Junker has found ‘heaven’ in his retirement from TV
Guy Junker became a sports broadcasting legend during a 44-year career in Pittsburgh, covering Super Bowls, the 1979 World Series and several Penguins Stanley Cup runs.
Turnsout he wasn’t quite as prolific as a retiree.
“Idid my last sportscast on a Saturday night and was here the next day for a Sunday afternoon game against the Padres,” Junker said, referencing his job as public-address announcer at PNC Park. “Iremember my wife said to me, ‘Your retirement lasted 12 hours.’”
Alifelong baseball nut who played the sport until he was 56,Junker wouldn’t have it anyother way.
Isat with Junker for a game this past week to chat about growing more comfortable in hisnew gig, how we got here, his love of baseball and more.
“Ido like being able to more openly root for the Pirates,” said Junker, who turns 68 Sunday. “As neutral as you haveto be working in TV, radio and talk shows, I still wanted Pittsburgh sports teams to do well and win.”
While Junker might enjoy beingmore of an unapologetic fan of Pittsburgh sports teams, those who follow the Pirates— and go to games at PNC Park — have likely warmed to Junker’s work on themic. I know I certainly have.
When Tim DeBacco retired in March 2022, I worried how the Pirates could ever replace his incredible voice, its silky sound framing so many summer nights along the North Shore.
Junker has proven to be a more-than-capable successor.
Aftera 2022 season where the Pirates rotated several local media members through the job, a group that in addition to Junker also included Andrew Stockey, Larry Richert and Rick Dayton, Junker separated himself fromthe pack.
Retirement and being availablefor pretty much every home game helped. So did Junker’s voice, delivery and natural understanding of baseball, a sport that has touched every part of the Baldwin native’s life.
Junker played in high school and collegiately at Penn State Greater Allegheny. Junk er’ s dad, Walt, pitchedin the minor leagues before he was drafted and sent to Korea. Guy played in various adult baseball leagues with the Pittsburgh River Bandits until he was 56.
“Igot plantar fasciitis,” Junker said during another breakin the action. “I used to see guys miss time with plantar fasciitis. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Then I got it when I was 56. Yeah, that was the last year I played.”
When Guy was younger, he and Walt went to the first gameat Three Rivers Stadium together. For Walt’s 70th birthday, Guy took his dad to a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Although his son, Dylan, is grown, Guy coached him from T-ball through his midteens.The sport even led Guy Junker to his wife, Darla.
Thefirst baseman on his fast pitch softball team at the time wanted to set Guy up witha friend. Things obviously clicked. Before kids, Guy and Darla would drive all over Pittsburgh to each other’s games, changing uniforms in the car.
When Darla was pregnant with their oldest daughter, Emilee, Guy said he walked around the house pretending to announce various baby names like they were batting forthe Pirates, the couple debating what sounded best.
“Baseball has always been there,” Junker said. So has announcing, really. When Guy was coaching Little League in Shaler, where hestill lives, someone donated $10,000in sound equipment and asked Junker to announce the games. Between jobs at the time, Junker jumped on the chance, playing the national anthem, various crowd prompts and baseball-themed music from his laptop.
“It became a really neat thing,” Junker said.
As much as Junker loved his broadcasting career — from B-94 to KBL (Fox Sports) and WTAE Channel4 — he never really envisioned going to the PA side, his conversation al style playing Savran on SportsBeat but maybe not quite the same inside of a stadium.
There were also nerves, believe it or not.
“Once I got more comfortable with hearing my own voice out there, it’s been easier to add inflection,” Junker said. “But I’ve been asked for years to host banquets or speak at this or that. I’ve agreed to do it for charities, but I wouldn’t say I necessarily enjoy doing it.
“Someone will say, ‘Yeah, but you talk on TV all the time!’ Well, I’m sitting in a studio with a camera. I don’t think about 1.2 million people watching me. I’ll do the readings at church. If there are too many people sitting there, I get nervous.”
When DeBacco retired, a longtime friend connected Junker with the gig. Back in his B-94 days, Junker befriended a woman named Heidi Narr, who works for the Pirates’ scoreboard team. Narr wrote a letter for the station’s take-your-office-to lunch and the two remained friends.
Narr was the first who reached out and planted the idea in Junker’s head.
When Junker started doing this, he had to play the walkup music himself. That’s no longer the case, which has made the transition easier. Junker also enjoys the reduction in changes brought about by the designated hitter, while the pitch clock has moved things along for all of us.
Like anything, Junker has grown more accustomed to the nuance of his job — timing his announcement of batters with their walkup music, recognizing a potential mound visitor perfecting how he says players’ names.
“I was just getting through the mechanics and trying not to make a mistake that first year,” Junker said. “I’ve gotten more comfortable, but the job has also gotten vastly easier in a couple years.”
Butit’s still every bit as fun. Likeme, Junker is a scorekeeping nut — so much so that he has the scorebook he kept off of TV for Hank Aaron’s 715th home run — and enjoys a pretty sweet setup for watching games.
Further up the first-base line from the broadcasters on thepress level at PNC Park, Junker sits in the left corner of the Pirates production booth —headset on, a replay monitor on the wall to his left, an iPad in front for good measure and radio play-by-play in his left ear.
Although his retirement lasted only half a day, Junker isin his own baseball heaven, andthe sport and his relationshipwith it always continue to evolve.
“Mydaughter Natalie will getmarried in July,” Junker said. “That’ll be three weddings in 22 months. Thank God this job came along.”
Junker laughed a little before turning serious.
“Baseball has always been myf avorite sport,” he said. “I just knew I would love doing this.”