Welcome Jackson Heiden, Contributor
In 2015, the Milwaukee Brewers hired Jeff Levering as the newest member of their broadcast team. On September 23, 2017, I was outside listening to the Brewers Radio Network, helping my father re-side the house, when Travis Shaw hit a two-run walk-off home run against the Chicago Cubs in the 10th inning to walk it off. Levering’s call of the home run was the exact moment that inspired me to work in the world of sports journalism.
My name is Jackson Heiden, and I’m beyond ecstatic to be joining the staff at Brew Crew Ball. Before I landed here at Brew Crew Ball, I spent about a year and a half as a contributor at Reviewing the Brew, focusing mainly on prospects. During that time, the Brewers had prospects by the names of Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, and Garrett Mitchell in the minors. Despite growing up and living in the state of Michigan my whole life, the Milwaukee Brewers have always been one of my biggest fandoms, and being able to provide in-depth coverage and share my knowledge of the sport is what I’m most passionate about.
If you’re familiar with the Northwoods League, you might’ve heard me a time or two, as I served as the Broadcaster and Media Relations manager for the Traverse City Pit Spitters for the last three years. During my time there, I announced over 235 games, including hosting the 2023 All-Star Game in the Cherry Capital. Since graduating from Grand Valley State with a degree in multimedia journalism, I’ve served as the broadcaster for a number of universities and colleges in the greater Grand Rapids area, including Cornerstone University, GVSU, and Grand Rapids Community College.
Because I grew up in the Great Lakes state, I was never able to attend many Brewers games, nor was I able to watch many games (outside of the one-week free trial of MLB Extra-Innings on DirecTV during opening week). This didn’t slow down my fandom or love for the Brewers; if anything, it was like throwing gas onto a fire. Most nights, we were able to pick up 620 WTMJ from across Lake Michigan; other times, I was up early before school to watch MLB Network’s Quick Pitch or clip the always-rare newspaper article that was written about the Brewers in the Grand Rapids Press.
Surrounded by Detroit Tigers fans, I’ve heard it all, but that never stopped me from wearing my Ryan Braun shirsey to baseball practice every week, or wearing my torn-up Brewers hat to school every day. Even though there’s plenty of evidence to prove it, I’ll always be a Ryan Braun steroid use denier, just like I was when I was 9 years old.
Painting pictures inside people’s heads about the game is something I’m passionate about, and I’m excited to be able to do just that. Follow along with me as the Brewers chase their fifth division title in six years.
