After 33 seasons, the orange-sock wearing man above is retiring from his duties as the voice of the Pirates. And there is noooooooo doubt about it.
Lanny Frattare has decided to hang up his microphone for good, leaving as the most tenured broadcaster in the team's history. He joined the Pirates in 1976, which means he's seen everything from Willie Stargell winning a championship to the '85 "Drug Trials" team to Francisco Cabrera to Francisco Cordova to Derek Bell to Andy LaRoche. By my count, he witnessed 11 winning seasons and 25 of the sub-.500 variety during his career, which should merit some honor for what he endured.
Around these parts, Frattare was given a 70.8% approval ratings by Mondesi's House readers in a June, 2008 poll. While those numbers ranked him 20th among sports media personalities in the city, they were a far cry from Mike Lange's 97.6% or even Bill Hillgrove's 87.7, which tells me a few of you are prepared for a changing of the guard, regardless of Frattare's popularity.
As far as a replacement, Frank Coonelly set no timetable but did mention that the search will be exhaustive and begin immediately. All other team broadcasters will be back in '09, including Bob Walk, Greg Brown, Steve Blass, and John Wehner.
Frattare, 60, was an outstanding member of the community and raised over $1 million through his Family Links Golf Classic. Coonelly asked Hall of Fame voters to consider Frattare for induction and added that the team will have an on-field ceremony in 2009.
Bob Walk never allowed a walk off walk