Athletes - Steve Blass

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	Athletes - Steve Blass

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.

Player 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 9.85 in 1973. He walked 84 batters in 88 innings, and struck out only 27. The most-common suggestion was that the effects were largely psychological; his friend and teammate Roberto Clemente had died in a plane crash in the offseason, affecting Blass's preparation, which in turn lead to excessive self-consciousness and doubt about his effectiveness. After spending the year attempting and failing to work through the problem, he retired in 1974.

Post-Playing Career

Following his retirement as a player, 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. That year he also participated in an exhibition event featuring retired Pirates, the first time he had pitched in front of a crowd since his retirement. The Pirates have him under contract through the 2007 season.

In the Baseball Vocabulary

"Steve Blass Disease" has become, in sports jargon, a term for a psychological condition manifested when an athlete suddenly and inexplicably loses the ability to perform even basic functions in assignments he previously excelled in. Other baseball players who have suffered similar problems include Steve Sax
, Chuck Knoblauch
, Rick Ankiel
, David Cone
and Mark Wohlers
.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Steve Blass ]

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