DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Tekulve
Kent Tekulve, the closer for the Pirates’ World Series champions in 1979 and popular analyst on their current games for Root Sports, had a heart transplant Sept. 5 and is “feeling surprisingly great right now,” he told me Monday night.
Details of the transplant are expected to be made public at a Tuesday press conference by the Pirates, Root and Allegheny General Hospital.
Tekulve, 67, had a heart episode on Christmas Eve 2013 that he described as “the heart basically quitting on me.” A pump was installed shortly thereafter, and in April, he was placed on the heart transplant list. Earlier this summer, he and Root agreed he would take a break from his duties as postgame studio commentator and, at the time, he asked for privacy and did not divulge his condition.
“The pump was never designed to be a lifelong thing,” Tekulve said. “It was a bridge to a heart replacement.”
His goal, while tentative, is to resume his duties as head of the Pirates’ alumni with their annual fantasy camp in January in Bradenton, Fla. And if that goes well, his next goal is to return to Root for the Pirates’ spring training games.
“That’s all up to the doctors, of course,” Tekulve said. “But they think the recovery has been fairly quick.”
And how does he feel?
“For once in my lifetime, I’ve got no point of reference. I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to feel,” he said with a laugh. “But I guess it’s good. I’m a little sore from having my chest cracked open, but otherwise fairly normal.”
Tekulve wished to thank not only members of the Pirates’ family, Root and the AGH doctors but also the public for respecting his privacy.
“I can’t say enough about how much that’s meant to me.”
Tekulve acknowledged having spent most of his summer the way most Pittsburghers have: Enjoying the Pirates’ second consecutive pennant race. And of course, given his passion for both the team and his job, he couldn’t resist sharing an observation.
“I think this is a different team, a more dangerous team in some ways,” Tekulve said. “A year ago, we had to pitch our rear ends off and win, 2-1 or 3-1. And I don’t know if we’ll ever again duplicate the kind of pitching we got in 2013, starters and relievers. But the offense now has really inverted that, anyway. It’s so much more diverse now, has so many different ways to beat you. The other pitcher can’t find easy outs anymore. Where are they? In years past, you’d be looking at the bottom of the order, but look at Jordy Mercer now. Look at Neil Walker at cleanup. Neil’s not a prototype No. 4 hitter, but he’s always had that knack for bringing runners home. Anytime you’re dealing with a team that’s multidimensional, that’s always harder than dealing with a team you know how to shut down.”
September 15, 2014
Exclusive: Teke has successful heart transplant
by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Pirates
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Tekulve
Kent Tekulve, the closer for the Pirates’ World Series champions in 1979 and popular analyst on their current games for Root Sports, had a heart transplant Sept. 5 and is “feeling surprisingly great right now,” he told me Monday night.
Details of the transplant are expected to be made public at a Tuesday press conference by the Pirates, Root and Allegheny General Hospital.
Tekulve, 67, had a heart episode on Christmas Eve 2013 that he described as “the heart basically quitting on me.” A pump was installed shortly thereafter, and in April, he was placed on the heart transplant list. Earlier this summer, he and Root agreed he would take a break from his duties as postgame studio commentator and, at the time, he asked for privacy and did not divulge his condition.
“The pump was never designed to be a lifelong thing,” Tekulve said. “It was a bridge to a heart replacement.”
His goal, while tentative, is to resume his duties as head of the Pirates’ alumni with their annual fantasy camp in January in Bradenton, Fla. And if that goes well, his next goal is to return to Root for the Pirates’ spring training games.
“That’s all up to the doctors, of course,” Tekulve said. “But they think the recovery has been fairly quick.”
And how does he feel?
“For once in my lifetime, I’ve got no point of reference. I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to feel,” he said with a laugh. “But I guess it’s good. I’m a little sore from having my chest cracked open, but otherwise fairly normal.”
Tekulve wished to thank not only members of the Pirates’ family, Root and the AGH doctors but also the public for respecting his privacy.
“I can’t say enough about how much that’s meant to me.”
Tekulve acknowledged having spent most of his summer the way most Pittsburghers have: Enjoying the Pirates’ second consecutive pennant race. And of course, given his passion for both the team and his job, he couldn’t resist sharing an observation.
“I think this is a different team, a more dangerous team in some ways,” Tekulve said. “A year ago, we had to pitch our rear ends off and win, 2-1 or 3-1. And I don’t know if we’ll ever again duplicate the kind of pitching we got in 2013, starters and relievers. But the offense now has really inverted that, anyway. It’s so much more diverse now, has so many different ways to beat you. The other pitcher can’t find easy outs anymore. Where are they? In years past, you’d be looking at the bottom of the order, but look at Jordy Mercer now. Look at Neil Walker at cleanup. Neil’s not a prototype No. 4 hitter, but he’s always had that knack for bringing runners home. Anytime you’re dealing with a team that’s multidimensional, that’s always harder than dealing with a team you know how to shut down.”
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