Brewers manager Pat Murphy on Bob Uecker: ‘It won’t be easy going on without him’

Major League Baseball and specifically the Milwaukee Brewers suffered a heavy loss with the passing of Bob Uecker, the longtime voice of the Brewers and one of the game’s all-time great personalities. Addressing his team during spring training, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy honored the legendary Mr. Baseball.

In a video shared on the team’s X (formerly Twitter) account, Murphy talked about how much Uecker loved being around — and being part of — the team.

“For those of us that became close to him and got that privilege, it’s hard. But for those of you that knew him a little bit and just saw how he operated, I can tell you this. That loss was of a guy who was authentic, who made the choice to stick with the Brewers when he could have left, many, many times…he could have went and done other more financial things. He grew up here, he loved it, he was part of the fabric.

“And the way he treated people — he understood, as a superstar in his own right, a legend, if you will — he understood what it meant to reach out to others. He understood how important it was to build his friendship with you. Any of you guys that were in the locker room understood that. He had done so much, but never made you feel like that. He just wanted to be part of the boys. His main thing in life was to be in that clubhouse and to be part of the boys.”

“It won’t be easy going on without him, but we can remember he is a 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱.”

Go inside the clubhouse for Pat Murphy’s emotional tribute to Bob Uecker 💙 pic.twitter.com/iukJccELha

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) February 18, 2025

Murphy’s words backed up what we saw from Uecker over the years, including in his last season. Uecker was overjoyed to celebrate with the Brewers after they clinched the National League Central in 2024. He also clearly felt the pain of the team’s playoff loss to the New York Mets, saying the loss “had some sting on it.” Christian Yelich even detailed how tough the conversation with Uecker was after the loss.

Uecker’s passing in January brought about many tributes and stories from those who worked with and knew him.

Murphy, meanwhile, closed out his tribute by citing a line from 1993’s baseball movie, The Sandlot, when the ghost of Babe Ruth (played by Art LaFleur) addressed Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (played by Mike Vitar).

“It won’t be easy going on without him,” Murphy said. “You know what they say, that movie, Sandlot, right? ‘Heroes will be remembered, legends will never die.’ So I don’t think he’ll miss a pitch.”

We certainly hope not.