1) Grow up in a struggling Dutch immigrant family in Orange County; play Little League and listen to Dodger games on the radio. 2) Play nightly games of catch with your dad until your fastball stings his hand no matter how much he pads his glove. 3) Have Dad build you a pitcher’s mound in the backyard and paint a strike zone on a tarp hung over a chain-link fence. 4) Pitch a bucket of 30 balls again and again, trying to emulate the “drop” pitch of Sandy Koufax and the fastballs of Don Drysdale.  5) Play football and run cross-country in high school to build up your strength and endurance. 6) Work with Minnesota Twins scout Jesse Flores and ex-Dodger pitcher Ed Roebuck to refine your “drop” pitch into a curveball; get drafted by the Twins right after graduation. 7) Hone your curveball to legendary status by pitching nearly 5,000 innings with 3,701 strikeouts, 60 shutouts, and 242 complete games over the next 22 years. Or Just Be Bert Blyleven.