I'm a big Jim Kaat fan, but he doesn't compare to Blyleven.
Kaat: 283-237, 3.45 ERA, 2461 K, 1.259 WHIP, 107 ERA+
Blyleven: 287-250, 3.31 ERA, 3701 K, 1.198 WHIP, 118 ERA+
The adjusted ERA+ number is the key. Over his career, Kaat was 7 percent better than league average in term of ERA. Blyleven was 18 percent better. That's the difference between good and really good. And, in my opinion, the difference bettween HOF and not HOF.
Ditto for Tommy John (110 ERA+)
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