Catcher in the Wry

by Bob Uecker, Mickey Herskowitz

A former major league baseball player recounts anecdotes of his years behind the plate and on the road, recalling the antics of his famous teammates, including Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson, Richie Allen, and Warren Spahn.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Humor, Memoir, Biography Memoir

216 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 24, 1982

About the author

Robert George Uecker was an American actor, professional baseball catcher and sportscaster who served as the primary broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) for 54 seasons.
Uecker signed with his hometown Milwaukee Braves in 1956, spending several years in the minor leagues with various affiliate clubs before making his major league debut in 1962. As a backup catcher, he played for the Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves from 1962 to 1967. He won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1964.
After retiring, Uecker started a broadcasting career and served as a play-by-play announcer for Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts from 1971. Uecker became known for his self-deprecating wit and became a regular fixture on late night talk shows in the 1970s and 1980s, facetiously dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by TV talk show host Johnny Carson. He hosted several sports blooper shows and had an acting career that included his role as George Owens on the television program Mr. Belvedere and as play-by-play announcer Harry Doyle in the film Major League and its two sequels.
Uecker was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with its 2003 Ford C. Frick Award in recognition of his broadcasting career.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago while still at school, then recently picked it out of a “Used Book” bin and reread it last weekend. Guess what? It’s still funny and poignant, full of Uecker witticisms and observations. Uecker cracks jokes about his lack of ability and continuous hell-raising while incorporating such greats as Sandy Koufax, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson and others into his tales. He also provides some tips for up and coming ballplayers. For instance how to catch a knuckleball pitcher, (Uecker caught Phil Niekro early in Niekro’s career) – “wait for the ball to stop rolling and then pick it up.” There are a few outside the diamond anecdotes with folks like Al Hirt and Howard Cosell. And there are also several chapters on The Official Bob Uecker Fan Club, started by a couple of college guys with a sardonic sense of humor, (Of Course!).

One story not here is one I read in Halberstam’s baseball book October 1964. The St. Louis Cardinals’ team photo of that year had to be retaken. Two of the players - Bob Uecker and Bob Gibson - were holding hands in the original. Not surprising that Uecker was a culprit, the surprise is that Gibson – a fierce competitor and not someone usually associated with any kind of shenanigans - was involved.

Uecker has successfully made a post-baseball career out of being a back-up catcher with a .200 life-time batting average - he’s still the Milwaukee Brewers’ play by play announcer - all on his wit and a little insider knowledge. His appearances on Carson were classics.. I doubt this book will ever be considered a “classic” but if you do see it available – do yourself a favor and pick it up. It’s still a great read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fabulous. It was like listening to Ueck tell stories when he's calling games. He is a character and a half. It's amazing what players did back in the day. I was constantly laughing out loud while reading this. I had to track down a used copy of the book. I need to own it. It will be $4 well spent. Every Brewers and Uecker fan will get a kick out of this book. Loved it!

[Tom Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads just reminded me that I read (and owned!) this book a long time ago! It was fun! [Just a bit outside...]

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Uecker is a treasure. He is baseball personified. I’m neither from Milwaukee originally, nor do I really watch much baseball, but this memoir was great fun to read. Although he tends to rely a little too much on the diary accounts of his fan club in the first half (yes, he had a fan club as a player, and they seemed to share his same sense of humor!), it's also charming that he cared so much about his fans and wanted them to share in his baseball story.

In truth, I actually enjoyed the sections about his broadcasting more than his playing days -- perhaps since I know him entirely as a media personality rather than as a player. It was also fun to read some of the jokes I’ve heard him tell in videos of his speeches and appearances on The Tonight Show. A little bit like a “greatest hits” package. As a native New Orleanian, I loved his stories about Al Hirt, and was stunned to see him mention going on a fishing trip to Shell Beach, which is a small community near where I grew up.

Since the book is forty years old, we don’t get any insight into his Mr. Belvedere years or his later life in broadcasting, but maybe we can hope for a follow-up.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this many years ago . Funny baseball anecdotes. RIP Bob Uecker

[Michael Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably closer to like 3.5 stars. It’s just kind of weird reading an autobiography written like 40 years ago about someone who had a lot of storied career after the book came out and is doing stuff to this day.

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like if I knew anything about baseball, this would have been a more enjoyable read. My father-in-law gave it to me to read, so I felt compelled, but I don't think I'm Uecker's target audience. Uecker seems like a really fun guy and has a great writing voice. He doesn't take himself too seriously. The book lasted a little long for someone who doesn't really get baseball, but maybe if you enjoy baseball, you'd like this book more.

