Roland Hemond, the general manager of the White Sox, was at Bradenton that day, and he said, It was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever seen in baseball.. Lived in. Steve Blass had become the tenured ace of the squad. They never came. Then suddenly, he lost his ability to pitch and it never returned. On any level, baseball is a tough game if it isnt really fun, Blass said. "All three were good, and Art was the best of us all," said Mr. Blass, "but he blew his arm out after he signed." Johnny Oates walked. He didnt quite make the big club when training ended in the spring, and was sent down to the Pirates Triple A club in Columbus, but the call came three weeks later. I never could have stood it., When Blass is asked about this last summer of his baseball career, he will only say that it was kind of a difficult time or not the most fun Ive had. In extended conversations about himself, he often gives an impression of an armored blandness that suggests a failure of emotion; this apparent insensitivity about himself contrasts almost shockingly with his subtle concern for the feelings of his teammates and his friends and his family, and even of strangers. It was kind of scary.. Blass, then 29, still wishes he had talked longer, told his neighbors more of what was, and still is in his heart. The catcher is Manny Sanguillen, of the Pirates, and his leaping teammate is pitcher Steve Blass, who has just defeated the defending (and suddenly former) World Champion Baltimore Orioles by a score of 21, giving up four hits. The former Karen Lamb, who will celebrate her 49th anniversary with Mr. Blass today [Friday], came from an athletic family. The Mets game was his last of the year. Ive had good luck against him with that sort of stuff.. A pattern pitcher, whose slider works because of its location. But Steve Blass never had a good day in baseball after this thing hit him.. Or wont. This insider's view of the humorous and bizarre journey of . Three days later, the Pirates held a press conference to announce that they had requested waivers from the other National League clubs, with the purpose of giving Blass his unconditional release. This argument is a difficult one, and is probably impossible to resolve. The training period made it clear that nothing had altered with him (he walked twenty-five men in fourteen innings in exhibition play), and when the club went North he was left in Bradenton for further work. He threw fifty-one pitches, but only seventeen of them were strikes. Still he cannot win. Well, this early in the game I wouldnt try to throw him that slow curvethat big slop offspeed pitch. You know, Blass said, before we faced him wed always have a team meeting and wed say, Stay out of the batters box, clean your spikesanything to make him slow up. But it never lasted more than an inning or two. How many seasons did Steve Blass play? Other occupants: Lamb Harriet T Mather. Some of them mentioned Rex Barney, a Dodger fastball pitcher of the nineteen-forties, who quit baseball while still a young man because of his uncontrollable wildness; Barney, however, had only one good year, and it is fair to say that he never did have his great stuff under control. He is very tallsix-six. Its Gimme the ball, boom! Now Ill throw him a sinking fastball, and still try to work him out that way. PITTSBURGH -- Steve Blass sat in the press conference room at PNC Park on Tuesday morning with a piece of paper in front of him. . I dont think pitchers, by their nature, allow themselves to think that way, he said. His wife, Karen, also from the . Resides in Buffalo, NY. It was probably at this time that Blass consulted a psychiatrist. 5 (3). When Ted Simmons stood in for the visitors, Blass said, Hes always hit me pretty good. His totals for the one and one-third innings were seven runs, five hits, six bases on balls, and three wild pitches. Updated: 3:31 PM EST Jan 15, 2019. Ill give him a slider, but awayoff the outside.. 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. See Photos. Then, at some point, I turned the corner. The gamethe White Sox vs. the Orioleswas a close, 31 affair, in which the winning White Sox pitcher, John McKenzie, struck out seventeen batters, in six innings. Join Facebook to connect with Karen Lamb and others you may know. Just the other morning, he was out working on the lawn, and a couple of the neighbors children came over to see him. They urged him to cut loose with the fastball. Now, after ball one, Ill give him a medium-to-slow curveball and try to get it over the platejust throw it for a strike., Now I throw him a real slow curveballa regular rainbow. The players and coaches and fans I talked to about Steve