‘Just a bit outside’: Fans petition for fictional Indians’ announcer to call Series

The real Cleveland Indians are in the World Series, but fans are still feeling nostalgic for the Cleveland team from the 1989 movie classic “Major League.”

First, fans wanted Charlie Sheen to throw out the first pitch as character Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, the hard-throwing right-hander who learns to harness his pitches with the help ofglasses.

Now, more than 37,000 people have signed a petition asking Fox to replace play-by-play announcer Joe Buck with Bob Uecker, who played the fictional Harry Doyle in “Major League.”

Uecker, who played parts of six seasons as a below average catcher in the majors, has been the play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers since 1971. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster in 2003.

Uecker found a new fame in “Major League” and, before that, Miller Lite commercials.

Buck, for his part, struck the perfect note on Twitter:

You can understand the nostalgia for Indians’ fans. Cleveland, which hosts Game 1 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, haven’t won a World Series since 1948.

The Cubs, of course, are trying to break a streak of their own. The Cubs, making thier first World Series appearance since 1945, haven’t won one since 1908.

This story was originally published October 25, 2016 at 6:24 AM with the headline "‘Just a bit outside’: Fans petition for fictional Indians’ announcer to call Series."