Monday's MLB: Milwaukee pays tribute to Uecker; Profar gets 80-game PED ban

Milwaukee — As the Milwaukee Brewers conducted a moment of silence before their home opener to honor Bob Uecker, one fan decided keeping quiet wasn’t the best way to pay tribute to the lovable loquacious broadcaster.

“We love you, Ueck,” the spectator shouted.

Fans, players and executives simply couldn’t hold back their appreciation for Uecker, who died Jan. 16 at the age of 90 after broadcasting Brewers games for the last 54 seasons and arguably becoming the most recognizable figure in franchise history.

The tributes to him were all over American Family Field as the Brewers lost 11-1 to the Kansas City Royals on Monday in their first home game since Uecker’s death. It was apparent from Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio’s decision to wear one of the plaid blazers that Uecker often favored.

“I did my best to find a jacket in my closet that would be something he would wear,” Attanasio said.

The grounds crew had Uecker’s signature decorated on the outfield grass. The Brewers wore patches honoring Uecker on their jersey sleeves, something that they’ll do all season. The first pitches were thrown by representatives of the Wounded Warrior Project and the ALS Association, two of Uecker’s favorite causes. The pro shop sold a line of Uecker-themed clothes, with portions of the proceeds benefiting charities Uecker had supported.

Outside the press box entrance was a banner with the message “We’ll Miss You, Bob,” that included thank-you notes from fans who had signed it after Uecker’s death.

Way over in the upper right-field corner of American Family Field in a section where tickets aren’t sold, the Brewers placed a giant blue tarp bearing the message “I must be in the front row,” a nod to a famous Uecker line from one of his Miller Lite beer commercials.

“Obviously we all miss him and wish he was here,” said outfielder Christian Yelich, who had worn a plaid blazer to honor Uecker before Thursday’s season opener at Yankee Stadium. “I think he’ll be with us for this season and many seasons going forward.”

Brewers fans came up with plenty of different ways to pay tribute to Uecker, who continued to broadcast home games last year even as he battled small cell lung cancer.

Many spectators spent the minutes before the game lining up to get their photos taken flanking a Uecker statue in Section 422. Another statue outside the stadium honoring Uecker was decorated with a sign featuring his trademark home-run call: “Get up! Get up! Get out of here! Gone!” Other fans lined up Miller Lite beer cans at the base of the statue.

“He was the voice of our childhood summers,” said David Horton of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, who placed one of the beer cans at the base of the statue. “We had him on in the garage with our dads in the back yards. He was just a staple. We just wanted to pay our respects in a small way and show some love.”

This wasn’t the first time fans had placed Miller Lite cans at the base of that statue to pay tribute to Uecker. Many of them also had done so after Uecker’s death, even though the freezing temperatures assured the full beer cans wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“They said the beer cans started popping, and they thought it was Uecker doing it because he was thirsty, getting ready for opening day,” quipped Paul Stainbrook of Racine, Wisconsin.

The tributes continued around town.

Kopp’s, a local burger restaurant known for its frozen custard, offered a special “Mr. Baseball” flavor for Monday’s home opener. It included beer nuts, chocolate-covered peanuts and a splash of Miller Lite. Kopp’s donated 20% of the custard sales to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, in honor of Uecker’s career batting average of .200.

Milwaukee loved Uecker because of what he meant to the city. He stayed true to his hometown and continued working Brewers games even as his star rose from his Miller Lite commercials, his chats with Johnny Carson and his featured roles in the movie “Major League” and TV’s “Mr. Belvedere.”

“There’s nobody who was more loyal or genuine,” Attanasio said.

He also was beloved by players and made regular pregame appearances in the Brewers’ locker room. Milwaukee’s players loved him so much that manager Pat Murphy took time out from the Brewers’ division-clinching celebration last season to recognize Uecker so that the team could give him an ovation.

When that season ended with a heartbreaking loss in the NL Wild Card Series, Uecker walked into a silent locker room and comforted players such as Devin Williams, who had given up a two-run, ninth-inning lead. Yelich said the toughest part of the night was speaking to Uecker afterward and knowing how badly the longtime broadcaster wanted to see the Brewers win that elusive World Series title.

He would have been the ideal voice to help settle a team that just got outscored 36-14 while opening the season with three straight losses to the New York Yankees.

“Ueck just had a way to put things in perspective,” Murphy said. “He had been through so much. He knew he had. So he could calm you down. He could put you in the right frame of mind. He could joke about it. He had a beautiful way about him.”

