Summertime in Milwaukee will never be the same.

For the last 54 years, Bob Uecker’s voice let Milwaukeeans know that another long, cold winter had come to an end, that spring had finally arrived and with it, Milwaukee Brewers baseball and another summer of sunshine and warmer weather.

Uecker provided the soundtrack for those months, bringing Brewers games to fans as they made their way to summer cottages, enjoyed days on the lake or just relaxing in their own backyards.

This summer, though, will be different after Uecker passed away Thursday at the age of 90, following a brief and private battle with cancer.

“He’s really the heart of Milwaukee baseball,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said.

That might be an understatement because in many ways, Uecker epitomizes Milwaukee baseball.

Long before he called his first Brewers came in 1971, the Milwaukee native was a standout prep baseball player for Boys Tech High School. After graduating in 1956, he became the first local player signed by the hometown Milwaukee Braves, who brought him to the big leagues in 1961.

Uecker would spend six seasons in the majors and was part of a St. Louis Cardinals team that won the World Series in 1964. After closing out the 1967 season in Atlanta, where the Braves moved following the 1965 season, Uecker retired and started his broadcast career with WSB-TV.

Milwaukee, though, was always home and Uecker return to the city where he became a scout for the fledgling Brewers franchise, which Bud Selig had brought to town after a one-year run as an expansion team in Seattle.

While scouting wasn’t Uecker’s forte, Selig knew where his friend would shine and sent him up to the broadcast booth where he joined Merle Harmon and Tom Collins, a spot he’d never relinquish.

Along the way, Uecker’s natural gift for entertaining and comedy led to more than 100 appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who gave Uecker the nickname “Mr. Baseball,” syndicated shows like “Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports,” a starring role in the ABC sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” and starring roles in classic films like “Major League.”

Oh, and enshrinement in baseball’s Hall of Fame.

But no matter where Uecker’s fame led him, he never strayed too far from his hometown and never considered giving up his “real job” with the Brewers, so much so that up until recently, he never worked under a contract.

“Every year we asked,” said president of business operations Rick Schlesinger. “And every year he said, ‘No, a handshake is good enough for me.’”

Uecker called some of the franchise’s greatest moments, including it’s first — and to this date, only — trip to the World Series in 1982 but was also behind the mic during a lot of forgettable years, during which his humor kept fans tuning in every night.

When the franchise’s fortunes started to turn for the better, Uecker was still there helping teach a new generation of players what it meant to play in Milwaukee and brining their successes to a new generation of fans.

“He had the unique ability to relate to all of us,” former Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun said. “He’d lived the game through our eyes. He understood how challenging a season could be at different times. And so to be able to go to him just to talk about life more so than baseball, was something that I think we all looked forward to. The season can get challenging. It can feel stressful at times. I think he was just a source of consistency and calm for all of us, and we valued his opinion, right? He just always had a unique ability to say the right thing, to give good advice, to make you laugh, to not take things as seriously and to just bring joy to our lives.”

The Brewers never made it back to the World Series before Uecker passed away and it will be somewhat bittersweet if they get there without him making the call, but time marches on and as different as it will be, so will the Brewers, who are planning ways to honor their franchise icon this season.

“Bob Uecker is not replaceable,” Attanasio said. “He was a true man of the people, without saying he was a man of people.”

Obviously, this is a Milwaukee Bucks blog. However, today, it’s more than that. Today, it’s not just a Milwaukee Brewers one as well, but a Milwaukee one.

Today, we lost an absolute legend in Bob Uecker.

Let me be frank. I don’t know where to start with this, so I’m just going to type out whatever comes into my head.

Bob Uecker embodied baseball to perfection. In its simplest form, baseball is a children’s game where all that’s needed is a ball and a stick.

When Ueck talked baseball, everyone felt transported back to that euphoric, childhood state where so many of us first found our love for the game.

Ueck achieved that in such an easy way — by being himself. Whether it was a close nail biter of a finish or the Brewers were getting trounced 14-1, it was always a must-listen. You never knew what stories would unfold with him behind the mic.

In a day and age where stats and accolades are endlessly analyzed and arguments of who’s the GOAT are overwhelmingly debated, Bob Uecker was the exact opposite.

By constantly making himself the butt of every one of his jokes, he brought not just laughs, but a sense of nostalgia association with the game of baseball from childhood, where smiles and laughter are the synonymous definitions of the game.

When I think of Ueck, that’s what I think of — my childhood.

Growing up, my family didn’t have cable. In fact, we’d finally get cable in 2008, which was the year the Brewers made their first playoff appearance since 1982.

Contrary to what my then 7th grade-self was thinking, I’m glad we didn’t have cable up until then. It allowed me to listen to Ueck on the airwaves.

It created an endless amount of memories that I’ll cherish the rest of my life.

I’ll never forget Eddie Pérez’s walk-off HR against the Reds in 2003 and Ueck’s, ““It hit the pole!” call. And then Wes Helms’ walk-off HR against the Expos in 2004. For that one, my brother and I were listening to a radio under our bed after we had been told it was bedtime, only to jump out of bed and run around the house (the excitement began before Ueck even started his second “Get up!” call.).

Then, you have the shared experiences that so many of us will treasure together. Sitting outside on a warm summer night, crickets chirping, the radio on, a warm breeze hitting your face, the smell of the grill tickling your nose, and Ueck’s voice gracing the airwaves.

When you sit back and remember those moments, you think back to the simplicity of it all. Bob Uecker, by being himself and just speaking words into a microphone, crafted himself as the voice of summer. And to me (and I’m sure many of you), that exact scene is, and will remain, the definition of summer.

So tonight, I welcome you all join me by heading out and to grabbing a pack of Usinger’s bratwurst and a pint of Cedar Crest ice cream to go along with it. That’s what I’ll be having for dinner.

And afterwards, I’ll be headed down to Miller Park (yes, I still call it that) to lay flowers by Ueck’s statue. If you’re in the Milwaukee area, please join me in doing so.

Ueck was Milwaukee. He was Wisconsin. Milwaukee Brewers games will never be the same. However, it’s through conversation with fellow fans that we’ll mourn, celebrate, smile, and joke about Ueck’s life — because that’s what he’d want us to do.

So, with that being said, I welcome you all to leave comments about some of your favorite Uecker calls. I know it’ll help me and I hope it’ll help you too.

RIP, Mr. Baseball. We’ll never forget you.