Long-Time Broadcaster to be Inducted into Pirates Media Wall of Fame

The Pirates were the darlings of Major League Baseball in 1997. Owner Kevin McClatchy directed general manager Cam Bonifay to go into a full-blown rebuilding at the 1996 trade deadline. Manager Jim Leyland decided not to stick around for it. He asked out of his contract and was replaced by his right-hand man and current Pirates special advisor, Gene Lamont. Gone were many familiar faces as the 1997 Pirates took the field with a $9 million payroll, or $1 million less than the Chicago White Sox were paying Albert Belle. However, thanks to Lamont’s riverboat-gambler approach to game strategy, a weak National League Central Division, and a handful of wildly improbable wins, the Pirates stayed in the race until five games remained in the season.

“No-Hitter, Home Run, You Got It All!”

One of those victories occurred against the Houston Astros on July 12, 1997, in front of a crowd of 44,119 at Three Rivers Stadium. They were there for Fireworks Night. As a bonus, they witnessed baseball history.

Pirates pitcher Francisco Córdova exited the mound with a no-hitter after nine innings. But his team had yet to score, and didn’t score for him in the bottom of the ninth. After 121 pitches, Lamont figured Córdova had done enough. He sent Ricardo Rincón to the hill for the 10th inning. Rincón kept the no-hitter going through 10, setting the stage for one of the most dramatic home runs ever hit by a Pirate.

In the bottom of the inning, the Pirates had two men on base with two outs against Astros right-hander John Hudek and Rincón due to bat. Lamont turned to pinch-hitter Mark Smith, a strong, six-foot-three, 205-pound outfielder who was taking a crash course in playing first base. (“Not as easy as it looks,” Smith told me with a wry smile at a team autograph session.) With a vicious swing, Smith connected on an 0-1 pitch and drove the ball deep over the left-field wall. McClatchy rose from his seat behind home, arms raised.

In the Pirates radio booth, Frattare described it: “Scoreless game, 10th inning. 0-1 pitch. Drive! Deep left field! No-hitter, home run, you got it all! Mark Smith gets it all, a three-run homer, and the Pirates win, 3-0! It’s a no-hitter, a no-hitter for Francisco Córdova and Ricardo Rincón!” It was the first combined extra-inning no-hitter in baseball history.

“Corporate Vanilla”

Frattare’s description was classic and to the point, all in a tight little package. Working alone that night, he let the moment take over, rather than yakking inanely over the crowd like so many broadcasters would. “I’ve always been a broadcaster who believes in clear and concise,” he told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2023.

One person who undoubtedly missed Frattare’s home run call was Bill Craig. “I usually turn the radio off because of Lanny,” Craig told Chuck Finder of the Post-Gazette in February 1996. Craig was the general manager of Prime Sports, the holder of the Pirates’ cable TV rights. The Canadian native saw himself as an arbiter of good taste and stormed into Pittsburgh ready to tell its denizens what was good for them. There’s no better way for an out-of-towner to alienate Pittsburgh. One of his dislikes was Frattare. He described him as “corporate, vanilla” and from “the Ted Baxter School of Broadcasting,” a reference to the affable doofus of a news anchor on The Mary Tyler Show. Ouch!

Frattare and the other Pirates broadcasters had traditionally alternated between radio and television. Craig moved to keep Frattare off TV. As was his way, Frattare took the high road and didn’t respond to Craig for public consumption. He didn’t have to. His listeners, as well as Leyland, did that for him.

“Ill-Mannered and Classless”

The Post-Gazette’s Sports Mailbag of March 2, 1996, was unanimous in its defense of Frattare, save for one letter writer. “This clown from Prime Sports really takes the cake,” wrote Willie Meyers of Somerset in his succinct letter. Retired news anchor Adam Lynch called Craig “ill-mannered and classless.” Owen Kilbane of Mount Lebanon wrote, “It seems to me Bill Craig enjoys talking into a microphone. Maybe he should announce some of the games.” Maribeth Rushe of Forest Hills didn’t know whether she could “forgive the firing of another Pirates institution.”

Prime Sports relented, and Frattare was part of the Pirates Prime Sports broadcasting team in 1996. Then, Craig got his way and Frattare was banished from the TV booth for the entire 1997 season. By 1998, Craig was no longer with Prime and Frattare was back in the TV booth to stay.

“Frattare Seems to be Winning Friends”

Frattare didn’t have such staunch defenders at first. The Pirates fired the popular Prince and his sidekick Nelson King at the end of the 1975 season. Had they hired a team of consultants to come up with a way to alienate Pirates fans, they couldn’t have found a better way. Long-time announcer Milo Hamilton was hired as the Voice of the Pirates for 1976. Frattare was hired as the second man in the booth. The young Frattare had been the voice of the Pirates Triple-A affiliate, the Charleston Charlies, and the Rochester Red Wings of the American Hockey League.