But as Yelich noted, Uecker’s spirit will remain here long after his voice isn’t heard on Brewers broadcasts anymore. That thought provided comfort to fans such as Heather Floyd-Gabrysiak of West Allis, Wisconsin, who made sure to arrive for Monday’s game wearing a Brewers jersey with Uecker’s name on the back.

“He’s always going to be here,” Floyd-Gabrysiak said. “Even if he’s not here, you’ll still feel him here. He’ll still be a part of it always.”

Profar gets 80-game PED ban

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games without pay for performance-enhancing drug use.

Major League Baseball announced Monday that Profar tested positive for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) in violation of the league’s joint drug prevention and treatment program. According to the Cleveland Clinic, hCG is a hormone that helps in the production of testosterone.

The suspension of Profar is effective immediately. Barring postponed games, Profar would be eligible to return June 29 against Philadelphia and would lose $5,806,440 of his $12 million salary. He is also ineligible for the postseason.

Profar called it the “most difficult day of my baseball career” and said he would never knowingly cheat.

“This is especially painful for me because anyone who knows me and has seen me play knows I am deeply passionate about the game,” he said in a statement. “There is nothing I love more than competing with my teammates and being a fan favorite. I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates and the fans.

“It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it. I have been tested my entire career, including eight times last season alone, and have never tested positive. I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB’s decision.”

The 32-year-old Profar was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger last season when he batted .280 and set career highs with 24 homers and 85 RBIs for San Diego. He then signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Braves in the offseason.

Profar is the fourth player who has been suspended this year for violating the performance-enhancing substance policy, with the others coming under the minor league program and the program for minor leaguers assigned outside the United States and Canada.

Two players were suspended last year under the major league drug program.

Noelvi Marté, a 22-year-old infielder who was considered Cincinnati’s top prospect, missed the first 80 games following a positive test for boldenone.

Toronto infielder Orelvis Martínez was suspended for 80 games on June 23 following a positive test for the performance-enhancing drug clomiphene, an announcement made two days after his major league debut.

Torpedo bat designer speaks out

For the MIT-educated physicist behind the torpedo bat, it's more about the talent of the players than their lumber at the plate.

The torpedo model – a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin – became the talk of major league baseball over the weekend.

The New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers that traveled a combined 3,695 feet on Saturday. Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all went deep using a torpedo bat. New York's 15 homers through the first three games matched the 2006 Detroit Tigers for the most in major league history.

“At the end of the day it’s about the batter not the bat,” said Aaron Leanhardt, a former physics professor at the University of Michigan who is being credited with the design. “It’s about the hitter and their hitting coaches. I’m happy to always help those guys get a little bit better but ultimately it’s up to them to put good swings and grind it out every day. So, credit to those guys.”

Leanhardt, 48, a field coordinator for the Miami Marlins, said the origin of the bat dates to 2023, when he worked for the Yankees. He said several versions were tested that didn’t create the desired effect.

Leanhardt was approached by major league and minor league players early in the design stage, seeking information on the bats.

"I’ll let the players always talk about their own experiences. I’m not going to drag anyone into this,” Leanhardt said Monday. “But there were definitely guys on the major league side and on the minor league side in 2023 that were definitely asking me questions and offering design advice and demoing them.”

Leanhardt said the past couple of days had been “surreal.” Some of Miami's players joked around with him as he answered questions from the media before their game against the New York Mets.

“The industry as a whole was probably a little bit more aware of this maybe than you guys were,” Leanhardt said. “Guys have been asking me about it. Guys have been wanting to swing them.”

Bat manufacturer Victus Sports dropped off a batch of torpedo bats for the Phillies just before first pitch of their home opener on Monday. Alec Bohm grabbed one, took about five swings and decided to use one.

His logic seemed sound: Look how it might have aided the Yankees.

“You see a team hit 20 homers and you’re gonna try it,” Bohm said. “It didn’t work.”

Bohm managed just one single with his new lumber. He noted it “felt just like a normal bat” and wasn’t sure if he would swing with a torpedo again any time soon.

“It’s a bat. It’s different,” he said. “It’ll probably run its course.”

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said he didn't feel like the bats had any effect on their opening series against the Yankees.

“I think they have a lot of really good players. That’s probably the biggest factor in how that went,” he said.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said shortstop Francisco Lindor used a similar bat in their series at Houston. He got the models late in spring training.

“Nothing new for us,” Mendoza said. “This is something that every team, every player continues to look for an edge and find ways to improve within the margins. And this is a perfect example.”