Brewers' Radio Voice Bob Uecker Cutting Back In 2014

Bob Uecker

MLB Brewers Hall of Fame radio voice Bob Uecker said on Newsradio WTMJ 620 AM Thursday morning that he will be cutting back on some of his road broadcasts during the 2014 season.

According to jsonline.com, Uecker, who insisted he turned 80 last Sunday, not 79 as listed (he said his listed birth year of 1935 was wrong), has been doing radio broadcasts for the Brewers since 1971. He had some medical setbacks in recent years, including heart surgery, but never suggested he would cut back his schedule since now.

Uecker told Gene Mueller and Greg Matzek on WTMJ that he had been encouraged by owner Mark Attanasio and others to cut back a bit on his workload but had declined to do so until now. He wasn't specific about how many games he will cut back and there was no talk about who would fill in for him to do radio broadcasts with Joe Block.

Uecker faced a serious health issue in April 2010 when he announced he was going to miss 10–12 weeks of the season because of heart surgery. His aortic valve and a portion of his aortic root were successfully replaced  and he returned to the radio booth in late July. In October, he was forced to undergo more heart surgery because of a tear at the site of the valve replacement.

Since then, Uecker has been in relatively good health. The work schedule is tough, however, especially for someone who has been doing it as long as he has.

Uecker was unducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2003 as the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for a distinguished career in broadcasting.

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