[Merciful · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny baseball memories from lovable ol' Bob "juuuuuust a bit inside" Uecker.

This is a very funny book. You don't even have to like or know anything about baseball - the cat's just funny - everything he says...

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny book by one of the best characters in baseball who has gone on to a very long career as a baseball announcer and TV star. It is hard to believe this was written 35 years ago.
Great stories especially for the baseball fan.

[Ralph Echtinaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uecker dishes on all the crazy stuff he did as a player. For example, he borrowed a tuba from the member of a band and used it to shag flies in the outfield. It ruined the tuba, and Uecker had to pay for a new one.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Jim Razinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two weeks ago I recalled this book, one I’d owned and read 35 years ago. The book was lost in one of my many military moves (and would have been lost to a fire six years ago anyway), so I hopped on Half Price Books site and was stunned to see copies going for $60 (!) to $150 (!!) Hunch... hop over to < a href=“https://openlibrary.org”>Open Library... borrowed/downloaded!!

Every bit as funny as I remembered and a bit more old baseball history than I remembered. Uecker was hilarious - probably still is. The anecdotes! When he was in the minors, one team was the Boise Braves

Rufus (Big Train) Johnson was one of three blacks on the team. He was on first base one night during a power failure - we had them regularly - when the lights came back on Rufus was standing on third, as if nothing happened.

When he got to Milwaukee, as a rookie “I woke up to a new world every day, thrilled to be in the big leagues, grateful to be around people I had heard and read about for years. He didn’t play much early on and one time was catching for a veteran:

One day I went out to the mound to talk to Lew Burdette, after a couple of runners had reached base. When I got there, he said, “What the hell do you want?”
I said, “Nothing. I just came out to give you a break.”
Lew said, “Don’t be coming out here. I don’t want you out here. They” - and he waved his glove hand at the crowd - “think you’re giving me advice. And the only thing you know about pitching is that you can’t hit it.”
My reaction was to go back behind the plate and tell the hitter what pitches were coming.

Priceless! And there is also wisdom for the ages in here:

It is dangerous for an athlete to believe his own publicity, good or bad. {and then he slides in that humor} I never believed mine, partly because I never read any until after I retired.

On Harry Caray’s postgame radio show, talking about whether bases were hits or due to errors, and how some players would reach down and pick up a handful of dirt and when nobody was looking, glance at the scoreboard. Harry asked what he did when it was a close call:

I said, “I reach down and pick up an handful of dirt and when nobody is looking, I glance up at the scoreboard.”
“I guess you like them to call it a hit.”
“Well, I always like to count ‘me as a hit myself,” I replied. “I count everything - hits, walks, fielder’s choices, everything. If I hit a ball good, I count it.”
Harry asked, “Well, by your own system, what are you hitting right now?”
“Six-forty-three,” I replied.

Literal laugh out loud. When he got traded to the Phillies, he said he “was going to Philadelphia, a town where, on Easter, they boo the little kids who don’t find eggs.” (Nothing has changed with that city!)

He calls the prima donnas for what they are

I heard Dave Parker, of the Pirates, tell an interviewer: “This game is harder than people think. Some days, we’re out at the ball park right or nine hours.” An image of a pipe fitter smashing his beer can through his TV screen came to mind.

[me] Baseball players have it easier than every other major sport except golfers.

On the best way to catch a knuckleball: “I told [young catchers] what worked for me was to wait for the ball to stop rolling, then just pick it up.”

I think the only young person today who might know who Uecker was might be the one who stumbled across the now 30 year old movie Major League. For the older reader, if you can find this, it’s a wonderful walk down Memory Lane and you are sure to get a laugh or three out of it!

[Coop Lipski · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Anything is obtainable in this life, if you don’t need it.”

The beautiful thing about baseball is that is so poetic. It’s a game that rhymes. It emulates itself time and time again. What makes it unique is that it doesn’t have the constant, phonetic pace of basketball or the rugged toughness of football. It’s all conversational. It invites you to sit and watch. You don’t have to be invested or really care, it just wants you to be apart of the fun. Bob Uecker writes asking you to tag along on his many stops along his major league career and he writes like it’s just you and him talking ball over some beers.

Bob Uecker’s wit and comedy shines throughout this book. But when he wants to make a point about some sentimentality within the game, life on the road, certain aspects of baseball you never really hear of, stuff like that, he really knows how to drive that home. It made reading this so fun. He was truly one of the greats.

