Q & A With Lanny Frattare: Part I & II

09/14/2006 2:36 PM ET
Frattare a familiar voice for Pirates fans
Bucs broadcaster recalls stories from early stages of career
By Ed Eagle / MLB.com

Broadcaster Lanny Frattare has been the voice of the Pirates for 31 years. In Part 1 of an interview with Bucs beat reporter Ed Eagle, Frattare discusses the early stages of his career, replacing Bob Prince and the recent switch in radio affiliates.

In his 31 years as a Bucs broadcaster, Frattare has covered two no-hitters, four division champions and the 1979 World Series championship team. He's been on hand for some of the finest moments in the careers of Pirates superstars such as Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, Barry Bonds, Brian Giles and Jason Bay.

Recently, Frattare sat down with MLB.com to discuss his views on the team's recent change in affiliate stations, the challenge of having to take over for Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Prince, and the highlights and lowlights of a career spent calling the games of the team that he loves.

MLB.com: What is your take on the team's decision to move the flagship station from KDKA to WPGB?

Lanny Frattare: I have tremendous faith in the Pirates organization to do what's in the best interest of the ballclub, and yet, I'm positive that everybody associated with the team and with the radio stations knows how much I appreciate what KDKA did for me.

KDKA had the rights when I was chosen as a Pirates broadcaster 31 years ago. The executives there had a lot to do with the decision to hire me. I'm deeply indebted to a lot of people over there and I've developed a lot of strong friendships. I know a lot of those friendships are still going to be there because of the substance of those friendships.

I'm also quite confident that I'll be developing a lot of other great friendships with the Clear Channel family.

MLB.com: Your voice has become the soundtrack of summer for so many Bucs fans over the years. What does it mean for you to be the official voice of the Pirates?

Frattare: One of the things I realized when I took over for Prince -- and I learned a great deal from talking to Pirates fans about how much Prince meant to them -- is that whatever you get as a baseball broadcaster is given to you by the fans. If you are doing a great job and they can feel some affinity towards you, and you develop those "air friendships," they're the ones that basically make you the voice of the team.

I have had hundreds of people say to me that my voice is the voice of summer to them, and I'm extremely pleased about that.

I learned early on in Pittsburgh in the late '70s that Pirates fans loved Prince and they developed some tremendous memories through him. I thought that I would love to create a whole new generation of baseball fans. I've been afforded that opportunity. As I go out and make a lot of appearances for the ballclub, I have people that come up to me and say they remember listening to me when they were six years old, and now they're 37. It means a great deal to me.

MLB.com: How difficult was it to emerge from Prince's shadow early on in your career with the Pirates?

Frattare: It was probably more difficult a few years down the road.

When I first got the job, I was elated about having realized my goal. My goal was to be a Major League announcer. I told myself, "If this is only a one-year deal for me, I can still say I reached my goal -- my dream."

Fortunately for me, Prince was my biggest supporter. He pulled me aside on regular occasions and told me what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. Here I am, one of the guys that replaced him and Nellie King, and he cares enough to share his advice with me. That was very important to my progress as a Pirates broadcaster. He pointed out that I had a ways to go. I was a raw broadcaster with a lot to learn.

MLB.com: So it was just a matter of time before you felt comfortable in the role?

Frattare: There have been two or three bumps in the road for me in my career.

After you've had a job for a little while, I did become somewhat paranoid about losing the job. That can become a negative, because you start worrying about how you are doing things. You second guess yourself as a broadcaster.

Finally, there came a point in my career -- probably later than it should have come -- where I said, "I can only be Lanny Frattare. I can't be Bob Prince. I can't wave green weenies. I can't wear loud sport coats. I can't be Vin Scully. I have to be Lanny and I have to hope that is good enough." Once I got that into my head, I was fine.

