Welcome And Setting The Scene

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, we welcome you to an undisclosed location here in western Pennsylvania for our first installment of Sit Down with Greg Brown. And perhaps no surprise, our first guest coming our way from Bradenton, Florida, none other than Steve Blast, the former Pirates great pitcher and longtime Pirates broadcaster and great friend. And again, he joins us, I believe, Steve, by the way you're dressed, probably down in Bradenton, Florida.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Yeah, I really can't disclose too much, Greg, uh, you know, because these are these are difficult times. Uh, but yeah, I'm I'm uh I'm in the country, uh taking nourishment upright. Uh and uh yeah, I'm I'm I'm in Florida, but I can't tell you exactly where, but I'm coming home this weekend.

Retirement, Routine, And Sanity Savers

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Well, that's good to know. Uh now what what's retirement been like in this crazy time?

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Well, it it's it's been a unique situation because one of the real definitive reasons I retired was to spend more time with Karen. Wow. I'm really good, I'm really getting good at that. But uh I would I was wondering what it was going to be like, uh, you know, backing off from everything, not being as busy. So uh it's it's kind of funny, but we've been okay down here. We're where we probably should be because Karen's health issues. Uh so it it's uh it's been it's been like being retired and then some. So it's uh it's kind of a unique situation. Uh and uh it doesn't feel normal at all. In fact, uh what does it say? The uh whatever it is, uh what day it is.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

It's 30 Faride even today, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Yeah, yeah, they're all the same. If today is like yesterday and it's gonna be like this tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

We're all temporarily retired anyway, at this point, it seems like.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

I wake up in the morning and think, okay, uh spring training is winding down. I gotta think about coming home. Especially this week because we are gonna be coming home. But it's been funny. I wake up and okay, it's not a dream. Okay, it's it's uh it's what it is, but uh it it it never goes away. The feel okay, uh, time to get ready to go home. You know, spring training's got to be winding down by now.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

What do you do all day, by the way?

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Well, fortunately, we we've got a couple situations going on down here. Uh the the golf course that I belong to down here has not closed. So I've been able to get out and walk with a walking cart, and that has helped my sanity. It really has. That hadn't helped my game much, but it's helped my sanity. And we also have a swimming pool where Karen can get out and and get some exercise for her legs, and uh uh we've we've made a strict uh we've maintained a strict discipline of a happy hour at 4 30.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Uh very nice.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Emphatic. Yeah. Strict. If the rest of our busy day is not done by 4 30, and I preface that with a laugh. Uh at 4 30, the happy hour, happy time starts. And you know, happy hour should never be restricted to an hour.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

No, that's great. Call great advice from Steve Blass. Steve, by the way, you're a first.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

By the way, hydration is still a key no matter where you're located.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

That's hi Dracian. That's that's that's that glass's name. That's Dracian right there. And Steve's saying hello to Dracian.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

Steve Dracian, yeah. A lot of Dracian.

Shows, Jeopardy, And Pop Culture Recs

SPEAKER_00 3:23

This is this this set is is a bit modest, as you can see. You're you're our guest, you're propped up with some books, including Steve Blast, a pirate for life.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

Did you buy it or did I give it to you?

SPEAKER_00 3:36

You probably gave me. At some point, I'm gonna read it. And uh, we also have uh uh a Steve Blast model glove. And uh, in case you don't have enough hydration, there's a uh a coffee mug full of something there for you. So just yeah, as a reserve. Uh, how about some of the movies and TV shows you've been watching?

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Well, uh we've we've been watching that there's a series on called The Marvelous Mrs. Masel, which is kind of interesting. Uh, we've been watching 30 Rock. I never I I never watched that when it was on, so we've been watching a lot of a lot of series. Um we watched uh we watched uh an interesting show uh taken from a book called Tinker Taylor Spy and Thief, which which was uh well well done. So we're trying to to find uh uh well we're trying to find something every single night because it's movie night every night.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Yeah, uh have you seen uh the tiger king yet?

SPEAKER_02 4:34

Oh my goodness. I have seen the tiger king and I will I will never be the same. It's so horribly disgusting and fascinating that you can't take your eyes off it. The tiger king. Um they're all nuts, they're all crazy.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

You could have stopped it horribly.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Well, yeah. I mean, the the guys, I guess the guy's vacationing in the lockup in Oklahoma now. The king. Uh the lady uh chopped her husband up and fed him through the grinder to the to the the animals, and the other guys like Jim Jones out of Jonestown. I mean, it's uh it's wild.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Yeah, that's what the others that's that's what the other scream did. Well, after her name. Uh that they they they say she's crazy. Meanwhile, it seems like they're just as nuts. They're all yeah, yeah, they're all it's wild. Have you seen Wild Country? Speaking of Wild.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

