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Here is Jeff Levering in 2024 after calling the last game of the season when the Brewers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Mets. Ueck's illness wasn't yet public but Jeff knew it would be the last game he would ever call with the legend Bob Uecker. Ueck will be looking down from above.
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Levering loved Ueck as many of us do, even those who remember him as Harry Doyle. How ironic would it be to get a Cleveland Milwaukee World Series 😃 ♥️
I never really heard him calls game much because why would I be watching random Brewers games, but he was so hilarious in the exact opposite way Bill King was. Those two would be an absolute dream of a booth together.
If there's any other announcer I could imagine getting in trouble for calling an official a motherfucker, it would be Uecker.
"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance, you haven't, but the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar."
One advantage of the rainout tonight was that the TBS pregame crew was scrambling for content, so they interviewed BA about the Brewers and Milwaukee! He said he’ll be in the audience for the WS.
i love radio calls of stuff like this, the radio guys often love the team as much as the fans do. this call stood out in particular to me, the "oh my god" was so raw
Not MLB but listening to Toby Rowland called Oklahoma’s winning pitch in the MCWS this year gives me absolute chills. Toby was almost in tears. Admittedly I’m a die hard Oklahoma fan so I have a bit of bias but it was awesome to hear him get to experience something that meant so much to him.
I love a "win the pennant" call so much more than a "going to the World Series" call. The difference in the NL and AL may not be what it used to be but a pennant win is still a big deal in my book.
I agree too! I actually loved Joe Davis’ call last year on the national broadcast because he said that ‘And for the first time in 32 years… the Blue Jays… have won the pennant!’
This year he did something almost identical for the Brewers but replaced it with ‘going to the World Series.’ It doesn’t hit the same for me. Winning a pennant is still a huge achievement for 90% of franchises. You’ve just won something, that should be the call imo.
I think the difference is the Blue Jays have won the World Series before, so despite not winning the Jays still added another proverbial feather to their cap by winning the AL
If the Brewers lose the World Series then this pennant will mean close to fuck all for their fans, because they don’t have any other World Series trophy to fall back on
Nah, that was in the script. But he did call a game like that all the time, like from the movie. The entertainer mentality that if the game sucked then he was going to talk about something else.
I’ve listened to Jeff’s call of the last out from last night so many times today and now I’m fighting back a tear looking at this pic. It’s so bittersweet that Uecker isn’t around to watch this all go down.
Love the emotional side of baseball. Growing up in Toronto my first exposure to Ueck was of all things Mr. Belvedere LOL. I absolutely love the local flare of baseball teams and he certainly had it, bleeding the Brew 🍻
When people clown Murphy for his “letters from Ueck” thing I don’t think the realize how much that man meant, and still means, to our city and our fanbase and those players. He was an incredible person who went out of his way to form real bonds with everyone in the organization.
Keeping his spirit alive isn’t just some corny thing we’re all doing. It’s a reminder that we can also live life that genuine and that full of joy.
And Ueck would love it. Just like he'd love that our fans have been photoshopping his ghost into different moments from these playoffs. Like him knocking down the ball that hit the roof, or popping Manny Machado's bubble, or one I saw of him just added in the stands behind Garrett Mitchell's catch. The guy had a sense of humor. He'd love all of it.
Will link if I can find it but I'll always remember from maybe 10 years ago Bob rambled "and that one was a little high, but, hey, aren't we all, folks"
When you also get that rare person in the booth that is there for what feels like forever, they become part of the fabric of the team.
Look at guys like Vin Scully, John Sterling, Jack Buck, and Harry Carey. Many of us grew up listening to those guys and when you hear an old call, you instantly remember an era of the team.
He had that answer ready to go! Didn't even hesitate. Ueck was the man. I hate that they couldn't win it all when he was in the booth. Hopefully they can win this one for him.
I understand clowning on people that do ‘corny’ shit for attention, but there are still a lot of folks out there who do ‘corny’ things from a genuinely good place in their hearts, and I love and respect the hell of out them for it.
Man I wish rhe Brewers could have won one while he was still around. Makes me really glad that the Rangers managed to win one while Tom Grieve and Eric Nadel are still with us.
I've said this a few times, but the joy and elation I felt when I realized we'll never again have to worry about winning our first, getting that monkey finally off the back, that has made me want everyone to get their first.
Safe to say, this postseason has been perfect for that.
Amen brother. Ever since '23 when people ask who I hope wins it all the first answer is the Rangers...Then the Brewers, then the Mariners, then the Rays, etc etc.
I’m a life long Rangers fan, grew up next to Arlington Stadium and The Ballpark in Arlington and eventually moved to Florida. Went to see the Rays v Rangers one time and ran into Tom Grieve outside the stadium after the game, and it was one of my all time favorite moments. Loved it when he was on the Rangers broadcast, I miss hearing his old school baseball stories.
I remember seeing this and Yelich’s post game interview and wondering why they were taking it so hard. Months later I had my answer, RIP to the legend.
