Much will be new at American Family Field for the Milwaukee Brewers home opener against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
There are new high-resolution scoreboards – one in centerfield that is double the size of the old, as well as a nifty new board in right field. The 3rd Street Market Hall Annex on the loge level will open for business with unique food options. There’s also streamlined app-based parking system that’s expected to cut down on lines getting into the ballpark.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
On the field, there’s a potential star-in-the-making in 20-year-old rookie Jackson Chourio.
But there will also be something very familiar when the teams take the American Family Field diamond for the season’s first home game – the presence in the radio booth of Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker, who celebrated his 90th birthday in January.
“Bob’s the brand. He’s the icon. He’s everything Brewers,” said Rick Schlesinger, the team’s president of business operations.
This marks the 54th season of Uecker calling Brewers games on the radio, the second-longest tenure among active major league baseball broadcasters after Denny Matthews, who has begun his 56th season at the microphone for the Kansas City Royals radio broadcasts.
“Bob has been doing this for a very long time and he’s the gold standard for broadcasting,” Schlesinger said.
Although Uecker will be calling the Brewers home opener, it’s unclear how often he’ll be in the booth over the rest of the season.
“He’ll be here for Opening Day calling the game and then, given Bob’s schedule and desires, we’ll sort of take it day by day,” Schlesinger said. We want him to set his schedule and determine what he wants to do.”
Uecker, who has been limited to mostly home broadcasts the past few seasons, has handled Brewers’ radio broadcasts since 1971, the year after the franchise moved to Milwaukee after playing one season as the expansion Seattle Pilots.
Uecker spent time at the Brewers spring training facility in Arizona as the team prepared for the start of the regular season, which saw the Brewers sweep a three-game series against the Mets in New York before returning to Milwaukee. Schlesinger said he and Mr. Baseball, a nickname given to Uecker by legendary late-night talk show host Johnny Carson, spoke often during their time in the desert.
“He was very engaged and very excited and ready for Opening Day,” Schlesinger said. “After that, it’ll be one game at a time.”
When asked about Uecker’s health, Schlesinger quickly responded. “He looks great and he’s raring to go,” he said. “He’s got the great stories, as always.”
A Milwaukee native, Uecker’s connection to professional baseball in the city dates to the Milwaukee Braves era. Signed by the Braves in 1956, Uecker played six seasons in the team’s minor league system before making his major league debut in 1962. He played one more season in Milwaukee as a backup catcher before being traded to St. Louis.
After his playing career ended, Uecker would eventually turn to broadcasting. Few have done it longer in the radio booth. The late Vin Scully announced games for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 years until retiring in 2016. Jaime Jarrín retired in 2022 after a 64-year career as the Spanish voice of the Dodgers.
Prior to joining the Brewers broadcast booth, Uecker spent the 1969 and 1970 seasons broadcasting Atlanta Braves games alongside Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson Sr. His tenure with the Brewers began in 1971 when he joined Tom Collins and Merle Harmon in the booth.
Uecker has remained a vital and active part of the Brewers ever since. Throughout last season, he was often seen in the Brewers dugout or on the field engaging with players, coaches and other team personnel before games. When the Brewers clinched the National League Central Division title last season, Uecker was front and center for team’s wild champagne-soaked clubhouse celebration at American Family Field.
Uecker’s work over the years hasn’t been limited to Brewers’ broadcasting. He worked as a national color commentator for ABC and NBC baseball telecasts. He had a major role in the popular movie Major League, parts of which were filmed in Milwaukee and at County Stadium, the Brewers’ home before American Family Field (formerly Miller Park). He also starred in the ABC sitcom “Mr. Belvedere,” which aired from 1985 to 1990 and authored the humorous book Catcher in the Wry, which recounts his major league career.
He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2001 and two years later was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which is presented annually to a broadcaster for “major contributions to baseball.”
But Uecker’s roots, by far, run deepest with the Brewers.
He’s a member of the Brewers Walk of Fame, located near home plate on the plaza outside American Family Field. There’s also a statue bearing his likeness outside the ballpark. A second statue honoring Uecker sits in the last row of the “Uecker Seats” on the stadium’s Terrace Level. The statue commemorates the popular Miller Lite commercials in which he delivered his famous and often-repeated line, “I must be in the front row!” He was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Brewers Wall of Honor, which is located along the third-base side outside American Family Field.
After the Brewers were knocked out of post-season play by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League wild-card series last season, Uecker signed off from the radio broadcast by saying: “Thanks for listening everybody. Thanks for being Brewer fans and we’ll get together again.”
True to his word, Uecker will be on the call for the home opener at American Family Field, waiting for the moment when he can deliver his signature home run call: “Get up, get up, get outta here, gone!”
That’s something Brewers fans aren’t in any hurry to see change.
