Ron Roenicke allowed himself to smile, at least for a little bit, prior to tonight's game against the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park.
The 55-year-old manager of the Brewers was able to take off that hat briefly, and put on his father's cap in talking about his son Lance, whom the Brewers selected earlier in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Lance was the 785th selection overall out of the University of California-Santa Barbara. As a senior, the outfielder hit .310 with four home runs and 35 RBI.
"It's nice," Ron said, grinning. "I think any good news now is nice. He's worked hard, had a good year, and obviously he's going to get a chance to play."
It's an early birthday present for the younger Roenicke, who will turn 24 on Friday.
"He's fired up," Ron said. "He was happy when he got the call."
Ron said his son plays a similar game to him in that he can handle the glove and make contact, but admitted Lance has more power.
Lance is the latest in a long line of Roenicke men to play professional baseball, and his father said it has always been his dream to follow in those footsteps.
"He's worked hard at it," Ron said. "He's talked about and is certainly athletic enough to do it. Just hopefully all the tools come together and he's able to play for a while.
"He knows what it takes. He's got three cousins that played professionally, one (Josh) is with the major leagues now with Colorado. He has the experience of talking to them when he doesn't want to talk to dad about things. So I think all that helps. He understands what it's all about, playing every day and the bus travels, so he'll get to experience some of that."
UPDATE: As the day goes on here at Miller Park, I'm feeling a little bit older. I grew up watching and have bad Topps baseball cards of Dale Sveum, Ron Roenicke, Cal Ripken, Jr., Mike Matheny and Jose Oquendo ... and all of their sons were drafted this week.
I'm happy for all of these guys and their kids, but it's yet another reminder that I'm an '80s baby – and we ain't getting any younger.
