Brewers broadcast team remembers late Bob Uecker before 2025 opener

The Milwaukee Brewers opened their spring training schedule Saturday, and it was impossible to ignore the huge loss the organization suffered in the offseason.

Longtime radio announcer Bob Uecker’s death Jan. 16 at age 90 ended his epic 54-season tenure behind the mic. He started in 1971, the year after the Brewers began play in Milwaukee.

While Uecker’s death already brought an outpouring of tributes from not just the MLB world, but everywhere, those tributes are sure to continue throughout the 2025 season. And the Brewers FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin TV broadcast opened the team’s spring training schedule Saturday with a touching tribute to the legendary announcer.

Play-by-play announcer Jeff Levering introduced himself and the crew, including analyst Lane Grindle.

“Just to the right of Lane, a bouquet of flowers and a chair with Bob Uecker’s name on the back,” Levering said. “For the first time since the inaugural season in 1970, there will be a season without hearing Ueck’s voice. The chair, just a symbol, but the weight of his loss is felt by everybody, not just in this group, or in the organization, but around the world. He was our mentor, but more importantly he was our friend, and we miss him dearly.

The emotional opening of the first broadcast without Bob Uecker #Brewers pic.twitter.com/MoOiTnl9vq

— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) February 22, 2025

What a great tribute from Levering, and a nice touch to leave the open seat for Uecker. He’d often joked to his fellow Brewers broadcasters he couldn’t wait for the day they’d have to carry him out of the booth. But they’re not going to let go of him that easily.

“But he’s always with each and every one of us in our hearts, every single day,” Levering continued. “We’ll do what Ueck would want us to do, and that’s talk Brewers baseball. We’ll certainly laugh, we may cry, but we’ll always remember our friend, Bob Uecker.”