DAILY DIRT: Every baseball fan in the world is a little sadder today

January 17, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Bob Uecker died Thursday at 90. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Daily Dirt for Friday Jan. 17, 2025

Uecker, a .200 lifetime hitter, batted 1.000 in the hearts of fans … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,176 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Back in the days when I was working for a newspaper in Ohio I had the opportunity to have a conversation with the late Bob Uecker.

Uecker, the popular ex-Major League catcher-turned broadcaster-turned actor, died Thursday at age 90, ending a lengthy battle with cancer. He left behind a ton of memories for MLB fans, which is quite remarkable considering he was a lifetime .200 hitter in a career that spanned parts of six seasons with the Braves, Cardinals, Phillies and Braves.

My conversation with Uecker, whose career outside of baseball was centered around making fun of his own limited talents when he played, was nothing lengthy, nothing that altered the course of history. The entire chat lasted maybe five minutes and came early one season when the then-Indians were playing the Brewers in decrepit old Municipal Stadium, which sat no more than long fly ball from the murky waters of Lake Erie.

Uecker, who served as a Brewers broadcaster for 54 years, was extremely congenial to me. We exchanged a few baseball pleasantries just inside the left-field line about 90 minutes before game time, and what I always took away from that brief back-and-forth was that Uecker was exactly the same fun-loving personality in real life that we have always watched and listened to on television.“While this onetime backup catcher was known for his self-deprecating style, Bob Uecker was one of the game’s most beloved figures throughout his 70-year career in baseball,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said following Uecker’s death. “Bob was the genuine item: always the funniest person in any room he was in, and always an outstanding ambassador for our National Pastime. We are grateful for this baseball life like no other, and we will never forget him.”

Uecker gained fame via his quick wit. Nicknamed “Mr. Baseball” by “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson during one of his more-than-100 appearances on late-night TV, Uecker also starred in a popular series of Miller Lite commercials, then in the ABC sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” and in the “Major League” film trilogy. He authored two books, hosted “Saturday Night Live” and WrestleMania, and famously graced the pages of “Sports Illustrated” as a septuagenarian in a speedo.

A statement from the Brewers echoed the hearts of MLB fans coast to coast.

“Today, we take on the heaviest of burdens. Today, we say goodbye to our beloved friend, Bob Uecker. Ueck was the light of the Brewers, the soundtrack of our summers, the laughter in our hearts, and his passing is a profound loss. Saying goodbye to Bob shakes us all. He was so much more than a Milwaukee Brewers icon. He was a national treasure.”

That he was, he truly was.

2. Did you know (Part 249)

That only slightly more than one third of all McDonald’s fast-food sites are actually in the U.S. There are 36,000 McDonald’s sites around the world, with about 13,500 in America. Worldwide, the Golden Arches serve about 69 million customers each day.
That Goldfish snack crackers is now offering Sour Cream and Onion crisps.
That Frito-Lay has a 2025 launch scheduled for Rold Gold Dill Pickle pretzel twists.
That the best-available Super Bowl seats are currently going for around $6,600, a price that will likely skyrocket in the coming days. This year’s game is Feb. 9 in New Orleans.