Yo Cubs fans, this guy is on and above a level of Ron Santo. It's not about the team he's with, it's about how much he loved baseball and the people involved. He brought people to the Brewers. Hats off, good luck Brew Crew, win it for Ueck and the city.
Yep very much the same level, and similarly Ron Santo passed not too long before the Cubs finally won it all, in 2010. I can only imagine what his call with Pat would've been like.
I remember in the Joe Buck days, may have even been a playoff against the Dodgers, Uecker did a guest inning and the whole feel of the game changed. Just breathed life into the whole thing. To Joes credit he said something along the lines of "probably not happy to hear back from me but.." and went on to call the game.
I only really knew him from major league, but hearing him for that one inning I was like, ahh this dude is the man.
Especially then. Ueck made them bearable by giving us something to laugh and feel good about during a long game. Most people remember the excitement of his home run and walkoff calls, but I remember when an inning would go sideways or extra long and he would start in with some story or other and make you forget for a while how bad it was going. He was an absolute treasure, and we're lucky Jeff Levering is with us now. He's so on point with the product placements and pop culture references that I still get at least one good laugh every game.
For years growing up my only options were to see a game at old County Stadium once or twice a year or listen to Ueck on the radio. Pretty sure if it was anyone else making the call I wouldn’t be the die hard baseball fan I am today.
We really have been blessed with some great guys calling Brewer games. BA and Rock are great on the tv side, Levering and the radio crew are still top notch even without Ueck. It’s like they’ve developed a broadcasters pipeline that have picked up his mantle.
Listening to his sign off from that game plus seeing Yelich's puffy eyes postgame I was pretty sure it was Uecker's last season in the booth. Certainly didn't realize just how bad it was though.
The man that bought home plate from that series dug all of the dirt and clay out of the bottom of it, and made 40 custom "Ueck" jars to commemorate the end of his broadcasting era.
I bought one for myself, and one for my stepdad. I'll always have a piece of Ueck's legacy as part of my Brewers collection now. I'm just sad I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Baseball...
May have been a money grab to help recoup some of the cost, but still highly sentimental value to us Brewers die-hards. Came with receipts and photos of the home plate and the games it was used for.
I hope someone can crop the outlining of this hug and put it on a t-shirt, for all baseball fans (not just in Milwaukee or even Cleveland) to know we’ll be thinking of Uecker this upcoming World Series. 😢
I think there are maybe better ways to do that than putting such a vulnerable moment on a y shirt. You can buy a Uecker jersey - there's a lot of them at the ballpark.
I'm full on board with the Brewers. My adoptive grandmother was a Wisconsinite. She loved Brett Favre and she loved the the Brewers. Always had a spot in my heart for that state. Take it all the way please.
Me too. I know as a Cubbies fan, I'm supposed to have hatred for them in my genetics, but I just can't do it. Great team playing great baseball. Plus I want them to do it for Eucker.
Honestly once I got over my disappointment with how our season ended, this Brewers team is a fun club to watch and root for. I think I found them harder to like when Counsell and Braun played for them than I do now.
The 'Ueck would (and is, up in baseball heaven) be absolutely out of his mind and overjoyed with the Brewers run so far, but would still be showing complete professionalism.
I remember listening to that post game and you could hear him hold back tears. At the end of the day it is just baseball. However knowing why he sounded so heartbroken, it must have been really hard to try to keep all that composure and broadcast.
For real, if it had not been for Uecker, I would most likely never have grown to love and be a life long baseball fan of the Brewers. Its hard to capture a young mans attention at the ripe age of 10. He made it fun even when the brewers were just flat out ass. The guy ment so much to everyone nationally, but was a huge person locally. We all know that he could have bolted to a bigger market, but he stuck with Milwaukee through the good and bad for years. He is an Icon, will always be a huge part of the Brewers forever.
I miss that man, and I hope that whatever death brought him, that he is able to take this in.
I hope your team wins the WS this year, the franchise deserves it. They’re playing the best, your fans are kind (mostly), and your team is fun with friendly and decent players.
It's like two people who got downvoted to oblivion probably also by other Cubs fans. Meanwhile most other Cubs fans are empathizing because guess what, we went through the same thing with Ron Santo passing just before the Cubs finally won it all.
Every fanbase has people who know nothing but shit talking even at the worst of times.
Edit: one of their usernames is literally trolololol like come on
My brother works at the hospital that Ueck was attending during his treatment and met with him several times in relation to his treatment. He told me that he and Ueck had brief conversation during their engagements and that Bob was a very kind and respectful man.
Congrats Brewers fans. Beat the brakes off us. Gonna be a great WS whoever they play. I know Harry Doyle would’ve been thrilled if In Guar-dians also make it.
As a Phillies fan I'm so happy that Harry Kalas got to call that World Series in 2008. He died in April 2009. I feel for Brewers fans that Bob Uecker won't be there for them.
There is a recently released documentary called Ueck that shows his whole career and spends a lot of time on this game in particular. It is at turns heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hilarious. It's not available for streaming yet but gotta believe it will be soon enough.
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