WEST BEND — West Bend native Willie Mueller pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers in the late '70s and early '80s. He also played "The Duke" in the famous film "Major League."
Now, as his old team chases its first-ever World Series championship, he's feeling the emotions right along with the fans.
"You sit in a chair, watch them and you almost have a tear in your eye because they're doing it!" he said. "We had tears in our eyes when we didn't win it in 82!"
After he retired, Mueller moved back to West Bend, where he's now president of the local baseball association and helped build a new field at Regner Park — the same place his career started. He played for West Bend West High School.
"It's in my heart!" Mueller said. "I would go back in time in a heartbeat! I'd go back to 10 years old and start all over because I love life. I would cherish the time to do it again."
The 70-year-old lived out his dreams but hasn't seen the Brewers win a World Series — yet.
"As a little kid you play in the backyard… To play in the World Series? I would've given anything for that," he said. "That's the highest you can go and win."
Mueller is watching at home, because just like so many other baseball players, he's superstitious. But his son, Daniel Mueller, is representing his dad at Blondie-Pop, the local West Bend bar hosting a big-screen watch party.
"I want him to see a World Series," Daniel said. "I think it'd mean a lot to him and a lot to me too."
Daniel also played baseball for West Bend West High School, Concordia University Wisconsin and is honored to wear his dad's jersey, knowing his father played for the team decades ago.
"When other people come up to me and say that's your dad's jersey? It's a pretty cool feeling," Daniel said. "It kind of puts in perspective how hard it is to make it to that kind of level."
Mueller said he almost gets more nervous watching the game on TV than he did playing back in the day, but he still thinks the Brewers can win it all.
"I think they believe," he said. "And they believe hard."
Win or lose, Mueller will always stay in touch with his team — and stay involved in baseball in West Bend.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
