Former Indians Pitcher and Longtime Twins Broadcaster Bert Blyleven Calling it a Career

Bert Blyleven was a staple in the television broadcast booth for the Minnesota Twins since 1986. Wednesday night he tweeted out that his time calling games for the franchise he played 11 seasons for is over. The Hall of Fame pitcher is walking away after 24 years being part of the broadcast booth, stating in a series of tweets that he'll stay on as a special assistant with Minnesota.

Bert Blyleven pitched for the Cleveland Indians for five seasons from 1981 to 1985, but prior to and after that he spent 11 seasons with the Indians current biggest rival, the Minnesota Twins.

After his career on the mound, Blyleven eventually made his way in 1996 to the Twins broadcast booth, and spent the next 24 years calling games.

Until Wednesday evening.

Blyleven tweeted out Wednesday night that this evening was his final game as a broadcaster, calling it quits with the Twins still very much in a race for the AL Central title.

Part 1 - For 25 years I have had the privilege to be part of the Twins broadcast team. Tonight sad to say will be my last Twins broadcast. But I will continue to serve my role as a Special Assistant for future years.

— Bert Blyleven (@BertBlyleven28) September 2, 2020

Part 2 - I want to thank the Twins organization, Dave St.Peter and ESPECIALLY THE FANS for your support over the years. You are ALL “Hereby Circled”. ⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️ God Bless and be safe 👍⚾️

— Bert Blyleven (@BertBlyleven28) September 2, 2020

The Hall of Fame pitcher began to pull back on calling games a few years ago, and not long ago the Twins made another cut in how many games he did on television.

The Twins appeared to want to go in a different direction with their broadcasts, as the franchise did not offer Blyleven a contract after this season. 

Wednesday's send-off was the 16th game that Blyleven did in 2020. 

As stated in his tweets, Blyleven will stick around as special instructor for the Twins in Fort Myers, the spring training home of the Twins, and close to where Blyleven and his wife, Gayle live.

Blyleven not only is a Hall of Famer, but also won a World Series title with the Twins in 1987, a season that saw him go 15-12 with a 4.01 ERA.

In the World Series classic against the St.Louis Cardinals he went seven innings in game two allowing two runs in a Twins 7-2 win.

He lost game five of the series despite pitching five innings of shutout ball, but in the end he and the Twins celebrated after they won game seven over the Cardinals with a 4-2 win to clinch the title.

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For more from Matt Loede, follow him on Twitter @MattLoede. Follow CBI on Twitter @IndiansonSI