After 33 years of broadcasting Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, Lanny Frattare quietly faded away.

His retirement announcement came as an "oh, by the way" sort of thing, without any dramatic final broadcast or farewell.

No hand wave from the booth atop PNCPark to a standing ovation below.

Frattare deserved such a sendoff.

Instead, he chose to announce his retirement after the 2008 season ended. The Pirates will undoubtedly honor Frattare at a 2009 game.

Frattare was one of 10 finalists for the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award, an honor presented annually for major contributions to baseball broadcasting.

Tony Kubek, 73, was announced the recipient of the Frick Award last week. He broadcast baseball for NBC, the New York Yankees and Toronto BlueJays for 30 years.

There is quite a contrast in the careers of Kubek and Frattare. Kubek broadcast 11 World Series, 14 American League Championship Series and 10 All-Star Games.

The Pirates reached World Series once during Frattare's career, in 1979, and local broadcasters were not permitted to do those games.

Frattare called the Pirates' games in the 1990, 1991 and 1992 NLCS. He witnessed the back-to-back shutout losses at Three Rivers Stadium that denied the Bucs a 1991 World Series berth and the dreaded Francisco Cabrera hit that broke the hearts of Pirate fans everywhere in 1992.

The only heartbreak Kubek experienced in baseball was as a player, when the ground ball hit to him at shortstop in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series struck him in the throat.

While the Pirates celebrated a world championship, Kubek lay in a hospital bed, unable to speak.

Kubek recently referred to the Yankees as "the best sports organization in the history of the world."

They certainly are the richest. The three most expensive player contracts in the game today — Alex Rodriguez at $275 million for 10 years, Derek Jeter at $189 million for 10 years, CCSabathia at $161 million for seven years — are on their payroll.

Meanwhile, the Pirates are looking to trade Jack Wilson and foot part of the bill.

Frattare called the play by play for 16 straight years of losing baseball since 1992. He did more games behind the microphone in Pittsburgh than the legendary Bob Prince, and did so without the fanfare of the Green Weenie or Babushka Power.

When Prince and Nellie King were fired in 1975, they received a parade through the streets of Pittsburgh.

Frattare was no such personality — just a solid professional who represented his employer well and raised nearly $2 million through his annual Family Links Golf Classic.

The Bob Prince Golf Classic also raised large amounts of money for charity over the years.

Prince received the Ford Frick Award in 1986. Hopefully, Frattare will be duly honored in the coming years.

The Pirates weren't winners during most of his years here, but Frattare was a winner in every sense of the word.