Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio asked a surprising rhetorical question as the Brewers began spring training.
“Is my job to win a World Series," Attanasio said, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today, “or is my job to provide a summer of entertainment and passion and a way for families to come together?"
Ideally, the answer would be both. Though the Brewers have been one of the more competitive teams in MLB recently, making the postseason in six of the last seven years, they have yet to win a World Series and have been eliminated in the wild-card round in each of the last two seasons. Surely, winning a World Series would provide even more entertainment.
Attanasio clarified that he does want the Brewers to be competitive, but acknowledges the challenges of running a small market team. The Brewers simply don't earn nearly the television revenue that large market teams do, making it much more difficult for them to acquire and retain the high-priced free agents and players that could put them in position to win a championship.
Attanasio seemed to suggest that MLB could follow in the footsteps of the NFL, who splits television revenue equally across 32 teams, allowing small market teams to have a chance.
“You see what the NFL has done with their media contract," Attanasio told Nightengale. "You see what the NBA has done. It's all sitting right there. If we can do something like that, the pie is bigger for everybody, for owners, for players, for everybody."
For now though, Attanasio and the Brewers will stick to the strategy that has served them well over the last decade. They might not draw the talent to consistently contend for a championship, but they should remain in the mix for October baseball for the near future.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brewers Owner Had an Eyebrow-Raising Quote About His Job Description.
