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Not many inner city kids dream of becoming a professional baseball player.
“Even less dream of becoming a major league broadcaster,” said John Wehner. “I was fortunate to have done both.”
The Pittsburgh-native and graduate of Carrick High School on the city’s south side spent 11 seasons in the MLB. He was drafted by his hometown Pirates in the seventh round of the 1988 First-Year Player Draft and made his big league debut in 1991.
“If you were to pull up tapes of my interviews as a rookie in 1991, you’d still say that I had no chance of ever being a broadcaster,” Wehner said. “My Pittsburgh-ese came out too much and I still have it. I ty to speak somewhat normal now.”
According to Wehner, his entire career has just been a matter of “being at the right place at the right time.”
In 2005, that place was a Giant Eagle grocery store in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Earlier that year, Pirates broadcaster Steve Blass declared that he was just going to work Pittsburgh’s home games. That left an open spot for a new color analyst for road games.
Wehner, at the time, was the hitting coach for the Altoona Curve, the AA minor league affiliate of the Pirates. He was back home in Pittsburgh one weekend when he went shopping and ran into Tommy Walk, son of his former Pirate teammate, Bob Walk. Walk, was then in his 12th season as a Pirates broadcaster.
“I told Bob’s son that I heard there may be an opening to call the Pirates games and that I was interested,” Wehner recalled. “Sure enough, Tommy went home and told Bob. Then the next week, I get a call for an audition.”
Wehner is now in his 10th year as a Pirates broadcaster.
“I still pinch myself each time I’m in the booth,” Wehner said.
Walk find himself just as lucky.
“Baseball wise, I’ve always had a rabbits’ foot in my back pocket,” he said, laughing. “I’ve always been at the right place at the right time.”
The good fortune started in his rookie season with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was promoted from the minor leagues in May of 1980. Later that year, the Phillies won their first World Series.
“I was just along for the ride,” Walk said. “I did get to perform in and watch some amazing games and it’s remarkable to say that I’m one of very few players with a World Series ring.”
Still, his greatest accomplishment, he says, was out of his control.
Walk was traded to the Pirates in 1983 and retired in Pittsburgh after the 1993 season.
“The best thing that ever happened to me was that I was able to come to Pittsburgh,” he said. “It’s a fantastic place to live. My grandkids are here and we love it. I’m part of the Pirates family for life.”
As players, Wehner and Walk were never heralded as All-Stars or cornerstone pieces.
“I just always thought ‘Walk’ was a weird name for a pitcher,” Wehner said.
But in the eyes of his former manager Jim Leyland, Walk was one in a million.
“He was the best player I’ve ever coached,” remarked a teary-eyed Leyland.
Leyland coached Wehner for eight of his 11 seasons as a major league player. The first six were spent with the Pirates, the other two were with the Florida Marlins. Leyland and Wehner won a World Series together with the Marlins in 1997.
“Players like John Wehner make the stars the stars,” Leyland said. “They never get the headlines, but they always do the dirty work.”