If These Walls Could Talk Quotes

“We did pretty well in the ACC that year and we ended up going to the College World Series. Paul Molitor was there, playing shortstop for Minnesota. I caught one game in that World Series, going 2-for-5 at Rosenblatt Stadium against Temple”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“The Brewers, feeling the crush of small-market economics and fearing injury problems, decided they couldn’t afford to keep Molitor, whom Bando regrettably referred to at one point as “just a DH.” Toronto swept in with a three-year, $13 million offer. “If Paul Molitor leaving the Brewers doesn’t show that the small markets are in trouble, nothing does,” Jim Gantner told the Milwaukee Sentinel at the time.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“You want me to say something about Bill? Bill who? Bill Schroeder? Never heard of him… I’m kidding, of course.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“During batting practice Sexson hit a ball that broke a window at Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill in left field. Leftfielder Geoff Jenkins, Sexson’s teammate and closest friend, razzed him mercilessly about having to pay for the window. A day or two later, general manager Dean Taylor dropped a fake invoice on the chair in front of Sexson’s locker. Sexson read it and was simultaneously incredulous and livid. The letter said that he had to pay for the replacement window and that $3,200 would be withheld from his next paycheck.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Actually, I had two career highlights: I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Every time I see Sandy Koufax, I apologize. I always thought I was going to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“He hit .200 with 14 homers in his career, but four of them were off Hall of Fame pitchers: Sandy Koufax (twice), Fergie Jenkins, and Gaylord Perry. “Every time I see Gaylord, he says, ‘Here comes the worst day of my life,’” Uecker said”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Where Have You Gone, ’82 Brewers, Tom Haudricourt Brewers Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan, Tom Haudricourt 100 Things Brewers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, Tom Haudricourt Throwback: A Big-League Catcher Tells How the Game Is Really Played, Jason Kendall and Lee Judge The Game Behind the Game: Negotiating in the Big Leagues, Ron Simon”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“But Brian has become a great, great, great friend. He’s super talented obviously, which is evident to anybody who watches him do NCAA Tournament games or NFL games.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Bobby Hughes, the Brewers’ catcher who had gone to Matt’s alma mater, USC, hit a high fly ball to left field, and it hit a clock at the top edge of the fence. It almost went out of the park. Vasgersian was doing the call, and his voice went up in anticipation of a home run, and without batting an eye, he said, “Bobby Hughes just got clock-blocked!” It was one of the funnier moments of my time with him.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“If you talk about a fundamental difference between broadcasters, going from Jim Paschke to Matt Vasgersian”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“they were talking about. I started to worry that I was getting in way over my head. Finally, I asked, “Is there anything I can read?” I was looking for a book like Baseball on TV for Dummies, but such a thing didn’t exist. I remember at the end of the lunch, Gary saw that I was uncomfortable and said, “Don’t worry, Bill. We won’t let you embarrass yourself.” At that point I kind of breathed a sigh of relief. I knew they were great guys and that they would have my back.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“There are not many who do leave on their own terms. I certainly didn’t.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“had been doing a weekly Sunday baseball show on the Brewers’ flagship radio station, WTMJ. I did it with a Milwaukee guy named Chuck Garbedian and Len Kasper, who is now the TV play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“I got the internship. I finished it, got my degree, and passed the Series 7 exam.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“When I got out of baseball, the first thing I did was enroll in Carroll College (now Carroll University) to finish the degree I started at Clemson. Fortunately, all of my credits transferred. I had one year left and went back full time. I think I needed 24 or 26 credits. I commuted back and forth from Hales Corners to Waukesha and got my degree.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“When I finished playing, I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I went back to Wisconsin. I actually never left Wisconsin. I was told one time by a very smart man, Paul Schramka, who owns Schramka Funeral Homes, that if you stick around Milwaukee and you’re good to the people, the town will take care of you.