COLUMN: Bob Uecker deserves chance to call a World Series clincher

Earlier this week on TwitterX, a feature with Tom Rinaldi on Bob Uecker came up (which I’d highly recommend). Uecker, 90, is in his 54th year being the play-by-play man for the Brewers. In my Brewer text thread with Josh Flickinger and his (and now my friend) Jon, we chatted about what Uecker meant to us.

Whenever the Brewers were playing and I was in the car with my dad, they were on, which meant Bob Uecker was on. Uecker was usually telling an absurd story because those Brewer teams in the mid-90s were pretty rotten. A favorite was when Hall o fFamer Bob Gibson told him he threw the ball back too hard. So the next time, Uecker threw it harder. The next pitch, Uecker put down a two on his fingers to throw a curveball, and Gibson threw a fastball that hit Uecker square in the chest.

“I rolled the ball back out next time.”

His schedule is lighter, so whenever I flip on a game I’m always pleasantly surprised to hear him on the call. I try to schedule my lawn mowings around Brewer day games.

The video also made me think about getting Uecker the one thing he doesn’t have as an announcer–the chance to call a World Series win for the Brewers. Obviously they were close in ‘82 and if Yelich doesn’t shatter his kneecap in 2019, they maybe had a great chance there, too. But I wonder if this Brewers team might be able to give him the opportunity to finally make the ultimate call of a World Series win.

At the break, the Crew is up 4.5 on the Cardinals and has the third best record in the NL. What makes this team different from some of the more recent past is the offense has done a lot of the heavy lifting. There’s no Burnes and Woodruff starting games and there hasn’t been a Hader or Williams closing them, either, yet this team is 55-42 and, according to Fangraphs, has an 82.6% chance to make the playoffs. That’s really good!

The only “regulars” with WRC+ numbers under 100, which equates to league average, are Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins, and Gary Sanchez. Perkins plays some of the best defense in baseball, Chourio is 20 and has been much better since June, and Sanchez is, well, I might prefer Eric Haase as backup catcher but whatever. This is a lot different from the 2023 Brewers, who had only four regulars over 100 and two of them, Mark Canha and Carlos Santana, were deadline trade deals.

Unrelated, my TwitterX algorithm has, for reasons I’m not sure, keeps sending me Cubs chatter, and the Cubs faithful are bemoaning a terrible offense and a great pitching staff–where have I heard that before?

While on paper, this Brewers team isn’t as good as the Phillies or Dodgers, but that doesn’t mean they can’t beat them. First, Devin Williams is back soon, which will make the bullpen significantly better. Being able to deploy Trevor Megill when needed instead of saving him for the ninth will really free up Pat “Manager of the Year” Murphy in his bullpen usage.

Second, they are almost assuredly going to add another starting pitcher. So far, I’ve been very happy with the Aaron Civale addition, but they can still likely add one more to the rotation, but I don’t think it’s from a trade. Enter prospects Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson.

Misiorowski, if he stays healthy, is a future ace. He has 72.2 innings pitched at AA this year and has given up just 48 hits and has 98 strikeouts. Walks are the only real issue right now, but over his last two starts, he has four walks, 20 strikeouts, and 1 run allowed.

Henderson, a changeup specialist, has 56 strikeouts in 40 innings. He may be more of a bullpen addition than a starter addition this year, but if Milwaukee wants to reinforce their pitching staff, those are the best two options.

While the offense could use some fortifying in his depth, the starters really seem set–they just need to be healthy. Yelich, Hoskins, Ortiz, and Mitchell have all spent time on the IL. Getting everyone healthy along with Chourio continuing to improve, might be enough to get the Brewers over the hump.

There’s nothing I’d enjoy more than hearing Uecker say, “And it’s a grounder to Adames…the throw…and the Brewers are World Series Champions!” Well, besides hearing “and the Bears beat the Packers 62-0” but that’ll be for another column.