An Open Letter to the New Brewers Owner
Since the Journal’s open letters to the new Brewers owner were overwhelmingly lame, I’m doing my own:Open Letter to Mark L. Attanasio, New Owner of the Milwaukee Brewers
First, congratulations on your new purchase. As you probably already know, this town has longed for a new owner for some time. We’ve endured 22 years since our last whiff of post season play.
And it hasn’t been easy.
In the years before the Wild Card, teams like the Brewers had to win their division to make it into the post season. Though our teams had talent and good records in the 80’s, they usually finished behind someone else.
Each season of hard effort seemed to always end in heartbreak as the Brewers solemly trailed off like late autumn leaves. As a child, Uecker’s sign off at the end of each season (“Until next year, …so long everybody!”) poured sadness into my heart. I grew to know a dreary acceptance that a long, cold winter (and lot’s of schoolwork) sat between October and April.
But this town loved that team, and adopted its players.
From Gorman Thomas, Milwaukee’s prodigal son who found nothing but trouble and debt in his post-playing years, is always welcomed back for another chance.
When a popular ballplayer leaves his home team for bigger money and more success as a free agent, the home town usually sees that player as a traitor, but not for Paul Molitor. When he left Milwaukee, the town turned on the team’s GM, Sal Bando, and has never, even for one second, seen “Molly” as anything but a Brewer. The bitterness towards Bando and the Seligs is still palpable after all these years.
Milwaukee does not have an official saint, but if took votes for one, Robin Yount would even beat out Vince Lombardi.
When these players left and team fell further in stature, the fans looked at their stadium and fought to build a new one. Why? Because we wanted to help the team to become a success again. We did the political equivalent of passing a hat around town and voted to tax ourselves for the cost of Miller Park. It wasn’t an easy fight, and some of the wounds from it still sting, but we did it for the team.
We filled the stadium, cheering on a team that was 2 games out of first place at the all-star break and went on to lose 21 of 23 games, finishing in last.
My point is, that you have walked into a situation where the community has suffered for a long time, but has never (I repeat NEVER) failed or let down their team. And I don’t think they ever will. This year over 2 million fans came to see another disappointment.
I think you need to understand this as you walk in.
There will be lots of calls for you to spend, spend, spend, …but no one really believes that you will come in and give us an 80 million dollar team. Most smart estimates say you will spend about 50 million and play it cautiously.
It’s a step in the right direction.
But I will throw this out to you to think about.
Any city will back a winner, but how many cities build statues of players who never won a championship? How many cities put 2 million people in the stands for one of the worst teams in baseball?
Imagine what they would do for a winner?
The upside to winning in Milwaukee is far higher than you, or anyone else in baseball realizes.
Just keep that in mind before you put your checkbook away and pass on a deal.
And finally, you haven’t so much bought into a team, as you have walked into, and been embraced by, a new family.
Welcome.
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