One of the all time funny characters in Major League Baseball was none other than Bob Uecker….who is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current sportscaster, comedian, and actor ….who is facetiously dubbed “Mr. Baseball” by TV talk show host Johnny Carson, Uecker has served as a play-by-play announcer for Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts since 1971….for which he was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with its 2003 Ford C. Frick Award in recognition of his broadcasting career.
In this video clip, Mr. Baseball, lives out a “dream fantasy” of being the manager of the 1979 MLB All-Star Game….which certainly provides a different perspective of how to manage an MLB game….as it gives the viewer more than a few chuckles. Bob Uecker is truly a treat to watch and listen too.
Though Uecker has sometimes joked that he was born on an oleo run to Illinois….he was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin….where he grew up watching the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers at Borchert Field. He signed a professional contract with his hometown Milwaukee Braves in 1956….and made his Major League Baseball debut as a catcher with the club in 1962. A below-average hitter, he finished with a career batting average of .200. He was generally considered to be a sound defensive player and committed very few errors in his Major League career as a catcher….while completing his career with a fielding percentage of .981….however, in 1967, despite playing only 59 games….Mr. Baseball led the league in passed balls….and is still on the top 10 list for most passed balls in a season….with at least a partial explanation is that he spent a good deal of the season catching knuckleballer Phil Niekro….as he often joked that the best way to catch a knuckle ball was to wait until it stopped rolling and pick it up. Uecker also played for the St. Louis Cardinals….and was a member of the 1964 World Champion club….and he played for the Philadelphia Phillies before returning to the Braves….who had by then moved to Atlanta….as his six-year Major League career concluded in 1967….with perhaps the biggest highlight of his career was when he hit a home run off future Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax….after which Uecker joked that he always thought that home run would keep Koufax from getting into the Hall of Fame.
This piece of video is priceless to those of us who love baseball here at ImaSportsphile….for we consider Mr. Baseball to be one of Major League Baseball’s greatest byproducts…..so, all we can say is…. ENJOY!!!
