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If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box
Now fully revised and updated for 2023!
Chronicling the Brewers from the Suds Series of 1982 to the MVP season of Christian Yelich in 2018, and from Bambi’s Bombers of the late '70s to Harvey’s Wallbangers of the early '80s, Bill Schroeder, a longtime Brewers color commentator and former Brewers catcher, provides insight into the Brewers inner sanctum as only he can.
Read about what goes on in the equipment and training rooms, how batting practice can be chaotic, what it’s like to travel with the team, and off-the-wall anecdotes, like the time Steve Sparks injured his shoulder trying to rip a phone book in half after listening to a motivational speaker.
Chronicling the Brewers from the Suds Series of 1982 to the MVP season of Christian Yelich in 2018, and from Bambi’s Bombers of the late '70s to Harvey’s Wallbangers of the early '80s, Bill Schroeder, a longtime Brewers color commentator and former Brewers catcher, provides insight into the Brewers inner sanctum as only he can.
Read about what goes on in the equipment and training rooms, how batting practice can be chaotic, what it’s like to travel with the team, and off-the-wall anecdotes, like the time Steve Sparks injured his shoulder trying to rip a phone book in half after listening to a motivational speaker.
- GenresBaseballNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 3, 2017
This diehard Brewers fan loved it! It was nice to get an idea of the background aspects of baseball and get some interesting Milwaukee Brewers history.
August 18, 2018
Strictly for strong fans of the Milwaukee Brewers. If you're interested in knowing that Mike Caldwell was called "Earth Pig" by his teammates because he was a loud eater, or in hearing about the time that Robin Yount attended a team party in drag, you'll want this; if you don't know who those people are, this shouldn't be on your reading list at all.
Schroeder is a former Brewer himself, and a longtime television announcer for the team; Drew Olson, a sportswriter who has covered the team for many years, is presumably doing the ghostwriting. But- as is fairly common with this class of book- it's a bit amateurish, both in the writing and editing. A number of jokes are repeated in the text more than once, sometimes within mere pages of each other. A sidebar list of "the ten best stadiums in my humble opinion" only lists six stadiums. And check out this passage, in which Schroeder describes something that happened at the Brewers' spring training site in Chandler, Arizona:
"Today, Chandler is a bustling metropolis. Back then, however, there wasn't anything special about it. Other than a golf course that was being developed across the street, there wasn't much around the ballpark. Today, Chandler is a bustling suburb. Back then, it wasn't."
OK, that's a bit nitpicky; nobody picks up a book like this expecting glowing prose. The larger problem is this: what readers are looking for, is lots of entertaining and colorful behind-the-scenes anecdotes; and there just aren't as many of them as you'd expect. A lot of space here is taken up by boilerplate descriptions of the careers of the Brewers' best players, and a handful of their most noteworthy games; by Scroeder's autobiography; and by descriptions of the jobs of baseball trainers, equipment managers, and broadcast teams. Much of which is fairly interesting itself, but not what most readers will be expecting.
Still not a bad book if you're a Brewers fan (as I am), but not a must-read either.
Schroeder is a former Brewer himself, and a longtime television announcer for the team; Drew Olson, a sportswriter who has covered the team for many years, is presumably doing the ghostwriting. But- as is fairly common with this class of book- it's a bit amateurish, both in the writing and editing. A number of jokes are repeated in the text more than once, sometimes within mere pages of each other. A sidebar list of "the ten best stadiums in my humble opinion" only lists six stadiums. And check out this passage, in which Schroeder describes something that happened at the Brewers' spring training site in Chandler, Arizona:
"Today, Chandler is a bustling metropolis. Back then, however, there wasn't anything special about it. Other than a golf course that was being developed across the street, there wasn't much around the ballpark. Today, Chandler is a bustling suburb. Back then, it wasn't."
OK, that's a bit nitpicky; nobody picks up a book like this expecting glowing prose. The larger problem is this: what readers are looking for, is lots of entertaining and colorful behind-the-scenes anecdotes; and there just aren't as many of them as you'd expect. A lot of space here is taken up by boilerplate descriptions of the careers of the Brewers' best players, and a handful of their most noteworthy games; by Scroeder's autobiography; and by descriptions of the jobs of baseball trainers, equipment managers, and broadcast teams. Much of which is fairly interesting itself, but not what most readers will be expecting.