No, didn't we draft him? Um that was Big Country.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

That was uh Brad Aldred, yeah. Anyway, I've seen any so so those are your recommendations. Well, Tigers Tinkers to Evers to Chance. What was the name of that? Uh that movie thief tinker tailor spy thief. Okay, uh, yeah, we'll drop that down.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

A remarkably good cast. Yeah, um, so we're just we're just bouncing around. Of course, Jeopardy is is a given. Um so uh yeah, oh we have a schedule. First of all, Jeopardy comes on at 7:30, and then we go right to reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, which our buddy Ken Levine has written some of those episodes, and it's and it's excellent. Yeah, that's a classic. The writing is absolutely terrific. So I'm you know what's what's Steve.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

I know I know you love the telephone because I know every time the phone rings, you jump with a chance to answer. You love talking on the phone, and I think for all of us, this has given us a chance to kind of catch up maybe with family and friends, uh, that that maybe we wouldn't have had time to. So you really do get a chance to uh if we can put a positive spin on this, to kind of breathe a little bit and really uh catch up with people.

Phone Calls, Old Teammates, And Clubhouse Humor

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Yeah, absolutely. I've I've uh called some teammates, I've talked to Milk May, I've talked to Richie Hebner, uh uh Manny Sangin called me. I think it was Manny.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Uh what do you have to say?

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yes. Oh, you know, Steve, I've been thinking about you. And but it was so nice for him to pick up the phone and give me a call. I've I've called Eric Sherman, who helped me write the book. Uh obviously a lot of family. Um uh and uh so it's it's it's it's been good. I actually uh left a message for Brian Wareki, who uh uh Mark Garter works with. I've called Mark Garter our boss. Uh tried to have you chat and chatted with the new Bucko Skipper? I I did. I I've called Derek Shelton twice with dirty jokes. I think he likes them. Uh but uh yeah, yeah, I just I'm I'm testing him out. Uh it doesn't matter if he does or not because I'm retired, but I thought I'd give him a shot and then I I think he's okay. Uh we'll see if I I've got another one I'm gonna call him with. If he if he doesn't accept the call or hangs up on me, I'll I'll know.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Yeah, he'll he'll also know you're not gonna stop until he starts to la laugh at those jokes. And he will.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

That's a guarantee. Yeah, because you're required after a hundred times hearing them, you're required to laugh. It's in the contract.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Hey, well, what what room are you in at this undisclosed Bradenton location?

Entering The Shrine: Memorabilia Tour

SPEAKER_02 7:59

I'm in the shrine. Uh I'm in the uh the uh male version of the Susan Sarandon Bull Durham uh shrine. Uh it's uh as you might guess, Greg, it's all about me, uh like you always say.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

It should be. But uh Well, we're gonna get to we're gonna get to we're gonna get to some some stuff. That'll that'll lead us to our next segment. Stop. Yes. Yes, we'll have more. Sit down with Greg Brown. Up next is our trip, trip, trip down memory lane with our guest Steve Blast. We continue.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Stay with us. Wait, there's more.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

One. Welcome back here somewhere in western Pennsylvania, studio 19. We're here with Steve Blast, our first guest on Sit Down with Greg Brown. And our next segment is a trip, trip, trip down memory lane. Steve is in his man cave, his shrine, as he calls it, and uh maybe he can share with us some of his more uh personal mementos, photos, uh, whatever you got, Steve, souvenirs.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

What what I've got, Greg, I've got a bunch of pictures actually that I'm going to be putting into an album uh probably in the next couple days. But uh maybe uh maybe I'll run this by you. Can you guess who I'm jumping over in this picture?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Oh man. Um wow. Is it Maz?

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Freddie Paytech.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Oh my gosh. Freddie Patech. Uh or Steve calls him PayTech. How about that? A former teammate.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yeah, he was PayTech in the minor leagues when he got to the big leagues. It became Patech.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Yeah, I gotcha. It happens.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Now here's a winning duo right here.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Whoa.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Fantasy camp manager.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Now I'll tilt it forward because you got some glare there. Okay, that's walk and blast. And this was a fantasy camp. You guys were co-managers? I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

We were co-managers. We won, and that was a uh celebration at a place that you might remember down uh years ago, skippers.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Holiday in Bradenton, where we held our uh championship uh celebration party, uh getting measured for rings and all that. Yes, oh yeah. That was Bob and I. I want to say last year, but that was a few years ago.

Fantasy Camp Wins And Forbes Field Thunderbirds

SPEAKER_00 10:15

I know they they didn't invite walk back, I guess. They they didn't want you guys to win again. I don't think you uh you've won since, have you? A championship?

