Sport: A Bolt of Blue Lightning

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Despite the undeniable effectiveness of his fastball, Blue has ambitions to be even better. "The more I pitch," he says, "the more I realize that I'm going to have to change speeds. That's the kind of pitcher I want to be. The 3-2 curve, the 3-2 changeup with the bases loaded. That's guts. But those are things I'm going to have to learn." He has already started. Early in the season, his approach was to "blow them down," meaning that he threw the fastball 90% of the time. Now he goes with the hard one only two out of three pitches, mixing in his snappy and slow curves to keep the batter guessing.

Hustling Ball Club

Possessed of an almost unsettling cool, Blue says that he concentrates so intently during a game that he is deaf to the cheers of the crowd. Before a game, he relaxes so thoroughly that he often falls asleep on the trainer's table. But once the game starts, he is a different man; he may be the only pitcher in the history of baseball who actually runs to and from the mound. "The A's are a hustling ball club," he says, "and I figured I should be there hustling with the rest of them."

As a team, the A's are doing so well that they are leading the American League's Western Division by 14 full games. Backstopping Blue, Oakland has one of the league's strongest trios of starting pitchers: Chuck Dobson (12-2), Catfish Hunter (14-10) and, coming back after an injury, Blue Moon Odom (7-8). Rollie Fingers and Mudcat Grant lend further color to the A's roster of unusual names—and authority to their bullpen. At the plate, Third Baseman

Sal Bando (18 homers, 73 RBIs) and Rightfielder Reggie Jackson (20 homers, 52 RBls) provide the power. After a slow start, Centerfielder Rick Monday hit his stride two weeks ago when he clouted six homers in seven games. And when Monday or some other regular is not carrying the load, there always seems to be someone on the bench ready to take over, most notably Utility Men Tommy Davis (.322) and Gene Tenace (.314). Shut out only six times in 118 games this season, the A's are a well-rounded squad of solid, if not spectacular players who almost always manage to hustle a few runs across the plate. When Blue is pitching, one run is very often enough.

Though comparisons are inevitable, Blue does not welcome them. Invariably, A's Manager Williams will say, "Vida reminds me of Sandy Koufax—with a five-year head start." And just as quickly Blue will add, "Funny, I don't look Jewish." He explains that "it's nice to be compared with Koufax or Lefty Grove, who were great in their time. But this is just my first year. What have I accomplished besides winning so-and-so many games? I'm not trying to imitate anybody. I'm Vida Blue. I just pitch the way Vida Blue does."