Blass brought up a few other names, but then they quickly realized that the cases were not really the same. He and Karen Lamb were married in the fall of 1963, and they went to the Dominican Republic that winter, where Steve played for the Cibaeas Eagles and began working on a slider. The Cubs batted around against him in the first inning he pitched, and in the sixth he gave up back-to-back home runs. 0:56. Log In. Blass retired to the bullpen and worked on fundamentals. In the end, it was talking to people that did it. Blass spent four days with him, and then rejoined the Pirates, this time as a batting-practice pitcher. (He is said to have once thrown twenty-seven consecutive balls in a spring-training game.) . HARTFORD, Conn. Steve Blass had just pitched the game of his life, of any pitcher's life, beating the Orioles, 2-1, in Game 7 of the World Series. I remember the vivid contrast in styles between the two stars in the noisy, floodlit, champagne-drenched Pirate clubhouse that afternoon. If he came back now, however, it would have to be at the minor-league level, and even if he made it back to the majors, he could expect only three or four more years before his effectiveness would decline because of age and he would have to start thinking about retirement. At one point, he leaned forward a little and peered into the Pirate dugout and murmured, Is Dock Ellis over in his regular corner there?, but for the most part he kept his eyes on the field. Im going to try to throw strikes and not get too fine. But then he suddenly shut up about it, and he never talked that way again. [1] [2] He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology 's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). Blass was enjoying himself, and it seemed to me that the familiarities and surprises of the game had restored something in him. Joe Brown had told Blass that the end of the line might be approaching. ER 2002-12, 2014-16. Steve was startled by the unfamiliar view. "I had all kinds of games, with different, very complicated ground rules. He became smug and was no longer hungry. Los Angeles. Blass did not argue about the decision; in fact, as a veteran with more than eight years service in the majors, he had to agree to the demotion before the parent club could send him down. Uncle and Aunt, Larry and Karen (Erickson) Stoller, Uncle Chris Blass, Aunt Coleen Blass, Cousins Lyndsi . Blasss best friends in baseball are Tony Bartirome, Dave Giusti, and Nelson King (who, along with Bob Prince, is part of the highly regarded radio-and-television team that covers the Pirate games). He wont want to take the bat out of Benchs hands. He released another cloud of cigar smoke, thinking hard. They can bury you before you even get started. Learning the names of all the kids is the hard part, he said to me. No control problems. Steve had a lot of guts to stay out there as long as he did. In spite of it all, Blass has kept his humor and has enjoyed life. But it was talking that did it, and my point is that Steve cant talk to people that way. Perez had shortened up on the bat a little, but he took the pitch. The summer of 1972the year after his splendid World Serieswas in most respects the best season that Steve Blass ever had. It may also be seen, in a much enlarged version, on one wall of the office of Joe L. Brown, the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, in Three Rivers Stadium. He cracked a thumb while fielding a grounder in 1966. 'The Mooncatcher's Rescue' is out now, published by Walker Books, illustrated by Lia Visirin. Blass threw another slider, and Bench hit a line single to left, moving Morgan to second. This is one reason that athletes are paid so well, and one reason that fear of failurethe unspeakable chokingis their deepest and most private anxiety. His eight-year-old brother, Chris, played second, and their father, Steve Blass, in old green slacks and a green T-shirt, coached at third. District Office in California. Ive had the greatest moments a person could ever want. The pitcher goes into a slump. A Southwest Florida golf legend died Sunday. I would call the balls and strikes and hits. He started again against the Braves on June 11th, in Atlanta; after three and one-third innings he was gone, having given up seven singles, a home run, two walks, and a total of five runs. I thought Id died and gone to Heaven, Blass said to me. Hes really developed as a hitter. Then there was an error by Richie Hebner, at third, on a grounder hit by Ken Reitz, and Blass said, Did you notice the batter take that big swing and then hit it off his hands? Then, in the fifth and deciding game, he returned and threw seven and one-third more innings