Still not a bad book if you're a Brewers fan (as I am), but not a must-read either.
May 24, 2022
A fun little book mostly about the Milwaukee Brewers by their current color commentator and former catcher. But there's a lot of good information about how the locker room is run and how TV broadcasts are organized. Surprisingly handy resource for any baseball fan, but it will mean more to a Brewers fan.
June 14, 2025
This is Rock describing his career and everything that goes on with the Milwaukee Brewers. You can hear his voice in the words which is always an important part of an autobiography. Fun stories and fun behind the scenes knowledge.
January 9, 2020
It’s a few years old, but it has some good stories and some insight to the behind the scenes of a baseball team. Definitely for a Milwaukee Brewers fan.
April 6, 2024
Entertaining read by former Milwaukee Brewer player and broadcaster. Schroeder shares humerous stories about the Brewers and baseball in general. Brewer fans should enjoy!
February 17, 2026
At times it was repetitive, and I've heard quite a few of these stories before, but the book really shined when it attempted to be a Bill Schroeder autobiography
September 20, 2026
Quick and fun, a nice
Look at the team that always
Seems to break my heart
Look at the team that always
Seems to break my heart
June 24, 2016
Bill Schroeder, former Brewers catcher and current TV color analyst for the team, writes a kind of grab-bag book about his experience working for the Brewers on the field and off. He relates colorful anecdotes about players, coaches and other baseball associates and describes the life of a baseball announcer in detail. The book has a loose structure, making it possible to either read through or pick up on any page. There was some repetition, but if you're a Brewers fan, you'll enjoy this light read. "The Rock" is as affable a guy on the page as he is on screen.
December 22, 2018
I really enjoyed the multitude and diversity of stories told by Bill Schroeder in this book. As a die-hard Brewers fan, I found his perspective on baseball and the Brewers that much more interesting, and especially from the viewpoint of a player-turned-broadcaster. There were a few flaws with the book, however, including several spelling and grammatical errors, as well as some repetition. In all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who love the Brewers or to somebody who wants to learn more about the Brewers quickly. 6/10
November 14, 2017
I read the previous edition so I only read the new additions which included an updated list of all time great Brewers by position (Hader & Burnes were added), Part IV and the section in Part V on COVID. Still interesting if you are a Brewers fan and also kinda fun to relive the good time (forgot how close Yelli was to the triple crown his first season here).
April 17, 2016
For Brewer fans from a Brewer fan
Bill Schroeder has been with the Brewers for a long time now as a player and then an announcer. He has become a real part of this organization and his love and loyalty for the Crew shines in this book. Fun read.
Bill Schroeder has been with the Brewers for a long time now as a player and then an announcer. He has become a real part of this organization and his love and loyalty for the Crew shines in this book. Fun read.
July 3, 2016
Great read for baseball fans!
As a lifelong Brewer fan this information was very interesting and very entertaining. If you love Brewer baseball then you will definitely like this book. I have always been a fan of Bill Schroeder and I'm glad he took the time to put this together.
As a lifelong Brewer fan this information was very interesting and very entertaining. If you love Brewer baseball then you will definitely like this book. I have always been a fan of Bill Schroeder and I'm glad he took the time to put this together.
July 16, 2025
Exceptional for any Brewers fan, but useful to baseball fans. Gives a fairly light-hearted look at the last 40 years of the Brewers, but also offers a lot of insight into the everyday of what it takes to make the game come alive on the field and on television.
June 23, 2016
Baseball as it should be told
Sometimes I yell at Rock on a broadcast but this book helped me understand more of the game. Great read and lots of funny stories.
Sometimes I yell at Rock on a broadcast but this book helped me understand more of the game. Great read and lots of funny stories.
July 24, 2016
Unless you're a huge Brewers fan, nothing more than anecdotal stuff here. I love Bill as an announcer but the book wasn't very interesting.
August 4, 2016
It was a very good read.
September 6, 2016
3-1/2 stars
June 4, 2018
Amazing behind the scenes anecdotes, pranks, and all around good things from over 30 years of Brewers teams. Highly recommended reading for anyone who enjoys a day at the ballpark.
May 2, 2017
As a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers and Bill Schroeder, this book gives a humorous insight into the franchise and the antics that happen during a 162 game baseball season. Definitely a quick read.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews