Counsell happy Uecker is back this spring
Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who turned 50 last August, was asked Tuesday if he could wrap his mind around the fact that Bob Uecker has been calling the team’s games on the radio basically for Counsell’s entire life.
“No,” Counsell said with a smile. “What’s remarkable is how good he is at his age. Everything is good with him, his physical condition. Everything is just so good. It’s incredible.
“It doesn’t feel like he’s aging. That’s the best way to say it. That’s awesome. He’s living the right life, the way he’s aging.”
Uecker, who turned 87 on Jan. 26, began his 51st season in the booth Tuesday with his first spring broadcast of the Brewers’ Cactus League game against Oakland at American Family Fields of Phoenix. He is back for another season with broadcast partners Jeff Levering and Lane Grindle as well as longtime producer Kent Sommerfeld.
Counsell does a pre-game show with Uecker every day before home games but the format changed last year when COVID-19 protocols prevented broadcast and media members from having access to the field. The show was done remotely and Counsell missed the daily interaction – filled with laughs, as you’d imagine – with the iconic Hall of Famer.
“Last year, I didn’t see Ueck in person,” Counsell lamented. “I guess we’d see him from the field to the press box at home games, but that was the only time I saw him. … I haven’t even thought about that yet but there should be a way that we’re, at some point, allowed to do those shows in person again. I look forward to it.
“I have seen him this spring. It’s great to see him. I know he’s excited to be back at the field and being able to interact a little bit more. So, it’s a good thing. It’s another year of baseball, another year on the air for him, which is incredible. It really is.
“And as good as ever, as funny as ever.”
As for the fountain of youth that Uecker must drink from every season, Counsell added, “He’s got the secrets, man. I’m starting to get interested in those secrets.”
You could hear the excitement in Uecker’s voice at the outset of the broadcast of the Brewers’ first home game this spring.
“Absolutely, good to be back!” Uecker exclaimed after being greeted by Levering.
Uecker immediately acknowledged the biggest difference from broadcasting games in 2020.
“We have people,” he said. “We are excited, not only for baseball, but there are people in the seats.”
Uecker then talked on the broadcast about how much the world had changed since the last spring training broadcast, before the budding pandemic shut down camps and sent everyone home.
“Spring training is such a big part of the economy here; it’s huge,” he said. “It’s just good to be back and see everybody. Hopefully, we can get back to normal, get everybody working, get kids back in school. Arizona was hit hard with the coronavirus. Just a bad time, really bad.”
Not that Uecker hesitated in delivering what he does best, comedic lines that his longtime listeners eagerly await. He noted a new seating arrangement in the booth to keep him socially distanced from Levering.
“We were doing a little bit of a construction job here in the booth,” Uecker said. “Jeff is now sitting on my shoulders and is indeed far enough away. ‘You’re OK up there, absolutely.’”
Focus shifts for Ray
When the Brewers drafted outfielder Corey Ray fifth overall in 2016, the expectation was that he’d have broken into the major leagues by now, if not already assuming a starting role.
But, entering his sixth season in the organization, Ray is now 26, with only two full minor-league seasons under his belt and none since 2019. In that regard, it’s safe to say this may well be a makeor-break year for the Chicago native.
“Corey and I talked about it – it’s a huge year for him,” Counsell said. “I think he’s a player where you’re at that place, and there’s another step. There’s another step for him to go.”
Ray’s two most productive seasons came in 2017 and ’18 at advanced Class A Carolina and Class AA Biloxi, where he played 112 and 135 games, respectively. He was named the Southern League’s most valuable player and Milwaukee’s minor-league player of the year after hitting 27 home runs, driving in 74 runs and stealing 37 bases for the Shuckers in 2018.
Ray was unable to build on that performance the following season when a finger injury limited him to just 53 games at Class AAA San Antonio and 69 games total. The hope was Ray would be able to bounce back last season.
Instead, Ray went 1-for-20 in 11 Cactus League games before spring training was shut down by the pandemic. When baseball resumed in July, he was sent to the Brewers’ alternate training site in Appleton.
Already a member of the 40-man roster, Ray could have put himself in position for a jump to the majors. But he didn’t distinguish himself, and it was Tyrone Taylor who got the call instead when the Brewers needed an outfielder last September.
“Quite frankly, Tyrone Taylor outplayed him. That’s why Tyrone came to the big leagues,” Counsell said. “Those were our two choices in that spot.
“It’s an important year for Corey. It’s not necessarily competition against a player. It’s ‘have a good season and put yourself in a position to be that guy when we need somebody.’”
Ray’s left-handed bat, power and speed all work in his favor, as does his ability to play center field. But he never hit higher than .247 at his four extended stops in the minor leagues and has struck out 496 times in 1,665 career plate appearances – a rate of one in 3.4.
With Taylor and others remaining ahead of him in the pecking order for one or two reserve outfield jobs in camp, Ray’s focus should be on trying to re-establish himself with a productive season in the minors.
“There’s some consistency that Corey needs to provide, and I think a season full of just playing and accumulating that experience and those numbers is what does that for him,” said Counsell.
Waiting for Woodruff
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff had his scheduled start in the Brewers’ Cactus League home opener Tuesday postponed due to a stiff back.
Josh Lindblom took Woodruff ’s turn, while Woodruff threw a bullpen session.
“It went really well, actually,” Counsell said, referring to Woodruff. “Positive signs. We’ll just make sure he comes back good tomorrow morning and then put him on a day either Thursday or Friday.”
A’s 2, Brewers 1
Christian Yelich saw his first Cactus League action and doubled in his second at-bat, but there weren’t many other offensive highlights for Milwaukee (2-1) in the seven-inning opener at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
“An ideal first day, really,” Counsell said of Yelich’s debut. He started in left field and went 1 for 2.
After Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the first, Travis Shaw drove in Tyrone Taylor — inserted for Yelich after his double — with a single in the fourth. The A’s then used a Buddy Reed homer off Thomas Jankins in the seventh to win it.