BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
During Spring Training, I found out that I was approved to cover a Pittsburgh Pirates vs Toronto Blue Jays game at 5 AM on a Saturday morning.
My photographer Candy Ebling and I raced up I-75 North to Bradenton Florida and it took us 3.5 hours to reach LECOM PARK. When we entered the Press Box, the first person I saw was Pirates play-by-play announcer Joe Block.
When you think of iconic baseball announcers, and there are many, Vin Scully, Harry Carey, Mel Allen, Jack Buck, Ernie Harrell, Bob Uecker, Jon Miller, Dave Niehaus, Bob Costs and Joe Buck come to mind. If you’re a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, Bob Prince is legendary.
When you look at the Pirates history, their all-time line-up includes Roberto Clemente, Andrew McCutchen, Ralph Kiner, Pie Traynor, Honus Wagner, Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, Roy Face, Jason Kendall, Barry Bonds and Wilbur Cooper. The Manager is Fred Clark. I would give honorable mention to Jim Leyland, Danny Murtaugh and Chuck Tanner.
Time will tell if Paul Skenes will ever be added to the list.
The largest Pirates free agent signings in total dollars are as follows:
1. Francisco Lariano, three years, $39 Million.
2. Ivan Nova, three years, $26 Million.
3. Russell Martin, two years, $17 Million.
4. Daniel Hudson, two years, $11 Million.
5. Jung Ho Kang, four years, $11 Million.
The Pirates last World Series title occurred in 1979 “We Are Family” and that was one of the most iconic group of players last century.
When I talked to Block, he saw my hat “Motor City Mad Mouth” sensing that I was from Detroit and I asked him if he would appear on my show. He more than happy to come on and we did the interview in the Steve Blass Broadcast Booth in the Press Box.
Block is 48 years old and grew up in Roseville, MI. He then went to Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, MI. He graduated from Michigan State University. In 1999.
He worked with the Milwaukee Brewers for four years from 2012-2015. He came to the Pirates in 2016 where he’s been since.
He told me that he idolized Harwell of the Detroit Tigers and learned a lot from Uecker in Milwaukee.
What’s nice about his situation in Pittsburgh is his wife Bethany is from the area and they reside there with their three children.
During our interview which is included in this story, he embraced the history of Pitttsburgh Pirates Baseball and knows a lot about it.
He’s also realistic that the Pirates are in a small market and face challenges of fielding a competitive team with one of the lowest payrolls in MLB.
But that only drives Block as he sees prospects get their opportunities and hope they’ll be the ones that ultimately stay with the club long term.
As of this post, the Pirates are 36-36 and are at the .500 mark. They have a real good shot at the wild card and are led by Manager Don Kelly. At the moment, there are no signs that the team is planning to ship some of their best players at the trade deadline.
During the next collective bargaining agreement, there figures to be a salary floor which will force small market teams to spend more money.
At a time where many announcers are retiring, Block is in the prime of his career and therefore, he has a chance to be talked about with Prince.
He told me that while the Tigers job would have been something he would have liked to do, the Pittsburgh gig is where he knew would make the most sense and become the best fit.
But this is how generations are linked to their teams through the voices of their announcers. Only the great ones get honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford Frick Award. But when he talks positively about Uecker and Harwell, who knows, Block’s name could be in the discussion down the road.
But he’ll be the first to tell you, his immediate goal is to call playoff baseball and win a World Series Title for one of the most iconic, historical franchises in MLB.
I truly hope he get that opportunity. It was great hanging out with a hometown guy in Bradenton, FL.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. He wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which is available on Amazon/Kinde and Barnes & Noble. The audio book is available as well. To see his broadcasts, they’re available on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. All you need to do is simply hit the red subscribe button.
