Bob Uecker on the Dan Patrick Show (Full Interview) 06/26/20

Bob Uecker has called the fourth-most games on radio in baseball history he's trailing the retired Vin Scully VIN did it 67 years another Dodger icon Jamie Garin 62 years and running I should say Jaime Jaron Kansas City's Denny Matthews 52 years and counting and Bob is ready for his 50th year calling Brewers games in Bob Uecker mr. baseball joining us on the program hi Bob how are you how you doing I'm doing okay no pressure on you other than I wanted to have some fun with baseball and there hasn't been anything fun with baseball's of late so how are you doing how's your morale I'm doing okay I'm glad we're going back to work and it'll be my 65th year overall in baseball you know as a player if you want to say that and and of course calling the games here in Milwaukee I worked a couple of I worked a couple of seasons with the Braves with Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson before but brought me back to Bud Selig brought me back to Milwaukee but other than that I'm hanging around and I'm waiting to go back to work I just saw where your official batting average in your career was 199 7 I you know that I couldn't a lot of my sponsors would be upset if it dropped below 200 because at that time it tied me with another sports great averaging 200 or better for a 10-year period and that was hauling boards on cars but but were you the Mendoza line before the Mendoza line Bob he's got a job in baseball now I think she works for the Mets doesn't she that's it that's a different Mendoza okay and tell me if this is right did you get traded did your baseball career get extended because you were a good Clubhouse guy oh yeah I mean longer he's gotta be done I mean for a couple of extra bucks a month I was making I was making below the minimum you know that and and selling other players equipment got me a couple of bucks doing laundry there's a lot of things that you can do without playing I actually thought it was an infringement when they asked me to play a game but I thought you got traded to the Cardinals because you were gonna backup McCarver and you might have had a better arm but they liked your personality and and I think arm wise I had one on each side which wasn't but yeah to back up Timmy who's remained a great friend and of course you know we win a World Series that year when I got traded to st. Louis and I'm not I'm not gonna say anything I didn't win one before something had to be working right when you when you were the first one went on on Carson first time you were on there were you still playing baseball no I was I was done and as a matter of fact the first show I did what Johnny was in New York they had moved to the west coast yet I think it was in 1970 maybe 69 or 70 how'd you end up on the show I I had been friends with a great trumpeter one of the legendary trumpeters of all time Albert and I did a couple of jobs with him I was traveling Alex Karras was a guy that's work with he was there because he was a great player I was a I was the wind up speaker but I did a couple of jobs without hurt and he told me he was going to get me on a Tonight Show and I said oh yeah sure well I got a call from The Tonight Show about two weeks later and I went to New York I had a I had audition with a talent guy and he I went in his office and he said what'd you do I said nothing I'm good so well let me see some of your stuff or let me hear what you're going to talk about so I did a couple of things you tell him we'll call you back till he clearly comes back to New York and I did the show with Johnny and I remember the one thing that was funny about it dan was at the end of the show one you know he's saying goodnight and everything I heard Johnny say to head after we we said goodnight did that guy really play baseball I went back two weeks later and did another one and then I went no got to be kind of a pretty regular you know with with Johnny we had a great relationship and I did but I still do with Doc Severinsen and you know a lot of the guys in the band I would over and do it tonight show when we were playing an anti on when the Brewers were playing an Anaheim I would go over and do it Tonight Show and then come back I get back maybe in the third inning and some of the bad guys would come up and sit in the booth at the ballpark so it was I had a great time with the night shows all the time how did that change your life well raised my salary by 220 dollars a month that was the big thing but um I had a pension you know the Screen Actors Guild so I wasn't worried about baseball anymore but I did you know I stuck around baseball at six years I guess had a great time doing it made great great you know really great friendships and including yourself and your crew there but all of you know if I ever had a good year it would really screwed me up later a couple of times I got off the good starts I had to go in the tank well yeah nobody there's nothing funny about getting off to a good start you know like batting 225 is not funny but 197 that's funny wearing a uniform at home Carson introduced you one time when you think of great baseball players a lot of names come to mind Bob Uecker is not one of them right and he called you mr. baseball yeah and that kind of stuck around he's he I have those I have a great picture at home here of him Elston Howard and Roger Maris in New York and and Mickey all with Johnny and he he's got a got a Yankee uniform on and it looks awful on him the way he's wearing it the Sox are you know down on the ground but he's with them and he had a glove and I think he tried to throw batting practice to those guys at Yankee Stadium really yeah oh yeah yeah he was a great guy to work with Dan and I like I said before I always had a great time with him he treated me I never got bumped off the show you know I always stayed on and somebody else got bumped but we had it we had a good relationship now in fact I went out to the University of Nebraska he built a he built a studio and a really nice building out there for you know people who want to get involved in movies television whatever it may be and I went out there as part of the opening with that with our with our owner mark at Kannagi it was a matter of fact and had a great time they did a lot of shows you know tonight shows that Johnny I I could I could break his chops man I I could make him laugh i just saw i just somebody just sent me one of me and it was a picture