News
Bob Uecker entertained us from the front row
Bob Uecker loved to make fun of himself. Had he not been a former major league catcher and a lifelong baseball man, you might have thought his self-deprecating humor was his profession, or favorite pastime.
In a sense, it was. That was his shtick, his gimmick, the comic routine that made him famous.
And no one did it better.
Uecker, aka “Mr. Baseball,” was known more for his wit, charm and humor than for anything he did on the playing field. And that’s just the way he liked it. His meager career provided him with plenty of material.
One of baseball’s greatest announcers and the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers passed away on Jan. 16 at age 90. A beloved figure, Uecker’s passing was mourned by the entire baseball world, from teams and players to fans and ballpark ushers.
Uecker was so well liked that his life and career were widely celebrated by fans of sports and entertainment. Uecker, of course, would have proudly proclaimed that they were actually celebrating his death.
“Baseball hasn't forgotten me,” he once said. “I go to a lot of old timers games and I sit in the bullpen and let people throw things at me. Just like old times.”
The epitome of the proverbial “light-hitting” catcher, Uecker spent most of his career in the bullpen, warming up pitchers. He was signed by his hometown Milwaukee Braves in 1956 and once joked that the Braves signed him for $3,000. “That bothered my dad,” he said, “because at the time he didn't have that kind of dough.”
He spent six years in the minors before making his major league debut in 1962. He once bragged about being the Minor League Player of the Year. “It was my second season in the bigs,” he said.
A career .200 hitter, he was traded three times and never played in more than 80 games in a season—and that was for two different teams. He was a solid defensive catcher, yet once led the National League in passed balls with 27—in just 59 games.
“I had slumps that lasted into the winter,” he famously said.
Uecker was such an underwhelming prospect that his 1962 Topps rookie card also features four other little-known catchers. He knew his playing career was over in 1965, he said, when “my baseball card came out with no picture.”
To Uecker, even his baseball cards were a joke and an opportunity to get a laugh. He looks a bit confused holding a bat in his 1963 Topps card.
And his 1965 Topps card shows him sporting a big smile as he bats left-handed—he was a right-handed hitter.
Also See: Best Baseball Books of 2024
After his futile playing career, Uecker used his wit and comic routine to became a star. As a comedian, he starred in TV series, commercials and movies. In 1969, he became a regular guest on “The Tonight Show,” where host Johnny Carson dubbed him “Mr. Baseball.”
In the 1980s, sports fans across the nation adopted his famous catch phrase, “I must be in the front row.” After being banished to the cheap seats in the famous Miller Lite commercial, Uecker yelled at the umpire, “He missed the tag, he missed the tag!” Both lines followed him for decades.
He later starred in the popular TV sitcom “Mr. Belvedere,” hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and became legendary for his role as baseball announcer Harry Doyle in the hit baseball movie “Major League.” That appearance led to another famous line: “Juuust a bit outside.”
For 54 years, Uecker entertained baseball fans with his quips and delightful stories. Brewers fans loved hearing him chase a homer with “Get up, get up, get outta here.” Even in the leanest of years, he made Brewers games worth following.
Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers and other players used to listen to him in the bullpen. “You could be getting beat 10-0 and he would keep you entertained,” Fingers said in an interview on MLB Network.
Uecker continued to broadcast Brewers home games through last season. Asked recently in a interview on Fox Sports why he kept going at age 90, he said, “I don’t have anything else to do … and my stimulus checks stopped.”
He will be long remembered as one of the most entertaining announcers in the history of baseball, a game he loved and dedicated his life to.
“I’ve been in the front row my whole life,” he said.
— Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com.
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
