Love of baseball runs in the family for former MLB umpire and 1982 bat boy

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A veteran Major League Baseball umpire and his son prove the love of baseball runs in the family, especially as the Milwaukee Brewers make a playoff run.

Bruce Froemming has been a professional umpire for 37 consecutive years in the major league, making him one of the longest-tenured umpires in MLB history. He says in his time in the league, he called 5,163 regular season games.

“Baseball is a game where it’s different every day,” Bruce Froemming said. “When you got a job, and you love it, it goes by fast. I loved going to the ballpark every day.”

Bruce Froemming’s son, Steve Froemming, flew into Milwaukee for Game 1 and 2 of the NLCS.

“To come back to Milwaukee and watch the Brewers make this monumental run has been amazing,” Steve Froemming said.

Steve Froemming has his own close connections to the Brew Crew. He was a bat boy for the 1982 team. He says there are shots of him included in the film ‘Just a Bit Outside.’ He believes there are similarities between the 1982 team and the 2025 team.

“The love they had for Milwaukee in ‘82 and the love they had for the game and winning, and passion, they have that on this team as well,” Steve Froemming said.

Both Steve and Bruce Froemming spoke to CBS 58 at Bruce’s home in Mequon during the Brewers' playoff run. Bruce said the postseason was his favorite time to be on the clock.

“I thought the playoffs was the greatest thing to work, even better than the World Series. It’s so competitive at the playoff level, because they want to get to the World Series,” Froemming said.

Steve said he hopes the Brewers can bring success in the rest of the reason for lifelong fans like himself.

“What it would mean to me as a lifelong Brewer fan, [it would mean] the world championship has finally come back to where it belongs in Milwaukee,” Steve Froemming said.