Ever hear Bob Uecker call a game?

[danonwaveland]

I've listened to parts of two Brewers games this year, including the one last week in which they came back from a 4-0 deficit only to lose 7-4. Bob Uecker was absolutely comatose, even in the middle of the comeback from being four runs down in a September penant race.

 

What am I missing? Did I just hear him on a couple bad days or is he really the Ed Farmer of cheeseland? Was Pat Hughes his broadcast partner in Milwaukee or did they work separately? Pat is so much better than this guy.

 

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Sandberg>Mazeroski>Morgan

[Electron Blue]

I've heard him interviewed before -- very entertaining. And I loved him in Major League. And he certainly has a great reputation. But I agree -- in my experience of hearing him call actual games, he's just bland and, even, poor quality.

 

I was watching the archived video of Shawn Green's 4-homer game against the Brewers on MLB.com. His lifeless commentary about the historic event was disappointing.

[BeerHere]

Occasionally I'll be able to pick up Brewer games while traveling through Wisconsin to see my parents. Uecker sounds like he's bored or doing a crossword puzzle or something. Partly because he's working along most of the time.

 

Uecker: Aaaaand that's a ball low and away.

 

<20 second pause>

 

Uecker: Aaaaaand that'll load em.

 

 

What happened in between there Bob, I missed at least one pitch and you never said who was at bat?

[fromthestretch]

You must have caught him on a bad day or something. Typically, he calls a very good game.

 

They actually have another guy rotate in for a few innings of play-by-play. That guy's voice sounds VERY similar to Uecker, although he's not nearly as good.

[UMFan83]

He is so boring on the radio. He has no excitement. I swear I listen to Brewers games occasionally on 620 AM when I'm driving (in Chicago, you can get great reception during the day, so-so at night) and I swear you cannot tell anything about the game based on his voice. A game winning home run will sound like a popout the way he calls it.

 

Sometimes when I'm doing something and miss the start of a Cubs game and I turn on Pat and Ron, I can tell immediately whether the Cubs are doing good or bad based on their tone of voice. Would never ever guess with Uecker

[JenksFan5]

Uecker is not as sharp as he used to be. He loses track of the action a little too often for my liking, but this is just a recent development over the past couple of seasons. He calls the game sometimes as if he thinks you are watching along with him and forgets he needs to paint a picture of what is going on for the radio listener.

 

That being said, he is one of the more entertaining announcers when he gets on a roll and his late inning home run calls are second to none.

 

Jim Powell is Ueckers partner in crime and is a little bit dry, but he is very knowledgeable and really does his homework (much more so than Uecker). He is getting better at calling the game each year and does a much better job describing the action than Uecker, but does not have the quick wit and entertaining capabilities of Ueck. How people cannot tell the difference between the two is beyond me, but I guess that voice recognition comes with listening often.

 

A I guess fans sometimes have a hard time listening to different styles when they are used to their home team announcers. As for me, I can hardly tolerate listening to a WGN radio broadcast with Pat and Ron. Pat calls a decent game and I can't complain about him too much other than being a bit bland at times, but Ron Santo is almost intolerable in my opinion. I realize that if you grew up listening to Ron, you probably love him, but as an outsider, it seems he brings nothing to the game and is just like having an overexuberant fan of the team sitting in on the broadcast.

[erik316wttn]

You must have caught him on a bad day or something. Typically, he calls a very good game.

 

They actually have another guy rotate in for a few innings of play-by-play. That guy's voice sounds VERY similar to Uecker, although he's not nearly as good.

 

His name is Jim Powell.

[JenksFan5]

He is so boring on the radio. He has no excitement. I swear I listen to Brewers games occasionally on 620 AM when I'm driving (in Chicago, you can get great reception during the day, so-so at night) and I swear you cannot tell anything about the game based on his voice. A game winning home run will sound like a popout the way he calls it.

 

Sometimes when I'm doing something and miss the start of a Cubs game and I turn on Pat and Ron, I can tell immediately whether the Cubs are doing good or bad based on their tone of voice. Would never ever guess with Uecker

 

Have you ever heard a late inning home run call by Uecker? I am not trying to be condescending, but I have the feeling you might be mistaking him for Jim Powell. Uecker's home run calls are great.

[Soul]

He is so boring on the radio. He has no excitement. I swear I listen to Brewers games occasionally on 620 AM when I'm driving (in Chicago, you can get great reception during the day, so-so at night) and I swear you cannot tell anything about the game based on his voice. A game winning home run will sound like a popout the way he calls it.

 

Sometimes when I'm doing something and miss the start of a Cubs game and I turn on Pat and Ron, I can tell immediately whether the Cubs are doing good or bad based on their tone of voice. Would never ever guess with Uecker

 

Have you ever heard a late inning home run call by Uecker? I am not trying to be condescending, but I have the feeling you might be mistaking him for Jim Powell. Uecker's home run calls are great.

 

I've always like Uecker. It's true he's not as emotional as Pat & Ron, but if you look around the league at all the teams and their announcing crews, Uecker is easily at/near the top of the list. He calls a great game.

[mjohnson71]

I think Eucker has taken a slide in the last few years. I've caught him a few times on XM and he seems a lot less sharp this season.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I've been listening to quite a few Milwaukee games and I like Bob Eucker a lot, but sometimes the game is hard to follow. He tends to go into "Hawk mode" when something negative happens and it can be hard to tell what's going on.

[fromthestretch]

You must have caught him on a bad day or something. Typically, he calls a very good game.

 

They actually have another guy rotate in for a few innings of play-by-play. That guy's voice sounds VERY similar to Uecker, although he's not nearly as good.

 

His name is Jim Powell.

 

Thanks. Couldn't remember it and was too lazy to look it up.

 

They do sound a lot alike, but if you listen to them often enough, it's pretty easy to tell who's talking.

 

This is one of the many reasons I love XM. If the Cubs aren't on, occasionally there will be another day game to listen to. Gives me a chance to hear other team's broadcasters.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Bob Uecker was absolutely comatose

 

Well, he was probably on the sauce...

 

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/6151/brewbb9.gif

 

 

Was his colorman Monte picking up the pace with those dynamite drop ins?

[jaxxradio]

Uecker is in the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame for a reason. The guy is tremendously gifted. Granted, age is finally catching up with him and maybe it is time for Ueck to step aside, but only when HE wants to.

 

The older broadcasters in this game are like the grandfather that comes over for dinner. Sure he's lost a step and maybe he doesn't tell stories as well as he used to, but by God he's earned everyone's love and respect.

[mhuber92211]

One of the reasons I enjoy XM so much is the opportunity to listen to the other announcers do a Cubs game. I am a Pat & Ron homer and given the option, listen to them first but it is always interesting hearing a different opinion.

 

Ueker is one of the best. I liken him to a cross between Jack Buck & Vin Scully. If you find Ueker difficult to listen to then Scully is the same. Remember when they started, they were classically trained journalists who were tasked to "report" the game rather then cheer it. Remember the complaints when Len first started on his lack of emotion on HR calls. He has changed slightly but he is still a straight journalist first.

 

I was surprised when I enjoyed the St Louis announcers this past weekend. The were respectful and knowledgeable but still rooted for their team.

 

Matt Vasgersian is still one of the best of the modern TV era but Rory Markis for the Angels does a good job too.