In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the Bigs.
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Bob Uecker
Robert George Uecker ( EWK-ər; born January 26, 1934) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current sportscaster, comedian, and actor. 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. He was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with its 2003 Ford C. Frick Award in recognition of his broadcasting career. 2Playing career Though he has sometimes joked that he was born on an oleo run to Illinois, Uecker was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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, completing his career with a fielding percentage of .981. However, in 1967, despite playing only 59 games, he led the league in passed balls and is still on the top 10 list for most passed balls in a seaso
When I looked at the third base coach, he turned his back on me.
I remember I’m batting against the Dodgers in Milwaukee. They led, 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two out, and the pitcher has a full count on me. I look over at the Dodgers dugout and they’re all in street clothes.
I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up.
Career highlights? I had two. I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax, and I got out of a rundown against the Mets.
I had a great shoe contract and glove contract with a company who paid me a lot of money never to be seen using their stuff.
I would order a dozen bats and there were times they'd come back with handles at each end.
They said I was such a great prospect that they were sending me to a winter league to sharpen up. When I stepped off the plane, I was in Greenland.
I led the league in go get 'em next time.