CBS:  Induction gives Blyleven chance to thank Koufax

The only one that maybe compared came when Blyleven was with Pittsburgh and threw a two-strike curve in St. Louis one day to catcher Terry Kennedy, who was a lefty, “and he swung at it at the last second, like he was chopping wood,” Blyleven recalls. “Thank goodness it was the last out, because it made everybody laugh, not only on our team, but on their team.

“It was strike three, third out, so I went back to the bench, put a jacket on and looked over at their dugout and they were still laughing at the way he chopped down. I didn’t laugh. I never laughed at a hitter.”

These kind of stories are one of my favorite things about baseball.  I don’t even care if they shade the truth a little—a good story is the essence of baseball nostalgia.