of thoughtful and precise patterns, allowing only four hits, and departed with his team ahead by 32a pennant-winning outing, except for the fact that the Pirate bullpen gave up the ghost in the bottom of the ninth, when a homer, two singles, and a wild pitch entitled the Reds to meet the Oakland As in the 1972 World Series. By early June, his record was three wins and three losses, but his earned-run average suggested that his difficulties were serious. In this business, you bet on character. The manager of the Charlies, Steve Demeter, put Blass in the regular starting rotation, but he fared no better against minor-leaguers than he had in the big time. He went the full distance in eleven of the thirty-two games he started, and averaged better than seven and a half innings per startnot dazzling figures (Steve Carlton, of the Phillies, had thirty complete games that year, and Bob Gibson, of the Cards, had twenty-three) but satisfying ones for a man who had once had inordinate difficulty in finishing games. He is remarkably open to all kinds of people, but I think he has closed his mind to his inner self. I dont know the answer, Bill Virdon told me in the Yankee clubhouse. And I felt that even this might not be enough for him. 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. Im not certain that I saw Blass work in the regular season of 1972, but I did see him pitch the opening game of the National League playoffs that fall against the Cincinnati Reds, in Pittsburgh. Im not bitter about this. I think there are things weighing on him, and I think he may be so angry inside that hes afraid to throw the ball. You cant force your ideas on somebody, especially when he is doing what he thinks he has to do. Karen Lamb 10 likes. There is no other player in recent baseball historyat least none with Blasss record and credentialswho has lost his form in such sudden and devastating fashion and been totally unable to recover. The word on him among the other clubs in his league was something like: Good but not overpowering stuff, excellent slider, good curve, good changeup curve. I remember that after the 71 Series he said, I didnt think I was as good as this. He seemed truly surprised at what hed done. When Chris Blass went down swinging in the fourth, his father came over and said, The sinker down and away is tough. Steve Blass has a longish, lightly freckled face, a tilted nose, and an alert and engaging expression. Dave Giusti (He is one of the great relief pitchers in baseball. Lamb was 67 and had been in the hospital a week or . After giving up a home run to the Reds second batter of the day, Joe Morgan, which was hit off a first-pitch fastball, Blass readjusted his plans and went mostly to a big, slow curve, causing the Reds to hit innumerable rainmaking outfield flies, and won by 51. With Steve, everything is right out in the open, Karen said. The other, more serious theories are sometimes presented alone, sometimes in conjunction with others. Occasionally, the poor performance is repeated, then extended. Every accomplishment, every stage of the gameyou have no idea how much he loved it, how he enjoyed the game.. Karen Blass (Limited edition) See Photos. Youre afraid to lose a friend, and you want to go easy on him because he is your friend. Earlier in the week of my visit, he had accepted a promising job with Jostens, Inc., a large jewelry concern that makes, among other things, World Series rings and high-school graduation rings, and he would go to work for them shortly as a travelling representative in the Pittsburgh area. Steve Blass was with the team through this stretch, but he took no part in the campaign, and by now he was almost silent in the clubhouse. What was mystifying about the whole thing was that Blass still had his stuff, especially when he warmed up or threw on the sidelines. CELEBRITY GOSSIPY BIO. Steve Blass weighed 165 lbs (74 kg) when playing. The Blasses place in Falls Village included an old barn with an interestingly angled roof, against which young Steve Blass played hundreds of one-man games (his four brothers and sisters were considerably younger) with a tennis ball. and in bookshops internationally. Books: A Pirate for Life Children: David Blass, Chris Blass. You may leave a message for the family by clicking here. Which of the two, I keep wondering, was happier that afternoon about the Pirates championship and his part in it? They have two children. Somehow, he didnt show any emotion at all. Especially the young guyshe really understood them, and they put their confidence in him because of that. He covered it all up. The child in him is a great thingweve all loved itand maybe he was suddenly afraid he was losing