Bob Uecker helped build the Brewers team he never got to see win it all

Hear that, Ueck? As the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win the first World Series championship in franchise history, former play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker was on the minds of everyone in Wisconsin.

For 54 years, Uecker was the soundtrack of summer for Brewers fans. Growing up in Wisconsin, we heard him calling games as we drove home late at night. We listened to his stories as we grilled out in the backyard on warm afternoons. For so many of us, those are among our favorite memories. Mine included.

Now, watching the team he loved win it all, I couldn’t help but wonder what he would say.

I watched him, champagne and beer pouring down his tearful face, put his hands on Orlando Arcia’s shoulders and say, “I’m proud of you” after the shortstop’s game-winning hit in Game 163 in 2018. I watched Pat Murphy wrap his arms around Uecker in the clubhouse in 2024 and say, “There is no one who epitomizes being a champion like this man does.” And I watched Uecker stop by players’ lockers each day to talk and chop it up, tell stories. He said it was those players who kept him young because they made him feel like one of them.

“In one word, this was his family,” said Kent Sommerfeld, his radio producer of 39 years. “He was Milwaukee through and through. He loved baseball in Milwaukee. He was close with players and they were family for him, going back to players from the '70s all the way to today.”

The Brewers were Bob Uecker’s family

Uecker would have loved this Brewers team. Jackson Chourio has become one of baseball’s best players. William Contreras, the World Series MVP, played like the best catcher in baseball. Sal Frelick epitomizes being a Brewer. Aaron Ashby had one of the most dominant runs by a reliever in recent postseason history. Cooper Pratt, a rookie, had one of the biggest hits in Game 2 in Brewers history. Garrett Mitchell, finally getting consistent playing time, has blossomed and looked every bit the player the Brewers thought they were drafting in the first round. Brandon Woodruff defied the odds and returned to pitch in the World Series when he had doubts he’d ever pitch again. It’s a team, Woodruff said, full of best friends.

Then there is Christian Yelich.

Yelich and Uecker were close. Uecker was among those who made the Brewers captain comfortable almost immediately after the trade from the Miami Marlins. As Yelich emerged into an MVP in 2018, Uecker became a sounding board for him. They talked about how to handle the spotlight. They talked about family. Every spring, Yelich blocked off 4-5 hours for dinner with Uecker to hear his stories. They would sit at the clubhouse table and Uecker would share memories about Hank Aaron and other baseball legends.

When Uecker became ill, he only told those closest to him. That included Sommerfeld and broadcasters Jeff Levering, Lane Grindle and Dom Cotroneo. It also included Yelich. After the Mets eliminated the Brewers in the National League Wild Card Series in 2024, Yelich and other players cried in the clubhouse after the game. It wasn’t because they were eliminated. It was because, in all likelihood, that was Uecker’s last game.

“Ueck talked about how special his relationship with Yeli was,” Sommerfeld said. “Yeli was the longest tenured Brewer in his later years, and he had that relationship with him like he had with Robin Yount. Ueck and Robin Yount were as tight as can be. And Yeli became a lot like the current day Robin Yount.”

“It was awesome to hear his life stories and his baseball stories,” Yelich told me last weekend in Milwaukee. “He lived such a crazy, awesome life. Talk about getting the most out of life. … It was a joy being around him. He was so excited being in the clubhouse, being with the guys. He was just a great part of this organization, and we all miss him every day.”

What Yelich appreciated most about Uecker was his authenticity. He cared about the people around him. Five minutes with Uecker, Sommerfeld said, could leave someone feeling special, like they had a connection with him. That resonated with Yelich and has played a key role in his leadership style within the Brewers’ clubhouse.

Yelich is not overly vocal, but he can be when he needs to be. He and Woodruff, the two longest-tenured Brewers, have set the standard and laid the foundation. He’s honest. He’s direct. He’s genuine. “He cares,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He f***ing cares. He cares about upholding his performance. He takes it personally.” And it’s why Murphy pulled Yelich into his office at 11p.m. on a Friday night in September during the season and named him the first captain in franchise history.

The celebration Uecker would have loved

As the Brewers celebrate their first World Series, the players say Uecker’s impact was felt throughout the regular season and postseason. It was heard too, as fans chanted "Uuuuuueck" at Tropicana Field. It’s easy to picture him in the middle of the celebration, pumping his fists, and celebrating with Yelich in the middle of the champagne shower. Because there were few things he cared about more than the Milwaukee Brewers and being one of the guys.

So what would Uecker say to Yelich and the rest of the Brewers clubhouse during it all? It would surely be similar to what he told Arcia almost eight years ago.

“I’m proud of you.”

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