Then, the second bump in the road was the Bill Craig episode, where Bill lashed out at me publicly. [Craig was a general manager at KBL during the time when that network held the rights to the Pirates TV broadcasts.] I had lunch with him a week before he lashed out at me publicly, and he and I had a chance to go through this process of him telling me what he didn't like about my style, etc. And I was just disturbed that he wouldn't have given me an opportunity to take what advice I thought was valuable from him and blend it into my broadcaster. He didn't give me any time to do that.

There was a strong part of me that wanted to lash back at him publicly, and I didn't do that. It was probably wise that I didn't, but there was still a part of me that wanted to stand up for myself.

It was also very painful for my family. My daughter was going to school and being exposed to comments from her classmates. After I had gone to Spring Training, my daughter wrote a letter to the newspaper defending me. It was a wonderful letter, and at the time, my daughter might have been 16 or 17 years old. I knew nothing about it, but there were people in town that maintained that I put her up to it. That was difficult in that regard.

When the Craig article came out, I have to tell you that I had a ton of friends who came over to my house that night. It was like somebody had died. They all rushed to my side to defend me and support me.

MLB.com: What do you think fans would be surprised to find out about you?

Frattare: They probably would be surprised to know that through much of my career I have been a real insecure person.

A couple of years ago, I took 10 days off from the broadcast because I was battling some bouts with depression. The club, my wife, my friends, Kevin McClatchy and the Pirates organization were outstanding. They were very supportive of me.

I can talk about it now because I have gotten to the other side of this issue. I have been able to put a good bit of that insecurity behind me. Now, I can bask in the glow of my successes in the time I have spent here as a Pirates broadcaster.

Before, I was one of those guys that, if I had nine people tell me wonderful things and one person told me something negative, I used to dwell on that one person's comment. I've been able to get past that.

At times, people might think about broadcasters and egos, and at times, may even think that guys who are on the air, because of the way they carry themselves, are arrogant. But my issue was never ego or arrogance. It was insecurity and paranoia. I've gotten past that.


09/18/2006 12:51 PM ET
Frattare recalls ups and downs of career
Pirates announcer sits down for Part II of Q&A session
By Ed Eagle / MLB.com

MLB.com: Which Pirates have you most enjoyed covering?

Frattare: I have developed some favorites based on performances on the field or friendships. Kent Tekulve and I were together [in the Minor Leagues] in Charleston, W.Va., when I was a broadcaster in Triple-A and Teke was first coming up. In fact, Teke's wife, Linda, is godmother for my daughter, Megan. There was always a strong bond between the Tekulves and the Frattares.

My friendship with Jimmy Leyland is front and center. Jimmy gave me the opportunity to be with him a lot off the field. He trusted me with a great deal of information. It was very common for me to go after games to his suite, where he would be talking to his coaches about players.
I'm a big fan of Phil Garner. Ed Ott was another player who came up with me through the Minor Leagues. I was a huge fan of Art Howe. I think Art's a wonderful individual and I'm glad to see he had success as a big-league manager.

Most recently, I've spent a good bit of time trumpeting Freddy Sanchez. Freddy was on the Caravan with us this winter and enjoyed the experience immensely. I wasn't bashful when I introduced Freddy at a chamber lunch as my favorite Pirate.

In my 31 years covering baseball, this current crew of Pirates players is the best group of guys that I have ever been with. That's not to say that there weren't good guys from the '79 team -- Willie Stargell, Garner, Chuck Tanner -- or from Jimmy's teams, but from 1-to-25 or 1-to-32, [this group is the best]. There have been times this year where it was hard to see them not be successful. I really wanted to see these good people be successful, because I really have respect for the people that they are.

MLB.com: You have covered thousands of games since 1976. Which one has been the most memorable?

Frattare: There are number of games that stand out for different reasons.

