Pirates Broadcasts: Always Something To Talk About

Baseball’s Winter Meeting has concluded in Orlando, Florida. Deals that Pirates’ General Manager Ben Cherington may have wanted to complete but didn’t, or ongoing conversations with other MLB clubs' leadership for possible future transactions between now and the start of spring training in February, are likely on autopilot.

Trading starting pitcher Johan Oviedo to the Boston Red Sox for prospect Jhostynxon Garcia, and the signing of left-handed reliever Gregory Soto to a one-year contract via free agency are the top headlines grabbed by the Pirates.

But, as I anxiously await the National Football League to finish its regular season, and hurry through the postseason, then dash through four quarters of the Super Bowl so spring training could arrive, there is one team, the Pirates, that I know to count on. Players come and go, skippers and coaches, too. Broadcasters tend to have a longer life than the average man in uniform, and they tend to become fast friends, for the most part.

Watching on TV and listening on the radio to the Pirates’ broadcasts are requirements for me all season long. With the luxury of subscribing to the MLB.TV, I’m guaranteed all of Pittsburgh’s home and away games. I take full advantage of listening and learning from a lineup consisting of talkers who I consider friends; people who are welcome in my living room on game night and reaffirm why I love baseball.

Greg Brown, Joe Block, Bob Walk, John Wehner, Matt Capps, Neil Walker, and Kevin Young keep my interest in whatever lineup Don Kelly fields. On the pre-game show, watching Rob King, Michael McKenry, and Steven Brault on SportsNet Pittsburgh, plus Hannah Mears’ reports throughout the games, my job as a fan is easy.

As I said, Pirates’ fans just need to look and listen to know who is doing what, and why. I’m not all about getting in the “weeds” on what management is doing behind closed doors. That’s boring and, more importantly, out of my control. What the front office is doing isn’t my concern. The men in uniform with the gloves on, swinging bats, and who the starting pitcher will be, that is what interests me.

If I take a walk in the early evening, I listen to the Pirates’ games on SiriusXM radio. Baseball is a marvelous escape from real life, from the craziness that most hard-news outlets spew 24/7. Sure, I’d like to see a couple of marquee players signed before training camp at Pirate City opens in February, but if it isn’t to be, I’m fine with that. If baseball is played, I’m happy.

In the seasons that I have come aboard as a Pirates fan, I’ve learned to trust the guys in the booth and Hannah at field level. They describe what I’m watching or listening to well, and most importantly, they don’t get too technical. Making their analysis pithy is a priority for me. Fill me in on the action taking place on the field before the next pitch comes. Diatribes are not appreciated.

Before you know it, Game 1 of the spring schedule will be upon us. On February 21 in Sarasota, the Grapefruit League begins with a game against the Baltimore Orioles, led by Pete Alonso. Then, Greg, Bob, Joe, and the crew will keep us posted on Pirates’ baseball through the regular season in September and, hopefully, into October for postseason competition.

Play Ball!