SPEAKER_02 10:22

No, no, we haven't. By the way, now I don't know if we can get any detail on this, Greg, but I found this in 1967. Uh Ford bought out about 15 Ford Thunderbirds, and we each got one to drive for the season. It was a promotional thing for the Ford Motor Company, and I don't know if we can get any detail, but uh they lined us up in Forbes Field.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Yeah, you can get oh yeah, you get some detail there.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

I'm gonna I I can read you the roster after you get a chance to look at this because I'm move the Steve.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

If you would move it a little bit, I believe, to your left. Uh other way. A little bit no, no, other way. Other way. Keep going. Other way there we go. Perfect. And uh all right, so give give the roster left or right. I think I see Stargil there. Uh aloo.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

I well, I I'm gonna hold it for a minute and I'm gonna give you the rosters okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

There's Jose Pigan, Maz, Andre Rogers, Willie Stargil, Tommy Sisk, Maddie Aloo, myself, Jerry Mae, Billy Odell, Nellie King, Gene Alley, and Elroy Face. We each got a Thunderbird to drive for the rest of the season.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Look at that. All those Thunderbirds lined up along the warning track at Forbes Field.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

Thank God Hebner wasn't with the ball club yet because they would have never gotten their Thunderbird back.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

How cool was that to drive that all summer?

Honus Wagner’s Baseball School Artifacts

SPEAKER_02 11:53

It was great. It was great. Now, I'm gonna show you something probably nobody has ever seen. I've got a friend named named Don Fox that I played Jin Rummy and play golf with out at South Hills Country Club. His dad was involved in a baseball school sponsored by Atlantic Refining Company, and they went around Pittsburgh with this vehicle.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

And had the megaphones on top, and one of the instructors was Honus Wagner.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

Now who's that gentleman at the at the by the by standing down by the car? That's Jack Fox. That's Don Fox's father.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Don is the guy I played Jim Rummy with. And his dad was involved. That's Wilbur Cooper.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

A former pirate pitcher.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Yep. And now here is confirmation. Yep. Don Fox, Honus Wagner, and Wilbert Cooper.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Oh, jeez. Oh my.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

And then just to top it off, Jack Fox with Connie Mack.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Huh. That's really cool.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Some historical stuff from Pittsburgh involvement. But how about that? A vehicle that's like the earliest SUV in the history of man with megaphones on the top about a baseball school.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

So very, very neat.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

Very great.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

No, no, nothing from 1971, huh? In that cave.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Well, oh, I got a chapter and verse, but I want to show you some treasures. Like toward the end of his life, Willie Starz was not in good health, but he and I uh posed with the Vogues from Turtle Turtle Creek.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Uh the Vogues. Uh is that the Five O'Clock World?

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Five o'clock world when the whistle blows, nothing else matters to me.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Couple of big hits in the what sixties, maybe the vogues.

Stargell, The Vogues, And Dugout Moments

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Yeah, yeah, the vogues. So uh part of the roster. Um here's here's Willie Stargil and Lloyd McClennan and myself in the dugout at Three River Stadium.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Late 1990s, I suppose.

SPEAKER_02 14:08

Probably.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Willie Willie in ill health by then, I imagine.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Starting to fail. And then uh this is a a person.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Just a little bit lucky there's I can hear you a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

This is a uh, I just my uh my director here, Karen says I'm a little loud.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

Oh no, that's good. You're you're good for us. That's great. Glad we have a director down there.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

After we won the World Series, we went to LA on an off day. We went to uh Dick Enberg's sports challenge TV show with myself and Willie Starjo and Richie Hepner, and we won our first game and again got beat by the Los Angeles Lakers.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Who who did you beat?

SPEAKER_02 14:47

We beat the uh the uh I think it was the the Cowboys, the Dallas Cowboys, because yeah, Don Meredith was on their team.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Man, that must have been a blast, huh?

SPEAKER_02 14:57

But he didn't sing turn off the lights, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

He couldn't, because you guys could have could have sung that to him.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

Yeah. You remember uh my prop drop. You remember Eddie Fayner?

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

Well, that's Frank Thomas and I and Eddie Feyner getting ready for a charity softball game where Eddie Feyner had a little meeting before the game. He said, Okay, here's how it's gonna go down, fellas. You're gonna get a hit the first time up. I'm gonna lob it in there, and then it's over.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Well, for those who don't remember or not not old enough, uh Eddie Fahner was a softball pitcher. He was the king and his court, did he have three or four defenders behind him?

SPEAKER_02 15:39

He had most he had a fielder, a first baseman, a catcher, and himself.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Okay, and and no one ever got on against them, basically.