First of all, there was the clincher in 1990 in St. Louis, with Doug Drabek pitching a masterful game against Joe Magrane, and the celebration [that followed]. I had developed a strong friendship with Jimmy Leyland, Gene Lamont and Kent Biggestaff, and I was so thrilled to watch Jimmy Leyland and his people put together this ballclub, and here they were celebrating.
Interestingly enough, after we clinched in 1990, I didn't go down to the clubhouse for maybe an hour after the game because I didn't want to impose on the celebration. But I was afforded the opportunity after we got on the airplane and then got back to Pittsburgh and went to the Clark Bar to watch them celebrate. I got great satisfaction from that.

The other game that stands out for me is in that 1990 season. Doug Drabek almost pitched a no-hitter against the Phillies. Sil Capusano broke it up. The reason that's been such a big deal to me is because I went through a period of my career where I was trying to do perfect broadcasts, and realized at some point that that was next to impossible. But that game, I thought I had come as close as I possibly could to doing a perfect broadcast, in terms of setting the stage, in terms of bringing in the history notes and the drama of the whole game. I was extremely proud of that, and that's why it's always stood out for me. I was extremely proud of that broadcast.

MLB.com: You've seen your share of stinkers, too. Which one stands out the most?

Frattare: I can vividly remember when the Cubs clinched the division title, it might have been 1984. It was at Three Rivers, and it was a painful game to do, because there were a lot of Cubs fans in the ballpark. So much of the excitement level that was in the park, it was just very frustrating to announce a game with that backdrop.

The most painful game, obviously, was Game 7 of the '92 playoffs, because I knew it was painful for Jimmy and his troops. I also wanted to make sure that I called the game with the professionalism that it deserved, and I'm pleased that I did that.

When I closed down the broadcast, because of my relationship with Jimmy, I was anxious to run down there and see if he was doing OK. I learned in the process what a true champion he was, dealing with the adversity of that painful loss.

MLB.com: You've seen the highs and lows with this organization. Obviously, with 14 consecutive losing seasons, this hasn't been the best of times. What signs do you see that lead you to believe that the team is ready to turn the corner?

Frattare: I see a lot of good signs. But one of the things that I strongly believe is that ... I'm to the point in my career, not only with the Pirates organization but with life itself and other sports teams, where I am turned off by disingenuous, phony platitudes.

I understand that spin is a part of baseball. Nevertheless, I'm quite confident of the fact that when a team is successful, that speaks a great deal more to fans than do discussions about who is in the Minor Leagues coming up or who has promise. I try to focus more on the fact that this is one game that I am doing, and I am going to zero in on it and talk about the things that happen. But in terms of what it means in the long term, I really don't know.

I want to help sell tickets. I want to get people excited about the team. But I also want to do it with some credibility. And the team understands that, as well. Consequently, that's probably the toughest thin line in which to walk, as a broadcaster. You want to be credible. You want to get people excited about the team. But you also know that if a team is right, if the team is good enough, that does a lot more for the organization than all of the talk about where we are, how close we are, etc.

MLB.com: How much longer to do you plan to call games for the Pirates?

Frattare: There a couple of issues here.

First of all, I want to tell you that I am ecstatic that I just signed a new deal with the ballclub.
In years past, there was so much made of being the voice of a team that consequently, talented "No. 2 guys" moved on to other teams. I've long believed that Greg [Brown] is an outstanding broadcaster, and this organization must make sure that Greg is happy here. What we're going to do next year is split the broadcast down the middle. I'm excited about that, because I don't want to see Greg go anywhere.

It's important that baseball teams have two strong play-by-play announcers and two color analysts, or in our case three, so that the broadcast doesn't miss a beat whether I'm on or Greg's on. I'm proud that that's where we are, in that regard. I'm excited that for the next three years, Greg and I are going to share more of the responsibilities.

I must admit that something about doing 40 years would be a nice, round number. I would be 67 at that point, so that might be the time for me to say, "Thank you, and goodbye." But the other big issue is I've seen a lot of broadcasters that have stayed longer than they should have stayed. And, if at any point in the next nine years I get the sense, or my wife tells me or my bosses tell me that I am slipping too much, I don't want to stay longer than I should stay.

Ed Eagle is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.