Twins announce Wednesday night is Bert Blyleven's final game in TV booth

Bert Blyleven, a Twins analyst for the past 25 seasons, was in the TV booth for his final game Wednesday night when the team faced the White Sox.

Blyleven, formerly a full-time analyst whose workload has decreased in recent years, will transition into a role as a special assistant with the Twins during which he will engage with fans and make team appearances.

He is also expected to continue as an on-field instructor during spring training.

The 69-year-old native of the Netherlands was raised in California and made his Twins debut in 1970 at age 19. He was 287-250 in 22 major league seasons, winning World Series titles with Pittsburgh and the Twins. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011, his final year of eligibility, and is still fifth all time in career strikeouts with 3,701, trailing only Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Steve Carlton.

As an analyst, he was known for drawing telestrator circles on signs fans brought to the ballpark that read, "Circle Me Bert."

"For 25 years I have had the privilege to be part of the Twins broadcast team," Blyleven wrote on Twitter (@BertBlyleven28). "Tonight sad to say will be my last Twins broadcast. But I will continue to serve my role as a Special Assistant for future years. I want to thank the Twins organization, Dave St. Peter and ESPECIALLY THE FANS for your support over the years. You are ALL "Hereby Circled." God Bless and be safe."

St. Peter, the Twins president, said in a release that Blyleven "is a great ambassador for baseball, and we look forward to his continued role with the Minnesota Twins."

Blyleven began working as a full-time analyst for the Twins in 1996 on Midwest Sports Channel.