Angry Pirates fans weren’t quick to warm up to their new broadcasters. Critics thought they sounded alike. Vince Leonard of the Post-Gazette called them “an antiseptic duo.” Pittsburgh Press TV critic Barbara Holsopple described Frattare as Hamilton’s “color man” and called his commentary “somewhat inane.” Indeed, Frattare seemed like the invisible man of the new pair of Pirates broadcasters. On the radio, he called the play-by-play during the third and seventh innings only. Hamilton had come up during an era when the radio booth had a single broadcaster. Thus, for the other seven innings, his verbose style left little room for a second man.

Reviewing tapes of Hamilton-era broadcasts today, one finds he was an accurate broadcaster who knew the game. He complained that he never got a fair shake in Pittsburgh. While there’s more than a grain of truth to that, it’s also true that he never took the time to know his audience. On the other hand, Frattare, on the advice of Prince, was active in the community and was embraced by Pirates fans. By late May, Holsopple admitted, “Frattare seems to be winning friends.”

“Go, Ball, Get Outta Here!”

After the Pirates won the 1979 World Series (which Frattare didn’t get to broadcast due to the TV and radio rights being exclusive to national networks), Hamilton left the Pirates for the Chicago Cubs, where he feuded with Harry Caray. Hamilton’s replacement, Dave Martin, was also the subject of criticism and lasted only for the 1980 season. Frattare told Holsopple, “Dave was a little surprised by how very much the public gets into the broadcasting situation here. I get the impression, from traveling around to other clubs, that there really is much more public response here than in other cities.”

There’s an old saying that it’s tough to replace a legend; better to be the guy who replaces the guy who replaces a legend. Frattare got to be that latter guy. Pirates fans of the Frattare Era will fondly remember his home run call – “Go ball, get outta here!” – and the way he punctuated every Pirates victory with “There was n-o-o-o-o-o doubt about it!” They’ll remember him screaming himself hoarse after the more dramatic victories. Let’s look at a few more.

“Count ‘Em – Six, Seven, Eight. . .”

July 28, 2001: Another Saturday in Pittsburgh with the Houston Astros, this time at the new PNC Park. Houston led, 8-2, with the Pirates coming to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Mike Jackson was on the mound for the Astros. After two quick outs, Kevin Young doubled and Pat Meares hit a home run. Then there were Adam Hyzdu’s single, Tike Redman’s walk, and Jack Wilson’s RBI single. Now the score was 8-5, and Astros manager Larry Dierker called on his bullpen ace and future Hall-of-Famer Billy Wagner.

Wagner, who was probably surprised not to have the day off, hit Jason Kendall with a pitch to load the bases. Brian Giles was up next. Let’s let Frattare take over: “And a one-ball pitch. Giles swings. Drive to right field! Buccos win by way of a grand slam! Brian Giles, a line-drive grand slam into the right field seats! Count ‘em – six, seven, eight, Giles makes nine! Bucs win, 9-8! There was n-o-o-o-o-o doubt about it!”

“It’s Memorial Day All Over Again!”

Memorial Day, 1990: The Pirates scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5. Frattare’s call seems to be lost to history, but he always referred to it as the “What-a-Comeback Game.” Presumably, he screamed himself hoarse bellowing, “What a comeback!” on that day.

April 21, 1991: The Cubs led the Pirates, 7-2, after seven and one-half innings. The Pirates scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth, and another in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings. The Cubs scored five runs in the top of the 11th inning, but the Pirates had one more rally in them, scoring six in the bottom of the inning to win, 13-12. “It’s Memorial Day all over again!” exclaimed Frattare. A stranger to Pittsburgh might have asked, “Memorial Day in April?” Pirates fans knew.

Today, Frattare’s old scorecards are for sale. The games of July 12, 1979, and July 28, 2001, scorecards are gone. The May 28, 1990, and April 21, 1991, scorecards go for $75 each.

The Last Word

From experience, I certainly understand hanging around one job too long. Soon, everyone around you is much younger than you are. You might like them, but it’s not the same. Without the relationships, all you have is the daily routine. Frattare used to speak of his close friendships with Leyland and Pirates pitcher Kent Tekulve. In 2008, he spoke of no players the same way, although he was a fan of Pirates Wilson and Freddy Sanchez. But they’d be purged from the team the next year when Jim Tracy mismanaged a talented club and a new GM was coming in to start yet another five-year rebuilding plan.

The Pirates host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday at 6:40 PM Eastern. There’s been no word on when the ceremony will take place.