Steve Blass

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Steve Blass (born April 18, 1942 in Canaan, Connecticut) is a former Major League Baseball right handed pitcher and a current broadcast announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1 Playing career
2 Post-playing career
3 "Steve Blass Disease"
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Playing career

In a 10-year career, Blass posted a 103-76 record with 896 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA in 1597.1 innings pitched.

Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960, Blass made his major league debut in 1964, joining the team permanently in 1966. He won 18 games in 1968, including a 2.12 ERA with seven shutouts, both career-highs, and in 1969 won 16 with a career-high 147 strikeouts. From 1969-72, Blass won 60 games, with a career-high 19 victories in 1972. In that season, he made the National League All-Star team.

In the 1971 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, Blass pitched two complete game wins, allowing only seven hits and two runs in 18 innings. He finished second in the voting for Series MVP behind teammate Roberto Clemente.

Besides his Series performance, Blass is best known for his sudden and inexplicable loss of control after the 1972 season. His lifetime ERA of 3.24 prior to 1972 ballooned to 9.81 in the 1973 season. He walked 84 batters in 88 innings, and struck out only 27. The most-common suggestion was that the effects were largely psychological. Blass suffered through the 1973 season, then spent most of 1974 in the minor leagues. He gave it one last try in spring training of 1975. Failing to regain his form, he retired from baseball in March 1975.

[edit] Post-playing career

Following his retirement as a player, Blass held several jobs. He was a sales representative for Jostens, a ring manufacturer. He called on schools in western Pennsylvania in an effort to sell them class rings. Later, Blass became a salesman for Frank Fuhrer Wholesale, a Pittsburgh-based beer distributor. Blass joined the Pirates' TV and radio broadcast team in 1983 as a part-time color commentator, earning a full-time post in 1986. He is known for his affable nature and knowledge of the game. Before the 2005 season, he announced that he would only announce home games onward so as to spend more time with his family. The Pirates have him under contract through the 2007 season.

He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

[edit] "Steve Blass Disease"

"Steve Blass Disease" has become, in sports jargon, a term for a psychological condition manifested when a baseball player suddenly and inexplicably loses the ability to perform even basic functions in assignments he previously excelled in.^[1] However, baseball columnist Kirk Robinson argues that Blass did not have "Steve Blass Disease" or any inexplicable ailment, his skills just naturally declined over a period of time.^[1] Other players who have been said to have this include Mark Wohlers, Steve Sax, Chuck Knoblauch, and Lyle Miller.^[1]