No One Better Than Us

Milwaukee, I’ll keep this short. Better I think to be short. Of course, it’s a tremendous season for us. 97 wins. It’s a lot of wins. Wow!!! But if you know me, you know I’m a man of few words. And I think, few words — actually it’s how it should be for our team. We are not one of those teams who’s saying this and that, or making so much noise. We are not a team in the bright lights. We are another kind of team.

I won a World Series with the Braves, a long time ago. I was so young. No one said we could do it — so now they want to know the secret for that group. Here’s the secret: unidad. We only won 88. Acuña is hurt. But we all were united. We had belief together. “What are we playing for???” Ask everyone on that team, it’s all the same answer. Ask most other teams, it’s a lot of guys with different answers. That’s why not a lot of guys have rings.

Three years ago, my agent calls and tells me, “Atlanta traded you.” I told him: “Trade me back.” I’m like, “MILWAUKEE?! OK. Nobody talk to me.” Nah — it’s just crazy to be traded like that. Crazy. I barely understood what a trade means. But what choice do you have? So I try to accept it. I try to think, William. Be honest. What you KNOW about Milwaukee? Yes, for a Venezuelan kid, and even just coming from Atlanta, it’s a different world, a different culture. But then I get here, and I get to know things.… It’s an amazing place. The organization, the fans, it’s such a great baseball city. Funny how it changes. Now if I think about that trade, I got lucky.

My first season with the Brewers, it was kind of a lesson. We played well. 92 wins. Champions of the division. I’m playing a lot. I’m hitting. One thing with Milwaukee, though, it’s very calm. And if you’re a guy like me who’s giving 200% to win, always intense, you have to kill me dead to beat me, the calm can be helpful. It’s balance. But I think we had some guys in 2023 where … OK … maybe it’s too calm. Because if they lose, it’s not killing them. I remember Arizona beat us two straight in those playoffs — so we’re out. I left the field, I’m actually crying tears. I’m feeling so responsible. But then I’m seeing guys who are leaving, it’s five minutes after the game, and they almost look happy. One guy, he’s even saying to me, “Yeah. Now I’ll go fishing.” I’m like, What is this??? We had to move on from that type of mindset. Something was missing, to be great.

And then before my second year with the Brewers, last season, our manager Craig Counsell left for Chicago. I have a lot of love for Craig. He cared so much about our Latino players, and always treated us with respect. And it’s an excellent contract he got. But it hurts to lose your leader after you win the division, especially to a rival like the Cubs. When we found out, that was tough. But it’s still love, and I’ll always wish Craig success (until he plays the Brewers). Sadly, we also lost our ace Corbin in that offseason. And I won’t lie, it can disappoint you when this stuff happens. All these teams adding guys and you think, Wow, we’ll miss him. Or, We could’ve used him. But I’m always going to feel happy for anyone when they get their money — they earned it!!! And of course I’m happy they can buy expensive TVs to watch the playoffs on :)

Everything else about last season … for us it was all about Bob Uecker. What a legend. Someone who defined this organization and this city. And a real supporter of us as players. You know how some people, they just have a way of talking to you, where it can be only for a short time but you feel like their closest friend in that moment? That was Bob. He’d always come down to the locker room, chat with guys, and he’d look at them and say, “No one better than you. Keep doing what you’re doing. No one better than you.” Those words honestly meant everything to me. Then in the playoffs, we knew it’s going to be the last for Bob before he passed. He told us he didn’t have much left. So we wanted to win it for him really bad — 54 years with the Brewers, he never got a ring. And when we lost to the Mets, out in the first round, what can you say? It’s heartbreaking. We had this goal and couldn’t achieve it.

And then the last thing I want to speak about is our current season. “You can’t explain it,” people will say. No one was picking us, we started so slow. Yet we did what we did. Three long winning streaks. Most wins in Brewers history. It’s historic. But I actually think I can explain it. OK — so there is this saying in football (“soccer” here). It goes: The ball is round. And what it means is: The game is unpredictable. For example, say it’s the offseason. Teams are making moves. Huge trades, huge signings. Sure. But here’s the thing. It’s only the offseason. Once the real season starts, once the ball starts bouncing? ANYTHING can happen. Most times, it bounces in favor of the big cities. Teams with the biggest investments, the biggest talent. But sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, the ball just bounces another way. You can’t explain it, can’t predict it, can’t pay for it … you can only go out there and play. It’s just a ball, you know what I’m saying?? The ball is round.

Alright, so maybe I’m a man of few words … plus a few more. Haha. But I wanted to say these things for Brewers fans, because the journey of this team has meant so much. This team, it’s so special. And for the first time since I won a ring, I’m really feeling that feeling again. I’m really looking around our locker room, our ballpark, and it’s that same unidad. It’s funny … I still have a little regret, years later, for being rude to my agent about the trade. “MILWAUKEE?!” Wow. What a wrong way to react. Now, I hope I spend my whole career here — and I hope to be on the first World Series winner in Brewers history. It’ll happen, I bet. It’s like Bob always said: “No one better than you.” Well actually, Bob, probably some are better than me! I’m not the best. None of our group is. But if you’re telling me another team is the best??? Man, I swear. I haven’t seen them. No one better than Milwaukee right now. No one better than US.