RASTALL COLUMN: Treasure every game called by Bob Uecker this Brewers season

When the Milwaukee Brewers take the field for their 2024 home opener on Tuesday, April 2 at The Stadium Formerly Known As Miller Park, a familiar voice will be behind the mic for those listening on the radio.

Bob Uecker is set to begin his 54th season of calling Brewers baseball, with the team confirming this week that he will be calling the home opener. However, that announcement came with a catch: it doesn't sound like there is a set schedule for Ueck this season, as the statement noted that "he'll take it one day at a time after that."

It really shouldn't come as any massive surprise that Uecker is planning on scaling back his schedule. The man is 90 years old, after all, and already stuck to an announcing schedule that only featured home games in recent years.

But the knowledge that the number of games he'll be calling during this 2024 season will be even smaller hammers home something that I imagine every Brewers fan already knew on some level: every single game broadcast by Ueck is something to treasure.

Bob Uecker and Brewers baseball are inextricably linked. They're as synonymous as Bob Uecker and ad reads for Usinger's brats. Summertime in Wisconsin without the voice of Ueck serving as the soundtrack to Brewers games? I don't even want to think about it.

As is the case with pretty much any announcer that keeps calling games into their twilight years, the eyesight gets worse and the play-by-play calling isn't as crisp as it once was. Ueck is no exception, but any game he calls is still a treat. His mind and wit are as sharp as ever, and there's no one who can tell a story quite like him.

There is so much change going on for the Brewers this season. Craig Counsell went from franchise hero to public enemy number one by leaving to manage the rival Cubs. The team underwent plenty of roster turnover, including trading away 2021 Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. The next era of Brewers baseball is starting to get underway, headlined by the arrival of top prospect Jackson Chourio.

Amid all the change, the constant of Bob Uecker remains. That is something to cherish deeply because once he signs off for the final time, baseball in Wisconsin won't quite ever be the same.