A few words about Bob Uecker

Mr. Baseball died at the age of 90, leaving behind a golden real-life and cinematic legacy behind the mic.

Harry Doyle was Jim Brockmire before the latter existed. Bob Uecker created a comical and blunt baseball announcer who made any Cleveland Indians game better, especially if booze got involved. There isn’t a movie fan who lived through the late 80s and 90s who doesn’t know a memorable Doyle line from the Major League movies. Uecker did that.

Tom Selleck may have starred in a movie with the title, but Uecker truly was Mr. Baseball. You’d be hard pressed to find a guy who lived and breathed the game from multiple perspectives; only Mike Shannon could match it. A real-life career spent behind the plate as an MLB catcher for six seasons (he won a World Series ring with St. Louis in 1964) and behind the microphone for the Milwaukee Brewers for the following 54 years, he was a part of the game from a very early age to the end. 90 years is a great mark to reach in life, especially if you packed it full of accomplishments like Uecker.

Take him away from Major League and it’s a lesser movie; take him away from sequels and they aren’t even watchable. As a fictional broadcaster who announced games for a bad team for too long, it was hilarious to hear Uecker’s Doyle shout out loud for a sponsor’s name and acknowledge that nobody was listening long enough to care. He could get excited after an infield single and get roasted when Willie Hayes was thrown out a few minutes later. If a fight broke out on the field, Doyle could easily switch into ringside commentator mode and made it entertaining. That was just Uecker being Uecker. I often wonder how much of the Major League scripts he ad-libbed.

If a pitcher was out of control and walked the bases loaded, Doyle could get you to believe all 12 pitches were close enough to be called strikes. He forged a connection with an audience easily. With a real-world vessel from the playing days and Brewers broadcast tenure, Uecker could draw from so many moments and experiences to craft a character like Doyle.

Finding out people passed on is weird, because the news always hits at an odd time. Nobody is ready for someone who pushes good into the world to no longer be a part of it. Sad news can even drown the joy of a hot cup of coffee. After battling a form of lung cancer for nearly two years, Uecker decided to join Jack Buck, Shannon, and Vin Scully up in the sky suite to call a game.

Shannon: It’s such a pretty night, Bob. I wish you could see this moon!

Uecker: I can, Mike. Even if I’m in Milwaukee.

Buck: You’re sitting next to us, Bob.

Uecker: But everyone can see the moon!

Shannon: Bob needs a cold, frosty beer.

Scully: My oh my, fellas. It’s the first inning and we’ve already covered astrology.

Thanks for reading and rest in peace, Mr. Bob Uecker. As Shoeless Joe Jackson told a ballplayer-turned-doctor, “you were good.”