it. He suddenly laughed. Perez is not a good high, hard fastball hitter, Blass said. How much is Steve Blass worth? A big-league fastball comes in on the batter at about eighty-five or ninety miles an hour, completing its prescribed journey of sixty feet six inches in less than half a second, and, if it is a strike, generally intersects no more than an inch or two of the seventeen-inch-wide plate, usually near the upper or lower limits of the strike zone; curves and sliders arrive a bit later but with intense rotation, and must likewise slice off only a thin piece of the black if they are to be effective. Hes an exceptional offspeed hitter, and will give himself up with men on basegive up a little power to get that run in.. Tony Bartirome (He is forty-three years old, dark-haired, extremely neat in appearance. He walked Mike Lum, throwing one pitch behind him in the process, which allowed Evans to move down to second. The big hit of the game was a triple to left center by the White Sox catcher, David Blass, who is ten years old. Then it was over. Karen Blass lives in Pittsburgh, PA; previous city include Bradenton FL. Its something he has always felt very strongly about, and I have to give him all the credit in the world. He could do rat soundsthe noise a rat makes running. Blass has known the best and the worst of Pirates seasons on a personal level. The crowd is there, this is the World Series, and all of a sudden youre locked into something. All Ive ever wanted to do since I was six years old was to keep on playing baseball. Under the guidance of pitching coach Don Osborn, he attempted some unusual experiments. Tom Seaver went through such a slump last summer. He appeared in 23 games, started 18 and only amassed 88.2 innings pitched. When was Steve Blass born? There have been hundreds of shiningly promising rookie pitchers and sluggers who, for one reason or another, could not do their thing once they got up to the big time. Other elite athletes have experienced the same loss of ability. Results focussed and relationship orientated sales leader and business development professional. [1] It is directly behind the overlapping hand and glove of the dancers, and it binds and recapitulates the lines of force and the movements and the theme of the work, creating a composition as serene and well ordered as a Giotto. Virdon and Blass agreed that a spell in the bullpen seemed called for; at least he could work on his problems there every day. It was his second game of the spring as a White Sox coach, and between innings one of the young outfielders said to him, Hey, Mr. Blass, how come youre not playing with the Pirates at Three Rivers today?, Well, Blass said equably, Im not in baseball anymore., Twilight and the end of the game approached at about the same speed, and I kept losing track of the count on the batters. I had always wanted to hear a pitcher say exactly what he would throw next and why, and now I invited Blass to throw against the Cincinnati Reds, the toughest lineup of hitters anywhere. Steve Forrest, Karen Lamm appearing in the ABC tv movie 'The Hatfields and the McCoys'. The Pirates had scored again in the eighth, but the Orioles had responded with a run of their own and had brought the tying run around to third base before Blass shut them off once and for all. By luck, two of the outreaching hands have overlapped exactly in the middle of the photograph, so that the pitchers bare right palm and fingers are silhouetted against the catchers glove, and as a result the two men are linked and seem to be executing a figure in a manic and difficult dance. Blass and I sat in his car at the pizza place, drinking beer and waiting for our order, and he talked about his baseball beginnings. Steve Blass, Erik Sherman. 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. I took some of these hard questions to Blasss colleagues. Young kidsmaybe three or four years old. Everybody has been great to me, all through this thing, Blass said. It was a horrendous disappointment for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans, for which no blame at all could be attached to Blass. Swinging strike. Pete Rose is leading offright? Karen@Goldlamb1.com. I was encouraged. He was almost alone now with his problema baseball castawayand he had reached the point where he was willing to try practically anything. This was a late-afternoon date in the Upper St. Clair (Pennsylvania) Recreation League schedule, played between the White Sox and the Orioles on a field behind the Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary SchoolLittle League baseball, but at a junior and highly informal level. 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