TV Shows, Charity Games, And Eddie Feigner

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Yeah, when when when he was going good late in the performance, he would take the fielder away. And then he would take the first baseman away. Jeez. That's so great. He was he was great. You talk about you know a traveling kind of a uh a gimmick that that you come up with, you know. They they all the uh who is the uh the baseball clown prince?

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Oh yeah, uh I forget his name now. Clown Prince of Baseball. Uh we'll come up with that. But uh that's great. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Very neat. So many pictures. Uh the doctor, Doc Ellis, Danny Murtaugh and myself.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Oh, that's a great picture there.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

Yeah. Love that man, Danny Murtaugh. And and I I was close to Doc too. I love Doc. Here's my favorite opponent from 1971.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Mr. Quayar.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Yeah, it was so nice to match up with him twice.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Oh, and two and oh. Well, that leads us to 71. Yeah. So that and and that really is the 71 shrine behind you, that wall, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

I I don't know if I can get out of the way of it, but uh so all those pictures sur surrounding the uh the matted board in the middle that's really neat.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

Yeah. Uh what else have I got? Oh, okay. Uh let's see.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Uh go uh oh that oh look, you happen to have a picture of what?

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Uh this is when we went to uh we went to Hollywood uh as uh went to a luncheon and uh I had a chance to meet some really nice people, great baseball fans.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

You're not sure who that is, huh? Yeah, that's me in the middle. Yes, I understand. That looks like Natalie Wood. Is it possible?

SPEAKER_02 17:30

No, she no, no, she was boating at the time.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Um about these.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Yeah, what do you got there?

1971 Matchups And The Wall Of Memories

SPEAKER_02 17:41

I've got two of two of these three are in the hall of fame. Can you mention or can you name the uh the two?

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Okay, well, if you could get a little closer for us, there's a bit of a glare. Tilt it forward, uh Tad, and uh you can move yourself out of the way. We see you. And uh so that guy, the Fu Man Shu, looks like Steve Carleton. Yes, and who's that in the middle?

SPEAKER_02 18:06

That's sweet baby James Taylor. James Taylor called No, it's Gaylord Perry.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Ah uh a strong likeness to James Taylor.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Yes, yes. And how and how he could ever divorce Carly Simon, but that's another story for another day. Uh, do you recognize any of these people?

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Uh certainly recognize the president. Uh now you you've taken yourself out of the uh yeah, if you move it again to your right, I guess it would be then, right? Correct? Other way, other way. I guess that's to your left. There we are. We see you now. Now it's too far over. But then we see uh Richard Nixon, looks like Dave Justy, and uh is that the pirate owner Dan Galbreth?

Hall Of Fame Faces And Presidential Visit

SPEAKER_02 18:50

You got it in the Oval Office, and you know, say what you want about presidents throughout the ages, but to get the opportunity to go in the Oval Office of the President of the United States is pretty incredible. So was that after Clemente died? That was after Clemente died, and Mr. Nixon uh asked us to come to, he asked Dan Galbraith to come to the White House because he wanted to make a personal donation for from he and his wife Pat, and also a donation from HUD toward uh supporting the Ciudad Deportiva, sports city in Puerto Rico, the Clemente. That was his dream to have that uh sports city for kids for all sports and and a huge project that that he got going. Uh had he lived, I I don't think uh I would be out of line to say I think he might have had a good chance to be the governor of Puerto Rico, and that would have made sports city something that we would uh be dealing with today in a in a wonderful way. But uh it did not happen. Well uh this is another this is a little moment in time for me because I had a chance to get on the pirate dugout the last day at Three River Stadium and lead the crowd in singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

And you've got in your left hand what looks like a big rag ball. What is that?

SPEAKER_02 20:14

That's a uh t-shirt wrapped up that I was throwing around to the crowd.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

Ah, a seventh inning toss up as you uh left three rivers.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

Yeah, the the beginning of the toss down because as I got older, it was easier to throw the ball down.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

That's that's a pretty cool. I can't imagine what that must have been like. Of course, you were on the mound for the 71 World Series game seven, so uh probably pales in comparison, but still 55 plus thousand. Last game ever at Three Rivers.

SPEAKER_02 20:40

Look at the the the crowd, you know, the stadium is actually filled.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

Just absolutely stuffed with people. And I got my World Series ring on and standing on a pirate dugout. I mean, just these little shreds and shards of moments in time that uh 60 years. There's a lot of them.

Clemente, Sports City, And Legacy

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Very neat, very neat. Well, thanks for that trip, trip, trip down memory lane. We're gonna come back, and Steve's gonna play uh a game we call Who's That Nat when we continue. Sit down with Greg Brown with Steve Blast. Stay tuned. There's more.