The outfit Brewers manager Craig Counsell was wearing on MLB Network on Monday deserved a full red carpet “what are you wearing?” breakdown.
And, no Brewers fans, this shirt is not available to the public. It’s a team-issued joke from a photo of Uecker in 2008.
But with the news that Kirstie Alley of “Cheers” fame has passed away at 71, it reminds me a story of how the Hall of Famer helped indirectly inspire the hit show.
We all remember the classic Miller Lite ads featuring Bob Uecker and a variety of other athletes. “Oh I must be in the front row!” But NBC was shocked at the popularity of the commercials and wondered if they could capitalize on an angle of a character dealing with life after sports… and beer.
NBC was willing to throw anything up against the wall, they were third in the ratings war that only featured three stations, and went with 35-year-old Ted Danson as ex Red Sox picher Sam Malone. And the rest is history.
Cheers, Mr. Baseball and the Alley family.