Bob Uecker standing ovation Photo Credit: MLB Network/ESPN+
By Arthur Weinstein on

Bob Uecker opened his 54th season calling Milwaukee Brewers baseball Tuesday. But before he could get down to business, the crowd sent a loud and clear message.

The 90-year-old Uecker calls only home games now for WTMJ and the Brewers Radio Network, so the game at Milwaukee’s American Family Field marked his 2024 debut.

Fans greeted the beloved broadcaster with a standing ovation, captured on the MLB Network simulcast.

 

Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger told the Associated Press in March that Uecker will take things “one day at a time” going forward, but says he’s been a part of the Brewers experience for generations of fans.

“Bob Uecker calling the first pitch of the Brewers home opener is the official start of summer in Milwaukee,” Schlesinger said.

The games Uecker cannot work will go to Jeff Levering and Lane Grindle.

Quite a bit has changed since Uecker picked up a mic in 1971, which seems impossibly long ago in baseball terms. Consider this: The legendary Robin Yount, who retired in 1993 after two decades in a Brewers uniform, had just started high school when Uecker debuted.

A former MLB player, Uecker became an unlikely pop culture icon in retirement. That included him starring in Miller Lite commercials, appearing as a guest on Johnny Carson’s late-night show in the 1970s and 1980s, and taking a star turn as announcer Harry Doyle in the 1989 film Major League. There, his call on one play (“Just a bit outside”) became an instant classic that still resonates today.

Fans were happy to see Uecker honored for another season.


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About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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