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John Joseph Block (born March 1, 1978) is a radio and TV play-by-play announcer who calls games for the Pittsburgh Pirates on SportsNet Pittsburgh, KDKA-AM, and KDKA-FM, joining the team in 2016 after four years with the Milwaukee Brewers.
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John Joseph Block (born March 1, 1978) is a radio and TV play-by-play announcer who calls games for the Pittsburgh Pirates on SportsNet Pittsburgh, KDKA-AM, and KDKA-FM, joining the team in 2016 after four years with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Block works with Pirates play-by-play announcer Greg Brown; color analysts Michael McKenry, Bob Walk, Neil Walker, Matt Capps, Kevin Young, and John Wehner; and field reporters Hannah Mears and Dan Potash to complete the Pirates broadcast team. [1] Block previously worked with veteran broadcaster and former Major League Baseball catcher Bob Uecker, as well as former MLB pitcher Steve Blass prior to his 2019 retirement. [2]
He called minor league games for the Great Falls White Sox, Jacksonville Suns, Billings Mustangs, and select games for the final two seasons of the Montreal Expos. Block served as a post-game host for the Los Angeles Dodgers on the radio. He was the radio studio host and backup announcer for the New Orleans Hornets and handled play-by-play for various regional networks for college football and basketball before the Brewers hired him. On January 30, 2016 he was hired to serve as play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates replacing Tim Neverett who left to become the radio play-by-play voice for the Boston Red Sox. Neverett replaced Dave O'Brien who switched over to TV for the Red Sox after Don Orsillo left the team to join the San Diego Padres.
Block grew up in Roseville, Michigan. He then went to Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1999 and resided on the east side of Milwaukee with his wife, Bethany, when he was with the Brewers from 2012 to 2015. His wife is from the Pittsburgh area and they currently reside there with their two children.
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. The team's name is derived from the city's association with the brewing industry and has been used by several other baseball teams that have called Milwaukee home. Since 2001, the Brewers have played their home games at American Family Field, which was named Miller Park through the 2020 season and has a seating capacity of 41,900 people.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. Founded as part of the American Association in 1881 under the name Pittsburgh Alleghenys, the club joined the National League in 1887 and was a member of the National League East from 1969 through 1993. The Pirates have won five World Series championships, nine National League pennants, nine National League East division titles and made three appearances in the Wild Card Game.
Robert George Uecker is an American former professional baseball catcher who is the primary broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
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James Joseph Britt was an American sportscaster who broadcast Major League Baseball games in Boston, Massachusetts, and Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1940s and 1950s. On June 15, 1948, Britt was at the microphone on WBZ-TV for the first live telecast of a Major League game in New England, as the Boston Braves defeated the Chicago Cubs, 6–3, at Braves Field.
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Timothy Joseph Neverett is an American sportscaster who currently works as a television and radio play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously worked as a play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. In addition to baseball, he has announced basketball and American football games, along with both the summer and winter Olympic Games.
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