Vida Blue, a hard-throwing left-hander who became one of baseball's biggest draws in the early 1970s and helped lead the brash Oakland Athletics to three straight World Series titles before his career was derailed by drug problems, has died. He was 73.
The A's said Blue died Saturday but they didn't give a cause of death.
"There are few players with a more decorated career than Vida Blue," the team said in a statement Sunday. "Vida will always be a franchise legend and a friend."
Blue was voted the 1971 American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player after going 24-8 with a 1.