Bob Uecker, the clubhouse wit who turned his tales of inferiority as a major league catcher into a comic narrative that animated his second career as a sportscaster and commercial pitchman, died on Thursday at his home in Menomonee Falls, Wis. He was 90.

His family announced the death in a statement released by the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom had long been a broadcaster. The statement said he been treated for small-cell lung cancer since early 2023.

Uecker proved himself undistinguished during his six seasons as a major leaguer in the 1960s. He eked out a career batting average of just .197, hit 14 home runs and drove in 74 runs. A career reserve player, he never started more than 62 games in a season for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals or the Philadelphia Phillies.

“To last as long as I did, with the skills I had, was a triumph of the human spirit,” Uecker said in his memoir, “Catcher in the Wry” (1982), written with Mickey Herskowitz.

He told self-deprecating stories — some true, some not — as if he had played baseball only to gather material for a stand-up comedy routine.

“I was once named minor league player of the year,” he said. “Unfortunately, I had been in the majors for two years at the time..”

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