[Daniel Currie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've liked listening to Uecker for many years and ran across this book at a Free Little Library so thought I'd read it. It is not too long and figured it would be an easy and fun and that is essentially
what it is.

This was written over 30 years ago and times have changed somewhat. I seriously doubt he could get away now with a lot of the hi-jinx he describes. His sense of humor in regards to the stories runs a bit sophomoric, to be sure, and a lot of the stories involve how drunk he was at the time, but certainly not all fit these categories. There are a lot of good and funny stories in the book altho I would have to say a pretty fair amount of them didn't happen to him and he is relating them secondhand, at best.

So it is a decent read, but nothing too serious, which is his credo. Don't take yourself too seriously.

[Buck Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look at a ho hum pro baseball catcher's career, and the sense of humor that kept him in and out of trouble both on the field and off. Bob Uecker weaves comedy and insights on the players he encountered in the 50's and 60's, and his own experiences behind and at the plate. He also has great stories about his after baseball career, mine being his friendship with Al Hirt, the famous trumpet player. Very quick read is you are a fan of baseball and the broadcasting booth.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a really fun book. Great baseball stories from a man who didn't have a long career or a good one really but always treated the sport as a game to be enjoyed. He turned that enthusiasm and wit into a long career as a color man for baseball shows and long time radio announced for the Brewers.

Highly recommended, not too many lifetime .200 hitters are able to get an autobiography published and its a nice change of pace. A book filled with laughs.

[Richard Littel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this book when it came out in 1983, but with Bob Uecker passing away a few days ago, I felt it appropriate to re-read it. It still extremely funny and if you love baseball, or even if you just sort of like it, I’d call it a must read. As the radio broadcaster for the Brewers for an astounding 52 years, Bob was the voice of summer for me and I will certainly miss listening to him call a game.

[Seth Heasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watching the Brewers in the NLDS, I remembered I'd read this one. Just a hilarious book, as you'd expect. I especially loved his captions on the pictures in the middle of the book. Favorite one showed him sliding into home, caption something like "Trying to score from second on a triple. Out in a close play."

[Nancyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A first time read during covid-19, Catcher in the Wry is a disjointed look at the memories of Bob Uecker. I grew up watching Bob on Johnny Carson so remember him as a humorous, retired ballplayer. In this autobiography Bob recounts the tom foolery of the locker room along with his obvious love of America's pastime. This may be the closest I get to a ballgame in 2020.

[Micah Black]

"What do Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron and Bob Uecker have in common? Nothing. They were superstars. He was a lifetime .200 hitter."

The back cover blurb offers a taste of the book. It is damn funny and a fine celebration of a national treasure.

I rolled 9 inning Strat-O-Matic simulation: '66 Bob Uecker vs '11 Justin Verlander. Uke had one hit!

[Mike DeKalb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and anecdotal look at a bygone era of baseball. Uecker is a master storyteller who uses his signature wit and charm to walk the fine line between fact and fiction. I was somewhat sad when I was finished, because it was so wonderful to read his quip-filled stories and I would have loved to read more.

[Jason Roberson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Bob Uecker, loved him as an actor, love him calling plays, and even loved him in person when I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with him. However I can't say I love Bob Uecker the author. Unfortunately this is a meandering and very challenging book to get through.

[KennyO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here’s another of those obligatory memoirs by celebrity sports figures. Uecker was likeable and the writing here was up to the stories he told. I wouldn’t go in search of this one but if you like baseball and you stumble upon it at a used book sale go ahead and enjoy it.

[Dom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great peek into Uecker as a person. Really rooted for his guys and, at worst, tried to humor them. Brewers baseball won't be the same without him, but I will still be hoping they can do it for Ueck above all.

[Jeff Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can you say about Bob Uecker. Bad baseball player but one of the funniest men on earth. Remember never to take yourself to seriously.

A pleasure to read. There are a lot of current MLB players who should read this book and understand how fortunate they are.

[Felix Scout · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like baseball history or are a fan of Uecker you’ll enjoy this book if you can find it at a reasonable price. I’m glad I bought it a year and a half ago as interest seems to have picked up since his passing. It’s such a short read I could see me reading it again in a couple of years.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is very funny and fun

[Matthew Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun stories from a fun guy that crossed paths with several greats of the MLB.

[John Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Uecker. Fun read for baseball fans.

[Dale Bentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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