Up Close with the Pittsburgh Sports Report

Pirates Broadcaster Steve Blass

Last season, Steve Blass was honored for an incredible, rare milestone: his 50th year as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Drafted by the Pirates in 1960, Blass joined a big-league club full of legends in 1964. After emerging as one of the most consistently effective pitchers in baseball throughout the decade, Blass had the chance to prove himself on the game's highest stage. He won the third and seventh games of the 1971 World Series, throwing two complete games and allowing only one run in each.

In 1983, Steve began serving as a color commentator for the Pirates, and has been a part of the broadcast team for 28 years. He has called division-clinching games and disastrous seasons, a thrilling Pirates' no-hitter and a 20-0 loss. In 50 years with the club, he's seen everything the Pirates have to offer, and he is still passionate about the game.

Blass spoke with PSR contributing writer Sean Collier about his long and varied career.

PSR: Your 1968 season was stunningly consistent: 18-6, 2.12 ERA, nine straight starts with a win, three consecutive shutouts in September. How did you maintain that level of effectiveness throughout the season?

Blass: You bring up one of my favorite years. It was the year of the pitcher – I had that great ERA, but it was a total point behind Bob Gibson's 1.12, which was just insane. I was in the bullpen until around May 1, then I got a chance to start, and I never looked back. I didn't hope to win each time, I expected to win. I think in nine starts I had six shutouts – some ridiculous streak. I was in a situation where I made the right the decisions about what to throw; I could throw it where I wanted to when I wanted to. Those kind of runs usually don't last very long, but it was just one of those years. It was certainly my favorite year individually. I couldn't wait to get the ball. I wanted to pitch every other day.

PSR: You had a Cy Young-type season in 1972but finished second to Steve Carlton. Is it easier to win a Cy Young Award today?

Blass: I finished second to Steve Carlton, a distant second, because the Phillies won 59 games as a team and Carlton won 27 of them. '72 was probably the most consistent year – I felt like I pitched very well from beginning to end.

But I think you have to be outstanding to win the Cy Young. I still think that the award has enough credibility. I don't think you can fudge it, I don't think you can do it with smoke and mirrors. It's year-long – the grind of six months of a season, you can't fool anybody. You have to be good for a long time.

PSR: You were so dominant in the '71 series, but that was in contrast to the National League championship series with the Giants. What happened between the pennant and the start of the Series? Did something switch in your mind?

Blass: I'm in the postseason for the first time, and I got caught up in that trap that players can get into – thinking, "OK, I had a good year, but now it's the postseason. I have to be better."

I got caught up in that, and I started trying to strike everybody out. But I got pounded, because I wasn't that kind of pitcher. I tried to do things that I couldn't do. I got caught up in that, and in both my starts I just got my face ripped off.

After that I said, "Wait a minute. That's not the kind of pitcher you are. That's not what got you here." It was a light switch going on, and I went back and it fell into place in the World Series, and it was wonderful.

PSR: Do you have a finest memory outside of the postseason?

Blass: A couple things come to mind. Getting called up to the big leagues, after wanting to do that, dreaming about it since you're eight years old. And you get that call that you're going to Pittsburgh – you never forget that. My first major league win – I had a chance to pitch against Don Drysdale at Dodger Stadium, and I beat him. Pitched a complete game. You never forget your first win. And having the chance to play beside three Hall-of-Famers – Maz, Stargell, and Clemente. The whole thing is like living a dream that I'm still living.

PSR: On the other side, could you name your finest memory as a broadcaster?

Blass: One great moment was the no-hitter that Ricardo Rincon and Francisco Cordova threw, then Mark Smith hitting the home run to cap it off in the 10th inning. That was a treat. Watching them win the division in '90, '91, and '92 – the clinching games. That's a neat feel. Having been tutored by Bob Prince. The guys that helped me – Lanny Frattare gave me every opportunity to step in and learn what I do. Mike Lange helped me a great bit. I've never lost track of the fact that I was handed that job. Guys like Prince and Lange and Frattare weren't – they earned it. That's a perspective that's important to me.

PSR: In a game that the Pirates have to win, who do you want on the mound?

Blass: I'd probably want Ross Ohlendorf. Zach Duke and Paul Maholm aren't kids anymore, and they'll be the first ones to tell you that they're capable of winning 14-15 games, but they haven't gotten to that consistent level. You can't do it one year – it doesn't work that way if you want to be a consistent performer. Ross looks like he could be that kind of player.

PSR: Octavio Dotel is the closer this year. Do you see someone in the bullpen who you think could be the closer of the future?

Blass: That's a very grey area. Dotel is very good, and he has a history of coming into those games, so his mentality is correct. But he's not a kid anymore. It's possible that Evan Meek could be that kind of guy. Joel Hanrahan was that guy for the Nationals, but he had control problems. When he throws over the plate, he is very, very tough.

PSR: Having been in the same organization all this time, and broadcasting since '83, do you feel that it's a different team than the team you played for? Have the past 17 years changed some of the history?

Blass: When you have that kind of streak, it's going to stand out like a sore thumb in a proud organization. But it's one of these loyalty things – I can't ever quit on them. I'm an optimist, and a lot of people have said I have my head in the sand. I understand the reaction, and I'm as frustrated as anyone else. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly, but I still get in the car every day at four o'clock, and I'm going down to watch a big-league ballgame. The standings are gone for that moment, the record is gone, they play the anthem and we start, nothing to nothing again.