My guess is that Bert Blyleven, having been raised in California, probably feels more American than Dutch, but he was born as Rik Aalbert Blijleven in Zeist, the Netherlands, in 1951.

Yet aside from a short stint as pitching coach for the Netherlands' national baseball team in 2006, his life and career were spent in the US and included an impressive 22-year span in Major League Baseball. It was during that time that he earned his nickname, the 'Frying Dutchman'.

This week, Blyleven became the first ever Dutch-born player to be inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. Click here to read the article about this special occasion in the Los Angeles Times.

Pictured left to right: Pat Gillick, Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven
Image © 2011 Jim McIsaac / Getty Images | Source: Los Angeles Times

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