of me and Bob Gibson holding hands I love that picture so that's that's the team picture so Gibson was in on the joke the team picture with the Hall of Fame pitcher your your holding hands with Bob Gibson who seemed like a very serious guy a great friend as the guy shoot the photos I just reached over and grabbed his hand and we both started I love it we're talking to Bob Uecker his 50th year with the Brewers and and people should know like you did have some legitimate moments there you homered off sandy coke Thanks yeah I mean that that's real at Dodger Stadium right yeah but you know every time I see him I apologize ma'am I was really worried about that is that why sandy doesn't do interviews is because he gave up the home run to you that's part of it yeah I I don't know why I hit him fairly well I really don't maybe was I don't know probably five thirty said of his flock well you didn't want those shadows if Koufax was on the mound that'd be troubled did you did you have to audition for the role of Harry Doyle in major league no you know I was doing a game in Chicago against the White Sox with the Brewers and and a security guy came in he said there's two guys outside want to talk to you so when I got up for my innings off I went out in the hallway at Comiskey Park and Chris Chester and David Ward were there and they had this script for the movie and asked me if I would consider doing it so I said I'll look at it which I was going to do it anyway whether it was good or bad but I looked at it read it and they told me you know you you do whatever you want you give the script do your stuff do whatever you want and I did and I had a good time you know I met a lot of good people and the movie did good major league to major major league three was on airplane as a day after we finished it was terrible yeah did you know at the time when you did the first major league that it was going to be good uh you know it had some really funny stuff in it and watching I met I met Charlie Sheen the first night the Bruins came back from a road trip and they already set up County Stadium for the movie and David asked me if I go in and say hello to Charlie Sheen he wanted to say hello so I went this trailer and talked him for a while and then when I watched him throw I mean he threw pretty good he really did yeah and watching Tom Berenger work behind the plate and Steve Yeager deserves a lot of credit for that too because he really worked with with Tom but you know the script was kind of funny I didn't use any big-time curse words I was kind of shocked when I heard the first one but other than that you know they kind of let me do what I wanted right I did their stuff and the name they made the picks yeah great stuff in there just just a bit outside with a natural man I mean you know I'm doing a radio game you're looking at a movie but you know when you're on radio Dan you're gonna do anything you want nobody can see it were you ever a beer guy on the air like Harry Caray was uh no not really I was in - Jack - the team was it dependent on how bad the team was that year what you were drinking the team was the game but I remember listening to Joe Nuxhall and Joe Nuxhall you know God rest his soul he had always say the old left-hander rounding third heading for home he spilled his beer on his scorecard one night when I was listening to him and Marty Brenneman and it was just so funny cuz we don't we're listening on the radio and Joe spills it he's not he's not describing what he just did and you just hear him like he's mad and he's and it's you know Marty Brenneman's trying to call the game and then they eventually got around to you know Joe had spilled his beer on his scorecard there well they were there they were a great team Dan I you know what his name for me was Black Sea remember but remember Blatz Blatz beer oh my dad drank Blatz yeah great team I'm gonna miss Marty this year yeah hall-of-famer on a serious note you know this this virus here Bob yep how concerned how concerned are you well I am I'm I you know I feel bad Dan for all the people that got furloughed I don't care if it's baseball or anything else people that I've worked around here at the ballpark wrote for a lot of years and and got furloughed and I I you know I got furloughed when I was in the army that was that was about it for me and I was on our side do I want that but it's sad when I when I see what's happening we're going back to work on a very limited basis my partner Jeff levering and Lane Grindal will be totally separated we all be separated by a big piece of Plexiglas in the boot and you know what our booth looks like in Milwaukee so any engineer will be separated from us it's I have to go in a hole there's a whole different set of rules to do this stuff you know you got to be tested every other day I guess matter of fact I'm going to get tested tonight my wife and I and and our trainer cap winger is going to do that but you know I get I get a second look a lot of times because I I go into a store once in a while and I'm wearing my catcher's mask I don't know if that's approved by the CDC there well it saves the pain from the punt because they're living that saw me play do you think you would have done steroids if they were around I maybe I don't think so I don't think so suppository amazing no not steroid does your mic do people get straight answers out of you that's what I figured you've never been arrested really [Laughter] well to be great to have you back and thanks for just putting a smile on some people's faces today you kids great to talk to you hello dang there and thanks to you thank you buddy that's a Bob Uecker mr. baseball there

Channel: Dan Patrick Show

Views: 35,362

Rating: 4.8846154 out of 5

Keywords: Dan Patrick, The Dan Patrick Show, Danettes, Sports, Audience, DIRECTV, AT&T, dp show, mclovin, perloff, paulie, paul pabst, seton o'connor, fritzy, todd fritz, mlb, baseball, NBA, basketball, ncaa, college, nfl, football, super bowl, mancave, man cave, hot take

Id: P_HIQA3ayv4

Length: 15min 53sec (953 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 26 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/TheSilverScream23]

I could listen to Uecker’s stories all day. What a life - baseball, late night TV, comedy, commercials, movies, HOF announcer. It don’t get much better than that. HAPPY 50th SEASON, Bob!

[u/buffalo171]

A national treasure. I cannot imagine baseball without him. I’ve listened to him for 43 years.