Legendary Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker had a profound impact on countless players who have played for the organization over the years. So much so that one former Brewers player was moved to tears discussing Uecker’s death on Friday.
San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames, who of course signed a seven-year $182 million deal back in December, took the field against his former team on Friday, making an impact right away by going 1-3 at the plate with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning.
After the game, Adames discussed his emotions regarding Uecker’s passing in a conversation with reporters, outlining how it was extremely tough for him and how he wished he was able to attend Uecker’s funeral.
“It was definitely tough,” said Adames. “It was very emotional. I called some people in Milwaukee because I wanted to go to the funeral. But they said it was going to be only for family. It was obviously an emotional time. My dad cried when he found out that he passed away. It was very hard for us because he was the spirit of Milwaukee. I only played there for four years but it felt like I played there for 15 years. The way that he made everybody feel was something special. It was sad and it was devastating. You know that you are missing that voice, that energy, that spirit in the game and on the radio. It’s going to take time for us to understand that he is gone. It’s tough.”
Adames was then asked about how Uecker addressed he and the rest of the Brewers players following their Game 3 loss to the New York Mets in the 2024 National League Wild Card Series that ended their season.
While Adames wasn’t willing to reveal everything that Uecker said, he did outline how in hindsight, it felt like Uecker was “saying goodbye” to the organization, which made Adames extremely emotional.
“It was kind of personal stuff. The way he was speaking, it was very sad, very emotional. He got me crying right away. He said two words and I was already crying. It was very tough. He was emotional for sure. It was kinda like he was saying goodbye,” said Adames as he wiped tears from his face. “Yeah, it’s tough. Obviously, it’s something that you don’t want to go through. It’s how life goes. You don’t want to get to that moment. It’s devastating when that moment gets to you. Especially with somebody like him. Everybody loved him. That tells you a lot about a person when nobody has something bad to say about him. That lets you know right there that he was an angel on earth.”
Willy Adames becomes emotional talking about the passing of Bob Uecker: pic.twitter.com/0gxp4dkUZc
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) February 28, 2025
For someone like Adames, who no longer even plays for the Brewers, to show this kind of emotion when discussing Uecker clearly shows what Uecker meant to the Brewers organization and to the baseball landscape as a whole.
As Adames alluded to, it will surely take Brewers fans some time to adjust to not hear Uecker on radio broadcasts this coming season. But clearly, his legacy has and will continue to live on for years to come amongst baseball fans and players alike.
