Whether you enjoyed Bert Blyleven's commentary or not, tonight will be an end of an era.

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As a kid, being "Circled By Bert' was a dream. Every broadcast I would watch just to see who got circled, and when I was lucky enough to attend a game in person, you can bet I had a sign made (my hand-writing was awful though so my mother had to help)

Losing being "Circled By Bert' is just one reason why tonight will be an end of an era for Twins fans. Wednesday, September 2nd is the Hall-of-Famer's final television broadcast with the Minnesota Twins.

According to Blyleven's twitter account, he announced that after 25 years tonight would be his final night in the booth next to Dick Bremer.

 

I understand that not everyone loved listening to Bert in the booth, but you can't deny the guy could tell a story and while his old-school mentality may have worn some listeners down, you have to appreciate that he was one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game, won two World Series (1979 with Pittsburgh and 1987 with Minnesota) and was inducted to the Hall-of-Fame in 2011.

I've met Bert a couple of times, once at Target Field, and in classic Bert fashion he gave me the 'bunny ears' and another the most recent Twins Caravan in Rochester. Proving yet again why he is so interesting to listen to, you are never sure what he will say.

Photo by Luke Lonien/TSM Roch
Photo by Luke Lonien/TSM Roch
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While Justin Morneau, Roy Smalley, Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins, and many others will fill the roles as the color commentator next to Dick Bremer, they won't be like Bert. And that is O.K., they each will bring their own experiences to the booth.

So, yes, it will be an end on an era have Bert finishes his final broadcast of not just the 2020 season, but his career. I am sure we will see him on and again, but there will never be another color commentator like Bert, that is for sure.

You can also catch Twins baseball all season long on 103.1 KFIL.

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