Blass did hit a number of players in his career, of course, but he never caused anyone to go on the disabled list or, for that matter, to miss even one days work. Steve Blass, who is now thirty-three, is out of baseball, having been recently driven into retirement by two years of pitching wildnessa sudden, near-total inability to throw strikes. Theres one possibility nobody has brought up, he said. of less than 3.00 certifies true quality in almost exactly the same fashion as an over-.300 batting average for hitters. The phone numbers for her are (712) 273-5345 (Frontier Communications of Iowa, Inc), (712) 320-3324 (United States Cellular Corp.Frontier Communications of Iowa, Inc). At least that problem could be solved now. Select this result to view Stephen Mark Blass's phone number, address, and more. I would call the balls and strikes and hits. A Southwest Florida golf legend died Sunday. On any level, baseball is a tough game if it isnt really fun, Blass said. It was kind of scary.. Steve Blass is 6-0 (183 cm) tall. They can bury you before you even get started. He does not talk about itin part out of natural reticence but also because the Pirate front office, in an effort to protect his privacy, turned away inquiries into this area by Pittsburgh writers and persistently refused to comment on whether any such therapy was undertaken. When I was a boy, I used to make up those fictitious games where I was always pitching in the bottom of the ninth in the World Series. Ive had good luck against him with that sort of stuff.. The child in him is a great thingweve all loved itand maybe he was suddenly afraid he was losing it. SEND FLOWERS Add a Memory Share Obituary . When Ted Simmons stood in for the visitors, Blass said, Hes always hit me pretty good. He and Clemente had not been particularly close, but Blass was among the members of the team who flew at once to Puerto Rico for the funeral services, where Blass delivered a eulogy in behalf of the club. Most painful of all, perhaps, was the fact that the men who most sympathized with his incurable professional difficulties were least able to help. Karen G-s BlaSs. (He is six feet tall, and weighs about one hundred and eighty pounds.) He would tell me about it, and get angry and hurt. He had a 10-year career as a pitcher for the Pirates and pitched two complete games in the 1971 World Series, giving up only seven hits and two runs in 18 innings while posting two victories. Which of the two, I keep wondering, was happier that afternoon about the Pirates championship and his part in it? On my last morning with Steve Blass, we sat in his family room and played an imaginary ballgame togetherhalf an inning of baseball. His statistics for the 1973 season were three wins and nine defeats, and an earned-run average of 9.81. Pirates broadcaster and World Series champion Steve Blass is congratulated by his wife, Karen, during a ceremony honoring his 60 years of service with the team Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at PNC Park. This is before the rest of the squad arrives, you understand, so youre just pitching to the other pitchers. His eyesight went bad. He still knew most of the hitters in his league, and, probably as well as any other pitcher around, he knew what to pitch to them in a given situation. He was a terrific mimic. How many seasons did Steve Blass play? He lit a cigar and blew out a little smoke. Then, in the fourth, there were a couple of bases on balls and maybe a bad call by the ump on a close pitch, and suddenly there was a complete reversal. Blass, who had not pitched in six weeks, was extremely anxious about this test; he walked the streets of Chicago on the night before the game, and could not get to sleep until after five in the morning. I worried about not contributing to the team. The mystery of Steve Blasss decline was old stuff by now in most big-league-city newspapers, but as soon as he was sent down, there was a fresh wave of attention from the national press and the networks, and sportswriters for newspapers in Memphis and Rochester and Richmond and the other International League cities looked on his arrival in town as a God-given feature story. Just the other morning, he was out working on the lawn, and a couple of the neighbors children came over to see him. In spite of such hovering and inexplicable hazards, every big-league pitcher knows exactly what is expected of him. As you can imagine, theres very little good work or improvement you can do under those circumstances.. None of Blasss appearances during the rest of the 73 season were as dreadful as the Atlanta game, but none of them were truly successful. Sign Up. Karen Blass lives in Pittsburgh, PA; previous city include Bradenton FL. Karen Blais. Steve Blass, the Pittsburgh Pirates hero of the 1971 World Series, was on of the most effective pitchers during th e spna 1968-1972. This is circular, and perhaps more a description of symptoms than of the disability itself. His decline, however, was partially attributable to his failure to stay in shape. This was understandable, for he was in limbo. The Blass family room was trophied and comfortable. But it never happenedBlass saw to it that it didnt. By early August, Blasss record with Charleston was two and nine, and 9.74. Steve Blass was born on April 18, 1942. Im not a student of pitching and Im not a psychologist. I worried about being traded. Steve Lamb Steve Burt Lamb Stave Ann B Jill Lamb S Afmd Jill A Blackburn. I dont want to put myself over other people. He takes pride in the fact that his outward, day-to-day demeanor altered very little through his long ordeal. Results