GREEN BAY (NBC26) — "Of all the things I've done, this has always been number one — Baseball." — Bob Uecker
Local sports figures explain the impact Uecker had on baseball and Wisconsin sports.
- Video shows some of Uecker's greatest moments and local sports figures reminiscing on the impact he had on baseball.
- Timber Rattlers Announcer, Chris Mehring: "That's one of the reasons why I wanted to get into broadcast baseball."
- Former pro baseball players Jason Berken, Erik Cordier both share stories and memories of the sport broadcasting giant.
- Video shows Cordier listening to Uecker's final call ever.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"You can't go by a baseball field without thinking of Bob Uecker if you're from Wisconsin," Timber Rattlers announcer, Chris Mehring, said.
For Mehring, Brewers broadcasting legend Bob Uecker is a true inspiration.
"Just hearing all of his calls, that's one of the reasons why I wanted to get into broadcast baseball," Mehring said. "Growing up listening to Bob Uecker."
Even in Appleton, Uecker believed the best in Timber Rattlers baseball.
"You can't find a better place to play than Appleton," Uecker said in a game back in April 2022.
"When you think of the Brewers, first and foremost, you think of Bob Uecker," Jason Berken, Impact Sports Academy owner, said.
Berken said it's not often a face of a sports franchise is someone from the broadcast team, but he says Uecker was just that for the Brewers.
"I remember vividly going to a baseball tournament, listening to a game and he was talking about getting ran over at the plate in a collision," Berken said. "He said that was the hardest he had ever been hit and that includes auto accidents. We were just dying laughing, it was funny, and to this day I think of those Uecker-isms."
Berken is former Major Leageu player and often reminisces on his time playing at then-Miller Park.
"He's the face and voice of the Brewers, no question," Berken said.
Director of baseball operations at Impact Sports Academy, Erik Cordier, was also a pro.
He said growing up, he would go to bed listening to Uecker call Brewers games.
At the start of our conversation I gave him my phone to listen to Uecker's final call ever.
Video shows Cordier listening to the icon give his final call.
"Listening to the voice there, it's same voice that's been there forever," Cordier said.
Cordier said Uecker made baseball fun and inspired him to play the sport he loves that eventually led him to the pros.
"It was a continued, go-to-bed reinforcement of baseball is amazing," Cordier said. "It's an amazing sport and just wanting to be part of it growing up."
For the next generation of players that might not be familiar with Mr. Baseball, Cordier said the younger generation should take the time to get to know who he was and how he impacted the sport.
Mehring kept it simple when saying Bob Uecker, Mr. Baseball, is one of one.
