Doc Emrick To Join Pittsburgh Pirates Announce Team For The Day

Every year in Spring Training the legendary Doc Emrick joins the Pittsburgh Pirates announce team for at least one game. Today is that day for Doc.

One of the best parts about being a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates is having the same favorite baseball team as the legendary Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick. As Pittsburghers know, Doc is not just the voice of the NHL on NBC, but also a huge fan of the Pirates.

Due to this, every year during Spring Training, Doc joins the Pirate announce booth for at least one game. On Wednesday afternoon, Doc will be in the booth to help call the Grapefruit League action between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays.

For those who do not know, Doc’s fan hood dates back to his childhood. He grew up listening to Bob Prince calling Pirate games on KDKA radio. From 1969 – 1971 he was teaching speech and broadcasting at Geneva College while covering the Penguins for the Beaver County Times, and during this time his fan hood only grew. Throughout his life his allegiance to the Pittsburgh Baseball Club has never wavered.

Since leaving the Beaver County Times, Doc has gone on to become the voice of the New Jersey Devils. He is also the voice of the Stanley Cup Finals, and one of the most well known sports broadcasters in the North America.

Prior to a game against the Penguins in January of 2009, the Devils honored Emrick for his devotion to the organization. Part of the ceremony was Emrick being presented with a mural. In the mural he is seen wearing a Pirate cap and smiling, signaling his Pirate fan hood.

The Pirates enter Wednesday’s Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton with a 3-1 record, while the Blue Jays roll into town at 0-3. Righty Clay Holmes is scheduled to start for the Pirates. Francisco Liriano, Kyle Crick, Dovydas Neverauskas, Aaron Slegers, Nick Burdi, and Luis Escobar are all scheduled to pitch for the Pirates as well.

You can listen to the angelic voice of Emrick as he joins Greg Brown and Steve Blass for this afternoon’s game on Pirates.com, or the MLB At Bat App.