When Bob Uecker, the legendary Milwaukee Brewers announcer, TV pitchman and sitcom star died on Thursday there was an outpouring of emotion from baseball fans in both Milwaukee and on social media.
The 90-year-old was beloved across the game after he turned an estimable baseball career and his affable personality into his "Mr. Baseball" persona.
Uecker wasn't just a radio and television announcer for the Brewers for 54 seasons. He also worked national games for ABC and NBC at various times in his career, as he called the All-Star Game, playoff games and the World Series.
His travels took him across baseball, and in 1976 his national gig with ABC took him to Detroit to call a Tigers game.
Baseball by BSmile, a social account on X (formerly Twitter), posted a video of Uecker conducting a postgame interview with legendary Tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych after he threw a complete game win over the New York Yankees at Tiger Stadium.
It was an incredible mix of two of the most interesting personalities in baseball.
That season was Fidrych's rookie year and it create a sensation across Motown and around baseball. The right-hander was named American League rookie of the year, finished second in Cy Young voting and 11th in MVP voting. He went 19-9 with a Major League-leading 2.34 ERA.
He started 29 games, completed 24 of them and struck out 97 with 53 walks. He had an MLB-leading ERA+ of 159 that season.
Injuries stunted the rest of his career, including a knee injury and a torn rotator cuff that was properly diagnosed for a decade. He pitched his last game in 1980 and finished his career with a 29-19 record with a 3.10 ERA, with 170 strikeouts and 99 walks in 412.1 innings. Fidrych died in 2009.
Uecker, oddly enough, played one more season than Fidrych did in his career, but only played from 1962-67. With four different teams, he batted just .200 with 14 home runs and 74 RBI. He played alongside legends like Hank Aaron in Milwaukee and Bob Gibson in St. Louis, where the pair were part of a World Series championship in 1964.
Uecker was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 as the Ford C. Frick winner, given to a broadcaster that has made great contributions to the game.
He is also in the Brewers walk of fame and has a statue outside the front of American Family Field.