Vida Blue

Diagnoses

Vocation

Notable

Traits

American athlete, a baseball pitcher with Oakland in 1971. He won 24 games his first year and pitched a no-hitter on 9/21/1971 for Oakland against Minneapolis. He won the Cy Young Memorial award in 1971 and 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, July 11, August 6 and September 3, 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 11/19/1986, the Magistrate ordered the pitcher to complete a 90-day rehab program at an Oakland hospital. Link to Wikipedia biography