Sport-On this day: Born April 6, 1951: Bert Blyleven, American baseball pitcher

Bert Blyleven's Hall of Fame plaque proclaims that he "baffled big-league batters with a cruel and knee-buckling breaking ball," an apt description for a pitcher who ranks fifth in career strikeouts in Major League Baseball (MLB).

He recorded 3,701 strikeouts in 692 games, an impressive number in a career that started in just about the worst way possible in 1970. As Blyleven self-deprecatingly recalled at his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2011, he was hit for a home run by the first batter he faced, and was pleasantly surprised when manager Bill Rigney approached the mound with some encouraging words.

"He said something to me I'll never forget. 'You know what son, that's not the last home run you'll give up'," Blyleven said of Rigney. "The man was a genius. Over 22 years I gave up only 429 more!"

The Dutch-born son of parents who emigrated to the United States, Blyleven turned 69 on Monday, some 60 years after he began learning to pitch in the back yard of his southern California home. "All I wanted to do was throw that baseball," said Blyleven, who honed his craft well enough to thrive in a long and illustrious MLB career that spanned more than two decades with five teams.

They included the Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates where he played on respective World Series-winning teams in 1987 and 1979. Right-hander Blyleven's biggest weapon was his curveball -- so-called because the pitcher imparts vicious spin, causing the ball to drop suddenly as it approaches the plate.

After retirement, Blyleven became a TV analyst for the Twins, where he once also threw an unexpected curveball at his co-commentator. Thinking he was recording a pre-game segment, Blyleven stumbled over some words before deciding for a re-do.

He then produced an expletive-filled response to his mistake, much to the astonishment of his co-commentator who replied: "Well, we're live." Blyleven then displayed the poise that had served him so well pitching in the clutch.

"I didn't know that," he said, before quickly apologising and carrying on without missing a beat.