to being an awesome piece of memorabilia, it takes me back to my youth, watching in awe as those incredible A's dominated the baseball scene.