Bob Uecker’s role in Brewers history, 2021 playoff race

ATLANTA – Bob Uecker, 87, 27, walked out of the clubhouse in his champagne-soaked plaid shirt and Miller Lite. He’s been calling the Brewers games on the radio since some of the current players’ parents were toddlers, and yet he was there, dragged to the pitcher’s mound at American Family Field with confetti still falling as the Brewers were celebrating the 2021 National League Central Title victory.

The players wanted Uecker in the middle of their group photo. There is no other broadcaster on the planet that is more of their team.

“I think it’s very unique,” ​​said second baseman Kolten Wong, who came to the St. Louis Brewers, home of many legendary broadcasters. “’Ueck’ is in the clubhouse every day that we are. If he’s not there, something’s wrong. He’s definitely been a part of our team all year. He fed us, encouraged us, left us free.

“It felt good. It wouldn’t have been nice if we hadn’t had it in this photo.

It’s been like that in Milwaukee forever. When Uecker joined the Brewers radio team in 1971, he was only four years old from playing the final season of a Major League career that spanned the Milwaukee Braves, Phillies and then Braves. from Atlanta. The owner at the time, Bud Selig, initially hired Uecker as a scout, but it was a failed venture. Selig swears he once received a trace report in the mail from Uecker that was smeared with mashed potatoes and gravy.

It was probably for the best, as Uecker wasn’t supposed to be working behind the scenes. He has done commercials, television and films. He has been Johnny Carson’s favorite guest in over 100 appearances on The Tonight Show. Uecker has hosted Wrestlemanias and is part of the WWE Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Radio Hall of Fame and Cooperstown, recipient of the 2003 Ford C. Frick Award for Broadcasting.

But he’s always been a baseball player at heart, according to those who know Uecker best.

“He still sees himself as a player,” said Brewers team travel director Dan Larrea, who has worked at the Milwaukee front office since 1996. “I think he always comes back to his playing days because it is the base of everything. None of the other things happen without his playing career.

The deal with Selig when Uecker agreed to the broadcast gig was that he could kick off the batting practice before quickly changing into the clubhouse and rushing to the booth. He did this until the 1990s until health issues – ranging from a butt rotator cuff to heart surgeries to a fear of pancreatic cancer – forced him to give up his place. in the blood pressure rotation and get down to swimming instead. To this day, Uecker uses the resistance pool at the American Family Field clubhouse almost daily.

“He has always been accepted as a player. He might as well have been a player, ”said Hall of Fame member Robin Yount. “I’m not kidding, he was probably the best practice batting pitcher we’ve had in many years. A big part of that is being a catcher; receivers always have a good batting practice. The pitchers always think they are pitching. I couldn’t wait to hit the road because that’s where he practiced batting most of the time.

“Bob has become incredibly popular, incredibly recognizable,” said fellow Hall of Fame member Paul Molitor. “But his favorite environment has always been the clubhouse. He never changed. With everything that happened to him, he never forgot his roots, and I think we’ve all seen him. “

Yount added: “This camaraderie that he created I’m sure is the same with players today.”

There is no better measure of that camaraderie than a move that nearly took Uecker’s breath away in 2018. Each September, the competing teams have a player meeting to determine the distribution of playoff shares. , often dividing partial shares to medical staff, personal clubhouse and so on. After the Brewers’ playoffs ended with a loss to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the NLCS, it was Larrea’s duty to call Uecker to tell him that the players had granted Uecker the unusual honor on the one hand. whole. It was worth $ 122,957.13. Uecker donated the money to his favorite charities.

“He almost came to tears when I told him,” Larrea said. “He was very emotional. Since then, I have had the pleasure of calling him every year.

This year there have been additional bonuses far more valuable than cash. With Uecker’s cohort on the frontline to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when it became available in January, the Brewers were able to include him in their so-called “tiered” staff with clubhouse access for the start of the season. ‘spring training, meaning he was back with the players and doing his pre-game show in person with manager Craig Counsell.

And with the Brewers celebrating Uecker’s 50th birthday in the broadcast booth, Larrea, Brewers Equipment Director Jason Shawger and star outfielder Christian Yelich conspired to create custom Nike shoes to mark the occasion, with an “Air Uecker” logo on one side of the heel and “ONE OF US” on the other. Uecker has been wearing them ever since at the baseball stadium.

“He’s a big part of that,” Yelich said. “I think everyone is still looking forward to this lawn mower party and champagne showers. Hopefully there are more to come.

To understand what a “mower party” is, just look at it:

“Bob has that quality with people. He can relate to anyone in any situation, ”said Tony Migliaccio, who started as the Brewers’ bat boy in 1978 and has been with the club ever since, now as a manager. clubhouse operations. “He’s going to sit down and have a 10 minute talk with a guy sweeping the parking lot, then come in here and have a 10 minute talk with Mark. [Attanasio, the Brewers’ chairman and principal owner]. You know what I mean?

“It’s like he’s your best friend. It’s a real gift to connect with people.

The connection is stronger than ever this week. For the first time since before the pandemic, Uecker will be on the road with the Brewers in Atlanta, calling for matches for the Brewers Radio Network.

This will be his first visit to Truist Park, the site of Game 3 of the NLDS on Monday.

This is an opportunity to reconnect with his baseball roots, as one of Uecker’s first stops was Double-A Atlanta, playing Ponce de Leon Park in 1958 and 1959 before moving on to Triple-A and eventually in the big leagues. Uecker played alongside Hank Aaron with the Milwaukee Braves in 62 and 63, then reunited with “The Hammer” in Atlanta in 1967. Uecker said he was thinking about Aaron this week and wondering what he would do with the first post-season match between the Braves and Brewers.

There is no doubt about Uecker’s fundamental interests.

” I loved [the Brewers] all year round, ”he said. “We went through this whole COVID thing last year, and it was a bummer. You haven’t really been able to see what the guys are doing for a full season.

That’s why it meant so much to celebrate in person with the team when the Brewers won the division on September 26.

“It’s good,” Uecker said. “Very well.”

In recent weeks, Uecker has been asked if he is considering retiring. The answer was a quick no, as long as he was able to do his job without embarrassing himself or the organization. He will know, Uecker insisted, when it is time.

“I think I will continue to do it,” Larrea said. “Tell me what other 87-year-old man is so active and can work. Someone told me the other day when Bob made his first pitch [prior to NLDS Game 1], ‘I look at my 81 year old aunt and she puts pudding in her mouth and goes to bed.’ Now take a look at what Bob is doing at 87.

“I think the work, being around everyone, the players, the front office, the media, everyone, that invigorates him. It keeps him young.