Blue Monday

Vida Blue passed away on Sunday, and it must be said that no young player in baseball history — not DiMaggio nor Williams nor Pujols nor Trout — was a more sure-fire Hall of Famer than a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher named Vida Rochelle Blue.

In 1971, at age 21, Vida Blue went 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA, 301 strikeouts and an 0.952 WHIP. He posted 9 wins abo…