Steve Blass
From BR Bullpen
Stephen Robert Blass
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
The story of Steve Blass is one of the greatest baseball enigmas of all time. Somewhere between the 1972 and 1973, Blass completely lost his command of the strike zone. After a 19-8 season in 1972 with a 2.49 ERA, a season in which he was runner-up in the Cy Young Award voting to Steve Carlton, Blass slipped to 3-9 with a 9.85 ERA in 1973. Blass stuck out 117 and walked 84 in 249.7 innings in 1972 but in 1973 he stuck out only 27 while walking a whopping 84 batters in just 88.7 innings. By 1974 Blass was pitching for the Charleston Charlies of the International League. No explanation was ever found for his loss of control. He never recovered and was out of baseball by 1975.
Blass has been a radio broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1986. A fantastic story about the career of Steve Blass can be found in the Anthology "Best American Sportswriting of the Century," in a story by Roger Angell that originally appeared in the New Yorker. The story tries to explain the seemingly inexplicable jump in Blass' ERA from 2.49 in 1972 to 9.85 in 1973, which eventually led to the end of his career as a player.
- Was a teammate of his brother-in-law, John Lamb
[edit] Notable Achievements
- NL All-Star (1972)
- NL Winning Percentage Leader (1968)
- NL Shutouts Leader (1971)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 4 (1968, 1969, 1971 & 1972)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1968, 1969, 1971 & 1972)
- Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971