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Just as we were getting ready to leave—about 15 minutes before in fact—the phone rang. The Brewers offered me $15,000 for a signing bonus. For an eighth-round pick in 1979, that wasn’t bad money at all. They wanted me to go to Butte. I immediately said, “Yes, I’ll take it.” But I wanted to call Jack Stallings to make sure he knew that I wouldn’t be catching for him in Columbia. Whoever was on the other end of the phone said, “We’ve taken care of that. Don’t worry. We told them you weren’t coming. You’re going to be a Milwaukee Brewer.” That was the first time I realized that I was playing with the big boys now. They had already made the decision for me. When”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“had a bad game with a couple of punch-outs and we had lost, and somebody asked Wilhelm, “Who do you want to have the keys?” His response was, “Give them to Schroeder. At least I know he’s not going to hit anything with it.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“I didn’t play a lot. Bill Foley was there. He was a catcher from New York who got drafted by the Brewers. I played some left field, I was the designated hitter, I caught. I remember hitting my first collegiate home run at The Citadel. It went out to right field. To this day I remember circling the bases and I don’t think my feet touched the ground.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“The joke in our family was that when I made an out, he’d move to a new location. If I got a hit, he’d stay where he was. We laughed about that a lot because I said that he probably sat in every seat in County Stadium because I made a lot of outs in the big leagues.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“And one day I hit one up the middle. I thought it was going to hit him right between the eyes. It missed him, and the ball was in the outfield by the time he ducked. At that point I think we all agreed that dad was done throwing me batting practice.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“One of baseball’s more confusing traditions, at least in my eyes, is that the home team has batting practice first. That means that when the gates open, fans usually see the opposing team take batting practice. That has never made sense to me.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Midway through the 2015 season, Bob Uecker was standing behind the batting cage when someone hit a line drive off the L-screen in front of the pitcher. The ball caromed into the air and hit Uecker between the eyes before he knew what happened. He ended up missing the broadcast that night and spending the night in the hospital with concussion-like symptoms. “I’m always a little dizzy, but that was more than usual,” Uecker joked.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Former Brewers catcher Jason Kendall referred to batting practice as a “war zone.” Others have called it “controlled chaos,” a “beehive,” or a “sporting symphony.” There is so much going on during the session that it’s hard for people to understand the activity.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Billy’s bed and within 15 seconds he was snoring. Eddie got dressed and yelled, “Bye, Rock. It was good seeing you…naked.” It took me about an hour to get back to sleep. I was totally freaked out, but Eddie and Dale and I still laugh about “the Attack of the Naked Idiots.” It’s the greatest prank ever pulled on me. Needless to say, my son had a much better night than I did.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“I turned around, and there was Eddie. I didn’t know what was happening. I thought it was a bizarre dream but slowly started to figure out that Dale gave Billy the key to his room, and my son, in his infinite wisdom, had given Dale the key to our room. These two idiots decided to mess with me by hopping into the bed naked.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“opened my eyes and I saw Dale. He was laying right in front of me, his face inches from mine with a stupid grin on his face and a dip in his mouth. He scared the hell out of me. My first instinct was to push him away. He went flying into the wall and I looked down and realized he was naked. I was in a panic. I started to sit up and I felt a tap on my shoulder and I heard Eddie, who has the most distinctive voice this side of Bob Uecker or Brian Anderson, say, “Hey, Rock! It’s me and Dale. And we’re naked!”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“called back down because I didn’t want her to think I was a freak. I calmly explained that I did not order condoms but had asked for condiments. I apologized for not specifying cream and sugar. The woman acted like she had just run over my dog. She was horrified. “Sir, please don’t tell my boss,” she said. “Don’t call the desk. I’ll take care of it.” A few minutes later, they sent me a nice pot of coffee with some toast and a whole bunch of cream and sugar.”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box

“Then, it hit me. I had asked for condiments. The woman from room service—who didn’t speak English very well—thought I said condoms”
― Bill Schroeder, If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers: Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box