Pat Murphy shares powerful tribute to ‘legend’ Bob Uecker

The Milwaukee Brewers are mourning the loss of Bob Uecker, the legendary player and broadcaster, who passed away in January. Uecker had been a broadcaster for the Brewers since 1971, and they are now going to enter their first season without him in over 50 years. Spring Training games are starting in just a couple of days for the Brewers, and manager Pat Murphy shared a message with the team about Uecker ahead of their start.

“The first thing that comes to mind is losses. First thing that comes to mind, and I got to be authentic, so the first loss I’m going to talk about is something very special, very emotional. You know, we lost Bob Uecker,” Pat Murphy said to his 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 a guy who was authentic, who made the choice to stick with the Brewers when he could have left many, many times. Could have went and done other more financial things. He grew up here. He loved it.”

Bob Uecker lived and breathed the Brewers as he was born in Milwaukee and he was with the organization for such a long time. He is a Brewers legend.

“He was part of the fabric and the way he treated people, the way he included everyone else,” Murphy continued. “He needed you. 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. And it won’t be easy going on without him, but we can remember. He is a legend, and you know what they say in that movie, The Sandlot right? Heroes will be remembered, legends never die. So I don’t think he’ll miss a pitch.”

The Brewers will play their first Spring Training game this Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, and they will begin the regular season on March 27th against the New York Yankees. It will certainly be an adjustment for the team not having Bob Uecker around.