| Steve Blass | |
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Blass in 2009. |
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| Pitcher | |
| Born: April 18, 1942 Canaan, Connecticut |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| May 10, 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 18, 1974 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Career statistics | |
| Record | 103-76 |
| ERA | 3.63 |
| Strikeouts | 896 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Stephen Robert "Steve" Blass (born April 18, 1942) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and a current broadcast announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Blass was born in Canaan, Connecticut. In a 10-year career, Blass posted a 103-76 record with 896 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA in 1597 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 World 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.[1] His ERA climbed to 9.81 in the 1973 season. He walked 84 batters in 88⅔ innings, and struck out only 27. Blass suffered through the 1973 season, then spent most of 1974 in the minor leagues. He retired from baseball in March 1975; two months later writer Roger Angell chronicled Blass's travails in an essay in The New Yorker.[2]
A condition referred to as "Steve Blass Disease" has become a part of baseball lexicon. The "diagnosis" is applied to talented players who inexplicably and permanently seem to lose their ability to accurately throw a baseball.[1][3][4][5] The fielder's variant of "Steve Blass Disease" is sometimes referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome".
Notable victims of "Steve Blass Disease" include Rick Ankiel[6][7][8] and Dontrelle Willis.[9]
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 .
On September 10, 2009, Steve Blass recorded 2 holes-in-one during a single 18 hole round of golf.[10]
He was inducted into the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.
| Preceded by Pete Rose |
Major League Player of the Month September, 1968 |
Succeeded by Willie McCovey |
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