focussed and relationship orientated sales leader and business development professional. Morgan wont be stealing, probably, Blass said. The game went well for him. On one sidethe left, as you look at the picturethe catcher is running toward the camera at full speed, with his upraised arms spread wide. California Secretary of State. With Joe Browns permission, he left the Charlies and flew West to consult Dr. Bill Harrison, of Davis, California. Toward the end of his 30-minute speech . Steve Blass, Erik Sherman. Then, unexpectedly, the slump endsmost of the time, that isand he is back where he was: a winning pitcher. What happened to Steve Blass? Blass threw adequately in brief streaks, but very badly against most batters. Blass, then 29, still wishes he had talked longer, told his neighbors more of what was, and still is in his heart. The former Karen Lamb, who will celebrate her 49th anniversary with Mr. Blass today [Friday], came from an athletic family. He then fouled off a fastball, and Blass threw him another good fastball, high and inside, and Perez struck out, swinging, to end the inning. Karen M Lamb. Lived in. I thought it might be the end for me. Thus, it may be posited as a rule that a major-league hurler who gives up an average of just over three and a half runs per game is about at the middle of his professionan average pitcher. He knew that Virdon was not going to use him, but whenever the Pirates fell behind in a game, he felt jumpy about the possibility of being called upon. He says now that he was very interested in Dr. Harrisons theories but that they just didnt seem to help him much. Blass once told me that there were at least seventeen theories about the reason for his failure. Nobodys ever enjoyed winning a big-league game more than I have. Karen Lamb (Blass) is a 1960 graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Connecticut. The photograph shows a perfectly arrested moment of joy. Steve Blass had become the tenured ace of the squad. Blass, once his difficulties commenced, was helpless. The wife of longtime Fort Myers director of golf Rich Lamb is recovering after being involved in a wrong-way, head-on car accident on Alligator Alley on Tuesday. He was seriously affected by the death of Roberto Clemente. The date of the photograph is October 17, 1971; the place is Memorial Stadium, in Baltimore. In the photo, Karen Blass looks extremely pretty in a large straw hat, and all three male Blasses are wearing Pirate uniforms; the boys uniforms look a little funny, because in their excitement each boy had put on the others pants. It all made for looseness and togetherness. Im real proud of the fact that this thing hasnt bothered us at home. A few of them are bromides: He was too nice a guy. This, the third and central Y in the picture, is immobile. Then, in late February, 1974, Blass reported to Bradenton with the other Pirate pitchers and catchers. Thats what people mean when they say youre in the groove. Sometimes in the eveningonce in a great whilewed be sitting together, and wed have a couple of drinks and he would relax enough to start to talk. He had another pretty good outing against the Cardinals, for no decision, and then started against the Mets, in New York, on September 21st, but got only two men out, giving up four instant runs on a walk and four hits. He sulks or rages, according to his nature; he asks for help; he works long hours on his motion. Steve Blass is a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and has been broadcasting their games as color commentator since 1987. Today Mayor Bill Peduto named Saturday, September 28, Steve Blass . The remaining pieces of evidence (if, indeed, they have any part in the mystery) have been recounted here. But decades from now he'll still be remembered in Pittsburgh for the prior. The Pirate organization had been extraordinarily patient, but was, after all, in the business of baseball. I was a total Indians fan, completely buggy. I wanted to feel I had at least got things turned around and facing in the right direction.. Bill Virdon, the Pirate manager, was patient and told Blass to take all the time he needed to find himself; he reminded Blass that oncein 1970he had had an early record of two and eight but had then come back to finish the season with a mark of ten and twelve. It must have been hell for him, Dave Giusti says. The win was the culmination of a stirring uphill fight by the Pirates, who had fallen into difficulties by losing the first two games to the Orioles; Steve Blass had begun their comeback with a wonderfully pitched three-hit, 51 victory in the third game. My overriding philosophy is to have a regard for others, he once told me. Thats just to set up another slider outside., Were ahead one and two nowright? Blass said. The other, more serious theories are sometimes presented alone, sometimes in conjunction with others. On August 1st, he started against the Mets and Tom Seaver at Shea Stadium and gave up three runs and five walks in one and two-thirds innings. So as long as Im ahead of him, Ill keep on throwing him sliderskeep going that way.. And I felt that even this might not be enough for him. I must have thrown it three out of four pitches to him, and I just knew it was going to be there. Early that season, however, baseball suddenly stopped being fun for him. He worked the count to 32 on Carlos May, and then threw the next pitch behind him. At contract-renewal time, earned-run averages below 3.30 are invariably mentioned by pitchers; an E.R.A. Maybe it was like his never having a sore arm. 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