MILWAUKEE — Mark Attanasio, sitting on a couch in his 14th floor office overlooking Lake Michigan, is wearing his Milwaukee Brewers shirt, Brewers socks and even team sneakers.
He was born in the Bronx, lived in Los Angeles, but after 21 years of owning the Brewers, is now a full-blooded Milwaukee resident, living in a downtown high-rise with his wife, Debbie.
When he purchased the Brewers in 2005, they were a downtrodden franchise, with decades of losing, on the field and at the box office, having gone without a postseason berth since 1982.
Now here they are, baseball’s model franchise, reaching the postseason eight of the last nine years, winning four consecutive National League Central titles, leading baseball in victories each of the past two seasons – including a franchise-record 103 victories this year – and joining the Dodgers as the only team to win 86 or more games every full season since 2017.
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Those rich, famous and powerful Los Angeles Dodgers are standing in their way, with Game 1 of their National League Championship Series taking place Sunday in the best-of-seven series, with everyone outside the city limits of Los Angeles, and perhaps Brooklyn, pulling for those lovable Midwest underdogs.
“Look, we’re an easy team to like," Attanasio tells USA TODAY Sports in his office. “Who doesn’t like beer and brews?
“Who doesn’t like a team that’s called the Brewers?
“Who doesn’t like [manager] Pat Murphy?
“Who doesn’t like a face like [team captain] Christian Yelich?
"Who doesn’t like a 23-year-old [Jacob Misiorowski] who throws over 1,000 fastballs 100-miles an hour, and likes Pokemon cards?"
These are your lovable Brewers, with a payroll that’s $200 million less than the Dodgers and a local TV contract paying $300 million less than the Dodgers.
The Brewers have just one player (outfielder Christian Yelich) on their active roster making more than $10 million. The Dodgers have 15 players earning more than $10 million, including eight earning more than $20 million.
The Brewers are the Major League Baseball Players Association’s best friend, and also their worst enemy. If the Brewers beat the Dodgers, there’s the proof the union needs during in labor talks that small market teams can not only excel in the regular season, but the postseason, delivering a blow to MLB’s competitive balance argument. But if the Brewers beat the Dodgers, there’s the proof, too, that you don’t need to spend big to win.
“I believe in the butterfly effect," Attanasio, 69, says. “I do think somewhat that things are interconnected, and there's an energy. The more folks root for us, the better."
When the Brewers defeated the Padres last week in the NL Division Series, a man approached Attanasio and told him that that he was the Brewers’ good luck charm, detailing how he also was in attendance in 1982 when the team beat the California Angels at old County Stadium to win the pennant.
Attanasio was so convinced the guy was telling the truth that he called over his executive assistant, and told her to provide him two tickets for each postseason game at American Family Field.
Perhaps the guy really is telling the truth, so why not try it, considering the last time the Brewers played the Dodgers a year ago in the NLCS, they not only were swept in four games, but didn’t lead a single inning?
Then again, maybe it’s just Midwest nice rubbing off on Attanasio, who was raised in Pelham Bay in the Bronx, with six family members residing in a two-bedroom apartment?
Attanasio, who had been to Milwaukee only once in his life – in 1999 for his brother’s wedding – before purchasing the team for $223 million in the fall of 2004, fell in love with the city at first sight. He originally was going to purchase just 10% of the team from Wendy Selig, commissioner Bud Selig’s daughter, only for the Selig family to put the entire team up for sale three weeks later.
Now, here he was, an Italian-American businessman from the Bronx trying to convince Bud Selig, a proud Milwaukee native, that he would take good care of his beloved franchise, but was so nervous being interviewed by Selig that he thought he blew it. He could barely talk, but got Selig’s blessing.
When it was announced that he was the new owner, instead of being viewed warily by the Milwaukee community, he was immediately embraced, with strangers walking up to him and welcoming him to town.
“I remember walking in the street one day and this guy was riding in a sanitation truck,’’ Attanasio says. “The truck stops, this guy jumps off, and says, “Sir, sir, welcome to Milwaukee.’
“He took his gloves off and shook my hand."
Certainly, it hasn’t always been a lovefest. Fans have clamored for a larger payroll. They’ve screamed at trading players a year before they hit free agency. They lost their minds when they traded All-Star closer and clubhouse favorite Josh Hader in 2022. They were sick when the Brewers traded Freddy Peralta, not only their ace, but fan favorite, in January to the New York Mets for pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder Jett Williams. And they scratched their heads when they traded rookie third baseman Caleb Durbin in February to the Boston Red Sox for young lefties Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, and infielder David Hamilton.
“When we made the Durbin trade, I remember Commissioner Selig calling me," Attanasio said. “He said, “Mark, will you explain that one to me?’
“I told him the same thing I’m always told when we make these moves, 'Hey, it’s a baseball trade.'"
It would have been no different than if the Brewers had pulled off the blockbuster by acquiring two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal at this year’s trade deadline. The Brewers made what they believe was a generous offer without severely damaging the future, knowing it would send shock waves throughout the sport. Instead, the Detroit Tigers sent him to the Dodgers, causing moans throughout the sport, with the rich getting richer.
Now, instead of having him pitch alongside prohibitive Cy Young favorite Misiorowski, they’ll have to face him Sunday in Game 1, and again in a potential Game 5.
