Bob Uecker is Milwaukee Brewers baseball.

When I covered the Brewers in 2018 and 2019, seeing him in the clubhouse was a constant. He’d be huddled around the players, telling stories, and they would almost always erupt in laughter. After the Brewers beat the Cubs in Game 163 in Chicago, as the Brewers celebrated in the clubhouse with champagne flying, a crying Uecker found Orlando Arcia and told him: “You’re my hero! You’re my hero!”

All Uecker wanted to feel was like he was one of the guys. That he was one of them. And for the 54 years he was with the Brewers, that was exactly how they made him feel. That he was one of the guys.

As the Brewers prepare to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, everyone has found themselves thinking about Uecker. Players. Coaches. Front office executives. Mark Attanasio, the team owner. Fans. Everyone. They wish he was here to see this.

“He would have loved getting to experience this postseason run and being here for it,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich told me. “In a lot of ways, we feel like he’s still here with us.”

Bob Uecker’s presence still looms over the Brewers’ World Series

Yelich and Uecker were close. They would get dinner once every spring training and, as Yelich tells it, he’d need to block off four or five hours because of how many baseball stories Uecker would have.

They’d sit at a dinner table inside the Brewers’ clubhouse after games and Uecker would tell him stories about hanging with Hank Aaron and other baseball greats. And often before games, it was common to see Uecker and Yelich standing on the top step of the Brewers dugout, talking baseball and talking life.

“It was awesome to hear his life stories and his baseball stories,” Yelich said. “He lived such a crazy, awesome life. Talk about getting the most out of life. … It was a joy being around him. He was so excited being in the clubhouse, being with the guys. He was just a great part of this organization and we all miss him every day.”

The Brewers are also preparing to face someone who helped build their October expectations, with Freddy Peralta now standing between his former teammates and a World Series title.

Brandon Woodruff faces a World Series reunion with Freddy Peralta

Peralta was with the Milwaukee Brewers since his early 20s after a trade with the Seattle Mariners. His relationships within the Brewers organization run deep. His teammates — every single one of them — absolutely love him and insist they’ve never seen him in a bad mood. 

“The best thing about Freddy,” Brandon Woodruff said, “is that he’s the same guy every day when he walks into the clubhouse. You’ll never know if he had a bad outing.”

“He’s always smiling,” Brice Turang said. 

Woodruff has not spoken with Peralta this week since the Rays advanced to the World Series. But he spoke about how the two came up through the Brewers’ bullpen in 2018 and went through the ups and downs, emerging best friends who have had a wide range of conversations — starting with baseball and then transitioning to family and having kids.

“This is a big moment for both of us,” Woodruff said. “We’re trying to beat each other, for sure.”

Peralta's stock in free agency has continued to soar as he's bounced back with Tampa Bay. Since he was traded, he will not be eligible for a qualifying offer. And numerous baseball sources that I've spoken with believe a nine-figure contract is absolutely in play for the right-hander this winter.

For now, that payday can wait. Peralta and the friends he made in Milwaukee have a World Series to settle first.