In his 13th year on the Hall of Fame ballot, the Dutch pitcher with the neatly groomed beard and big-breaking curveball came within five votes of election to Cooperstown on Wednesday.

Five votes! That’s close enough to make a man rant.

But for Blyleven, the latest results represent progress. After waiting more than a decade for his accomplishments to be fully appreciated, he’s a just whisper shy of enshrinement with two tries left on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

“The writers are finally getting it,” Blyleven said in a telephone interview.