Attanasio says team is committed to playing
The home opener for the Milwaukee Brewers has always been a major affair for Milwaukee Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio, a time for boundless optimism in a small but passionate market.
But 2020 has been unpredictable to say the least, and that continued to be the case Friday.
Only about 2 ⁄2 hours
1 before the Brewers were scheduled to host the St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball announced the game was postponed after two positive coronavirus tests within the Cardinals organization.
So after seeing the original opener at Miller Park pushed back four months due to the pandemic, Attanasio and the Brewers were forced to wait a little longer.
As the Cardinals underwent additional testing at their team hotel downtown, the Brewers quickly shifted gears
and held an impromptu workout with plans for a doubleheader now at 1:10 p.m. Sunday.
Then Attanasio addressed reporters as he always does at the home opener. Only this time via Zoom, while wearing a black, team-issued t-shirt bearing the words JUSTICE EQUALITY NOW with a gaiter around his neck.
And the message, understandably, was quite different from the one he typically delivers.
“This is as difficult a time as I can remember in my lifetime between the challenges of a global pandemic and the social justice issues we're all confronting with the systemic racism that is apparent in the country,” he said, kicking off a 30-minute Q&A.
That said, Attanasio did quickly affirm the Brewers' collective desire to continue playing.
"We're all committed, I believe – and I've talked to a number of players today – to finishing the season," he said.
The pandemic has resulted in the postponement of 15 games involving eight teams, with the Miami Marlins hit the hardest with a reported 18 players having reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
The Brewers, on the other hand, have remained relatively unaffected.
Infielder Luis Urías and left-hander Angel Perdomo both tested positive before the July 4 open to summer camp but were asymptomatic and have returned to the field. Left-hander Eric Lauer tested negative but was held out after coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive.
Attanasio credited Brewers medical director Roger Caplinger with spearheading the team's response to the pandemic while noting he felt safer walking into Miller Park than he did a hospital when taking into account all the safety measures instituted since the game's reboot.
"I think there's been a commitment from our players," he said. "Much the same as you can put someone in position to succeed on the field, they still have to do the hard work (off the field) and so our team got together early on and had a set of team guidelines that they sent to me and my son Mike since we're 'Tier Two' employees here.
"I was told if I couldn't pay attention to those things – for example, not eating inside a restaurant – they love that I'm the owner but said I should sit in the seats or sit upstairs in a suite and not come down to the field. I took those guidelines seriously.
"I also have to mention there's a lot of randomness. I'll say we had good luck, right? We know there were challenges in Miami. Miami also happens to be a hot spot. We're not in a hot spot right now, so we've had that good fortune. Other teams are in more difficult environments. I think that probably has the most to do with it.
"While I'm praising our guys and everybody's commitment, I'm sure every other team has had a similar level of commitment. That's the challenging thing about this disease."
Attanasio then revealed his plans to attend the Brewers' season opener at Wrigley Field a week earlier were scuttled due to a positive COVID-19 test within his traveling party.
"I had a pilot who had tested negative in early July, followed every protocol, every testing, every temperature check, and I had him tested again just out of extreme caution and he was positive and asymptomatic," he said. "It's a challenge in our everyday lives.
"There's a lot of focus here obviously about what goes on on the field and how we can complete a season, but how we get through our everyday lives (matters)."
On the business side, the small-market Brewers have gone from the high of signing franchise player Christian Yelich to a nine-year, $215 million contract extension on March 6 – easily the biggest deal in club history – to furloughing a large number of business operations employees.
Stadium workers, too, are going without paychecks. It's a situation that's tough for everyone to digest and it's no different for Attanasio, who in a normal season would have spent July 31 – trade deadline day – working with president of baseball operations David Stearns on potential deals.
"The juxtaposition with coming here today, you can't get to the ballpark, there's stanchions up, everything is closed, and it's the middle of summer," he said. "It doesn't actually feel like opening day; it feels like midseason baseball, and you come here and no one's here.
"Walking down on the lower level here, walking by our clubhouse, I usually say hello to hundreds of workers. And these folks give me thanks for my dad and my mom. Now, it's just quiet. And it's a reminder of the lost jobs and the pain.
"I'm trying to look at things positively through a difficult lens."
Despite the financial challenges facing the team, Attanasio reiterated Friday that he has no plans to pull back the reins as far as on-field talent moving forward. The Brewers do have flexibility with Ryan Braun's contract coming off the books and several players having signed one-year contracts with team options in the offseason.
"It's interesting. You always hear in a sometimes derogatory way, 'It's a business,' when really, we'd all prefer entertainment and, of course, competition," Attanasio said. "We have tried to run the team fiscally responsibly, so we completely look at it through this and keep pressing forward and look for a competitive team again next year.
"One of my favorite internet posts many, many years ago when I gave more transparency in numbers was ‘Hey, Mark, how about some cheese for that whine?' It's ownership's responsibility to run our clubs, and I feel a special responsibility, especially starting with my relationship with Commissioner (Bud) Selig ... to continue to provide highquality baseball to state of Wisconsin in my stewardship here."
The Brewers are scheduled to host the Cardinals at 6:15 p.m. Saturday – a game which could also be postponed should any more St. Louis players or staff test positive.
Attanasio said he's "extremely comfortable" with the series continuing if it's deemed safe to do so.
"I think we are going to do what's smart both for the players' health," he said. "Our goal is to play baseball this year and to see this all the way through. I think everyone should realize decisions are made with that context. It's not necessarily a negative thing when a game is canceled.
"In some sense, because of the way things have evolved, we're in a leadership spot here for other sports. The NBA has the benefit of being in a bubble. They have fewer teams than we do. I think the NFL is watching us closely because they know they've got next.
"I have a lot of confidence in everyone involved. Frankly, I do believe we're working very well with (MLBPA executive director) Tony Clark and the players with this. I think everybody is aligned in their interest and their goal to play."