Much has been said and written about Pirates legend Steve Blass over the last few days, as the beloved pitcher-turned-broadcaster-turned-ambassador winds up his second Bucco career and transitions into the next.
Scores of tributes have rolled in from far and near from those who’ve grown up listening to Blass on Pirates broadcasts, those who played with and against him and those who can recall watching him reach the pinnacle of baseball success – and then, without warning, tumble quickly and violently off that mountaintop.
I fall in the last camp, as I came to baseball about the same time Blass was taking his final step up the minor league ladder – from Asheville in the South Atlantic League to Pittsburgh’s Triple-A team in the International League, the Columbus Jets, in 1963.