Inside The Milwaukee Brewers Players Project: Honoring Bob With Badger State Products

[Michael Trzinski]

Most--well, all--Brewers fans know that Bob Uecker was born in Milwaukee and lived in Wisconsin most of his life. To honor him, the three players in this piece were born in this great state and played ball for the Brewers. Not only that, but they also all played their college ball in Wisco. Enjoy!!

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Vinny Rottino
Vinny Rottino was born in Racine, 35 miles south of County Stadium/Miller Park/Am Fam Field. He wasn't drafted out of high school, but after four great seasons at UW-La Crosse, he was signed as a free agent by the Brewers in 2003. Rottino didn't get much playing time at catcher behind Damian Miller, Johnny Estrada, and Jason Kendall, so he played a few games at first, third, and left field. 

The college batting star didn't get a chance to prove his worth, playing only 62 games combined with the Brewers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. Rottino entered the broadcast industry and became a Brewers Bally Sports Network TV analyst.

 

J.P. Feyereisen
J.P. Feyereisen was born in Stillwater, Minnesota but grew up in River Falls, western Wisconsin, not far from the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. He attended UW-Stevens Point for three years and played one season in the collegiate Northwoods League with my hometown team, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.  

When this guy was on fire, he was on fire! In his first one-plus seasons in Low-A and A-ball, he threw 31 consecutive scoreless innings. In 2021, with the Brewers, he went 16 innings without allowing a run. After being traded to Tampa Bay, he went a whole season (22 games, 24.1 innings) without allowing an earned run. His FIP was a minuscule 1.67.

 

Damian Miller
Damian Miller was born in La Crosse and played college ball at Viterbo College, located in LaX.  Of our threesome from today's piece, he spent the most time in the bigs and easily played the most games. He played in the infamous All-Star Game at Miller Park in 2002, which ended in a 7-7 tie because the teams ran out of pitchers after 11 innings. 

Miller played 11 big-league seasons for the Twins, Brewers, Cubs, Athletics, and Diamondbacks. After the 2008 season, he received calls from the Yankees and Padres but chose to retire, saying, “If I came back now, it would be only for the money, and if you play baseball, that’s not why you should do it." He said he would only return for one team: the Brewers.

 

Like our friend Bob Uecker, these players were born in the Badger State and played for the home team. We celebrate them as we celebrate Ueck. Thanks for the memories!

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[Furmania19]

The list should also include closing pitcher Bob Wickman. The Abrams, WI native is a UW-Whitewater graduate. The righty led the AL in saves in 2005, with 45, and played for 5 teams over a 15 year span.

 

Additinally how could we forget Jim "Gumby" Gantner. He spent mearly 20 in the blue & gold, playing alongside Robin Yount and Paul Molitor. He grew up in Eden, WI, just outside Fond du Lac and is an alum of UW-Oshkosh. His #17 is unofficially retired as it had not been reassigned since Gantner's retirement in 1992.

[Brock Beauchamp]

8 minutes ago, Furmania19 said:

The list should also include closing pitcher Bob Wickman. The Abrams, WI native is a UW-Whitewater graduate. The righty led the AL in saves in 2005, with 45, and played for 5 teams over a 15 year span.

Additinally how could we forget Jim "Gumby" Gantner. He spent mearly 20 in the blue & gold, playing alongside Robin Yount and Paul Molitor. He grew up in Eden, WI, just outside Fond du Lac and is an alum of UW-Oshkosh. His #17 is unofficially retired as it had not been reassigned since Gantner's retirement in 1992.

Welcome to Brewer Fanatic!

Have no fear, we didn't forget Gantner. This article was just highlighting some of the new players added to the Players Project. We already had a page for Gantner you can find here: