A tribute to the voice of the Pirates: Lanny Frattare

‘Go, ball, get outta here!’ ‘There was nooooooo doubt about it.’ Well, Lanny Frattare is out… ‘Go, ball, get outta here!’ ‘There was nooooooo doubt about it.’ Well, Lanny Frattare is out of here, but surprisingly, there was doubt about it. On Wednesday afternoon, the legendary Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster announced his retirement after 33 years in the booth. Just like that, his two signature phrases will disappear into the night sky like a Nate McLouth home run. Frattare’s departure comes as a bit of a shock. Even though he spent more than three decades on the job, he never hinted at retirement throughout the 2008 campaign. The Pirates just finished up their 16th consecutive losing season, tying a baseball and sports record with the 1933-1948 Philadelphia Phillies. Frattare announced practically every single game in this era. A simple numbers crunch finds that nearly half of Frattare’s career took place in the current losing streak. Of Frattare’s first 17 seasons, the Pirates finished with losing records in only six of them. The sum of those figures equates to two-thirds of Frattare’s career submerged in losing campaigns. That’s a lot of defeats. But all the while, he went about his business and was a professional in the truest sense. Frattare was never a flashy, look-at-me type of commentator. He simply let his voice flow with the game’s progress, making you feel like you were listening to a classic ballgame. With the passing of former Steelers’ broadcasting great Myron Cope this year, Pittsburgh has lost two familiar and popular voices over the airwaves that no one will ever hear again. Greg Brown, the other Pirates’ play-by-play man, will be a suitable replacement for Frattare. Brown’s tone and pace while calling the game is more exciting than Frattare’s, and he works particularly well with color commentator and former Bucco Bob Walk. Brown will be up to the task, and the Pirates will probably bring in a second announcer. However, it will be weird to listen to baseball games in Pittsburgh without the familiar Frattare fodder. Polar extremes mark Frattare’s career. The ultimate high came from Pittsburgh’s last World Series title, the ‘We Are Family’ squad of 1979. He was also able to call some decent teams in the early 1980s and in the Barry Bonds-Doug Drabek era in the early 1990s. The Pirates reached the National League Championship Series three straight seasons, from 1990-92. The Buccos lost each one, though, including the heartbreaking walkoff loss to the Atlanta Braves in 1992. That was the game where Bonds couldn’t throw out Sid Bream at home to send the game to extra innings. Bonds never wore the Pirates uniform again. I think my dad is still crying from that day. Frattare also called the Francisco Cordova-Ricardo Rincon combined, extra-inning no-hitter in 1997. Unfortunately, he also voiced some pretty pathetic baseball teams in the last 16 years. The Pirates are a combined 315 games under .500 in their 16 losing seasons. Because of the duration of this ineptness, Pittsburghers will likely remember Frattare more for the losing streak than the winning campaigns of yesteryear. In the past few years, losingfinally seemed to show some wear on Frattare. He tended to ramble on about non-baseball-related issues more often, perhaps in an effort to spice up the boring product on the diamond. But he still displayed unbridled passion for the Pirates and baseball. I remember one instance in the first week of the 2008 season. Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Maholm (who would go on to have a brilliant season) was cruising against the Florida Marlins. In the fifth inning, an infield single, hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases for Marlin slugger Mike Jacobs with two outs. Pitches later, Jacobs absolutely destroyed a ball to right-center. As the ball zoomed off of Jacobs’ bat, Frattare let out a defeated ‘Noooooooo!’ Frattare loved the Pirates, and the Pirates loved Frattare. Even though the team has let fans down over the years, Frattare did the best he could to enliven their experience of the game. Thanks, Lanny. You’ll be missed. And there is no doubt about it. -Email Zack Chakan at zackchakan@gmail.com with Lanny memories.