Disciples of Uecker

You didn’t think a blog called Disciples of Uecker would pass up this story, did you?

The Brewers announced Wednesday that Bob Uecker will be the fourth individual honored with a statue outside of Miller Park, joining Robin Yount, Hank Aaron and Bud Selig. Unlike the Selig addition, which drew a fair amount of criticism from those outside Milwaukee, this move seems to be almost universally praised.

The “juuuust a bit outside Miller Park’s gates” joke was a little too easy to make when the announcement came, but this one was my personal favorite:

@AdamMcCalvy “This statue brought to you by…christ, I can’t find it. The hell with it!”

— Tex Western (@TexWestern) March 21, 2012

If I wasn’t busy at work at the time, I probably would’ve gone with “That’s all he got? One —damn statue?” but that’s just me.

Of course, Uecker had some classic lines of his own at the presser. On why he didn’t get a statue sooner:

“I didn’t have enough for the down payment.”

And on how he’ll be depicted:

“I have posed for the statue … Kind of a Schwarzenegger-type thing. Beefcake. Speedos. Pretty buffed. It’s really enhanced. I’ve seen pictures of the finished product, and, yes, I’m very pleased as a matter of a fact. It’s drawing a lot of attention. More than that swimsuit issue.”

In reality, Uecker will be striking a casual pose, with no microphone in sight. It sounds like it could be similar to Selig’s statue, who was depicted with one hand in his pocket and another gripping a baseball. Much like Selig’s unveiling, one would guess the guest list for Uecker’s ceremony will be full of Milwaukee’s best and brightest baseball names.

The new statue will be revealed on August 31, before the Brewers open a quick three-game homestand against the Pirates.