Outside The Confines: The voice of the Brewers is silent

A true baseball legend, Bob Uecker has passed away.

It seems to be a great truth of baseball that some of the least inspiring players become powerhouses in some other capacity, either in the dugout, or, in the case of Bob Uecker, behind a microphone, as the voice of the Brewers.

Uecker, later lovingly called “Mr. Baseball” had the kind of life that would seem too incredible to be real. After six seasons in the majors, he started a career in broadcasting that lasted a whopping fifty years. To say he defined the sound of summer for Brewers fans wouldn’t be an understatement.

He also wielded his wit and humor, hosting two humorous sports shows, Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports and Bob Uecker’s War of the Stars. He was a comedy guest on the Johnny Carson era Tonight Show over 100 times. He hosted Saturday Night Live among other career highlights.

Uecker was a beloved character inside and outside of baseball and will be sorely missed not only by Brewers fans, but by baseball as a whole. He passed away at the age of 90 from cancer.

• Adam McCalvy memorializes the Brewers legend.
• Dan Chicalski rounds up some of Uecker’s biggest pop culture moments.
• Mike McDaniel shares Uecker’s best quotes.
• Andy Nesbitt rounds up fan responses to Uecker’s death.
• Brewers’ announcer Brian Anderson shared his memories of Uecker on MLB Network. Story by Stephen Douglas.
• Will Sammon writes about Uecker for The Athletic. ($)

Now onto the rest of today’s links.

• ESPN updates their free agency tracker.
• Jay Jaffe makes a Hall of Fame case for Curtis Granderson.
• Which three teams seem to be the main contenders for signing Roki Sasaki? Story by Mark Feinsand.
• On that note, Jesse Borek helps explain what’s going on with international signings now that they’re open.
• Chad Jennings and Cody Stavenhagen explain how Instagram changed the fate of the A’s new Japanese pitcher, Shotari Morii. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Davy Andrews checks in on 2024 Mookie Betts and wonders if his performance was a sign of good things to come, or something to worry about.
• Tom Verducci breaks down Corbin Burnes’ free agency journey.
• Jayson Stark explains his Hall of Fame ballot. (The Athletic subscription required)
• Michael Baumann wants to know what the heck happened to Brett Baty.
• This is wild. (NOTE: The account is satire and this isn’t true, but it’s too funny not to share)

• Michael Rosen wonders what the matter is with Jack Flaherty.
• Bryan Hoch breaks down the Yankees’ All-Century team.
• Greg Presto follows the story of Armstrong Muhoozi, a Pirates prospect from Uganda. (The Athletic subscription required)
• Tommy Brown, the last surviving member of the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, passed away at 97. Story by Patrick Andres.
• Ben Clemens revisits some productive outs from the past season.
• Could the Jays be considering pairing Pete Alonso with Vlad Jr.? (MLB)
• Funnily enough, according to Ryan Phillips the Mets would love to trade for Vlad Jr.
• The Mets apparently expect Alonso to sign elsewhere. (MLB)
• Ryan Phillips shares that the Mets apparently offered Alonso a deal for three years before negotiations stalled.
• Billy Wagner, on his last Hall of Fame ballot, explains how difficult the waiting process becomes. Story by Tyler Kepner. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Great news if you want to watch the Dodgers!

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.