Blue was traded in March of 1978, and immediately made an impact, starting the 1978 All-Star game for the National League on his way to an 18-win season with a 2.79 earned run average and a third-place finish in Cy Young voting.
Of course we all know he won the award back in 1971 with a monster year, going 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA and 301 strikeouts.
Over the next three seasons in Oakland he’d anchor a staff that led the A’s to three straight World Series championships, and the Vida Blue superstar was born.
By the time he retired after the 1986 season he would post a 209-161 record with a nice 3.27 ERA and 2175 strikeouts with six all-star nods.