“I’m trying not to think about it," Attanasio said. “But you might see other pitchers in this series that Detroit wanted (including Game 2 starter Logan Henderson).
“We’ll have those pitchers for awhile.
“We were going to have Skubal for only two months."
Yes, while the Dodgers can afford to keep Skubal, even if his price-tag soars above $400 million, that’s a bit out of the Brewers’ price range, to say the least. The Brewers’ largest free-agent signing was Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80 million deal in 2018, but they did lock up Yelich to a seven-year, $188.5 million extension just days before the sport was shut down in 2020 with COVID.
Yelich, just like the owner, is a Los Angeles transplant who has fallen in love with Milwaukee and trusted that Attanasio would do everything possible to maintain their success when he signed his extension.
“It’s family environment around the team, where everybody really cares for each other and enjoys being around each other," Yelich said. “That's from ownership on down. They take care of the players, their families, the guys on the team are friends. The community supports the team. The fan base has been amazing. …
“You understand that your performance as a team directly impacts the happiness of the people in the state, in the city, and you don't take that for granted. It's been awesome playing here. I've really loved it the last nine years and looking forward to more.
“That's why these postseason runs are so special."
Golden era in Milwaukee
Certainly, Attanasio has helped create this golden era of Brewers’ baseball. The Brewers had gone 26 years without a postseason berth, and 14 years without a winning record. Now, they’ve been in the postseason nine times in the last 10 years, and join the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies as the only teams to be in the playoffs each of the last four years.
“Let me say this, if you could ever orchestrate the perfect guy to own the Milwaukee franchise," Selig said behind his office desk, “it’s Mark Attanasio. I don’t say that lightly. I say this in great respect. It’s one of the most remarkable stories I’ve ever encountered in sports.
“The whole story is so remarkable, it’s hard to articulate what it means to everybody. The Brewers have become prominent in a classy, nice way. The dominance of the Milwaukee Brewers franchise is an amazing, amazing story.’’
Really, says Attanasio, who has become an avid baseball card collector with a Mickey Mantle rookie card and Lou Gehrig card as part of his prized collection, is follow the four principles he set out when he purchased the franchise and had his introductory press conference at the Pfister Hotel:
- Have a perennially competitive team.
- Great fan experience.
- Have a great place to work.
- Be a leader in the community.
‘I didn’t realize how hard it would be, especially being perennially competitive," Attanasio says, “but we’ve done it. I got lucky, too. Everything was set up with Doug Melvin as our GM. We had a great farm system with Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, JJ Hardy and Corey Hart. Then in my first year, Doug drafts Ryan Braun with the fifth pick. It was set up for success. We just hadn’t had it yet."
Attanasio, of course, had to increase payroll and invest in the infrastructure for it work When he took over, the Brewers’ payroll was an MLB-low $22 million. Now, it’s $143.5 million, which pales in comparison to the big boys, but is 19th overall.
“There was a real burden to win, and I felt a real responsibility to win, to get back to the playoffs,’’ Attanasio said. “That just hung over everything. The guys got tired of looking at the video of the ’82 World Series running on the board non-stop.
“Doug used to always talk about not wanting to rebuild, and said, “If you rebuild, how do you ever know that you can ever come back. It was a fair point.’’
The lineage continued with David Stearns taking over as GM in 2015, and then passing the baton to Matt Arnold, who was voted the Executive of the Year by his peers the past two years.
It crushed Attanasio, Selig, and really all of Wisconsin when manager Craig Counsell fled for the Chicago Cubs after the 2023 season. Yet, after interviewing a few candidates, they decided to simply promote bench coach Pat Murphy. All Murphy has done is win back-to-back manager of the year awards while leading the Brewers to record franchise victory totals each of the past two seasons.
“You know, there’s a human element to all of this that the computer can't tell you,’’ Attanasio said. “There's a dynamic, and I'm telling you, he's really attuned to the human dynamic. Pat’s very focused on the clubhouse and how the clubhouse thinks, and Matt Arnold is appreciative of that.
“We know what the analytics say, but he really pays attention to what Pat says."
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They’ll also listen to Murphy this winter knowing that All-Star catcher William Contreras will be a free agent after the 2027 season, but instead of trading him away with the belief they won’t be able to afford to keep him, they just may make a run at keeping him.
That, of course, is a worry for another day
For now, they’ve got the big, bad Dodgers in town. The Brewers don’t have the same star power. They don’t draw the same media attention. Even Murphy calls them just a “bunch of average Joes.’’
But, oh, can they play, building a powerful efficient franchise that’s the envy of baseball, with several fellow owners believing that Attanasio just may be the ideal person to succeed commissioner Rob Manfred after his planned retirement in 2029.
“I’m humbled by that," Attanasio said. “This is an exceptional peer group. Rob’s in charge for several more years and I love running this team."
And, oh, how Milwaukee sure loves him, building a franchise that is no longer satisfied just to make the playoffs, but to be the last ones standing with champagne dripping off their bodies.
It was years ago, Attanasio says, when told his wife that when he dies, he wants to be buried in Wisconsin.
That still hasn’t changed.
But if the Brewers win the World Series, well, there may be a statue erected of him outside American Family Field one day before anyone is put to rest.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Who doesn't like beer?' How Brewers owner fell in love with Milwaukee | Exclusive
