MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 22, 2026

Mark Attanasio

Matt Arnold

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Mark, when you think about everything that you guys have tried to build here over the last 20-some years, to get to this point, can you just speak to how many people it takes throughout the organization, top down, all kinds of different departments on and off the field to get to this point?

MARK ATTANASIO: Sure, it takes -- well, Matt, you've got, what, 250 folks give or take, maybe a few more?

MATT ARNOLD: Plus or minus, yeah.

MARK ATTANASIO: Plus or minus in baseball ops. Similar on the business side. And then we have a lot of folks who come in, we have over 1,000 people who work here during days.

There's also a legacy of people who brought us here. I found it interesting, we had our celebration in Los Angeles, I think every player who had been in a Brewers playoff game had their name on a champagne bottle, and there were a lot of bottles. So there's a lot of folks who got us here.

By the way, that dials all the way back to Commissioner Selig, his daughter Wendy, responsible for this building being built. Without this building, I don't think there's baseball in Wisconsin. That also gets to taxpayers, politicians, leaders, stadium district, I could go on. The number gets into the thousands.

Q. What's the biggest thing you got from your time in Tampa Bay, or the biggest thing you learned, and how much has that experience kind of shaped you in terms of what you've been doing here since you joined it?

MATT ARNOLD: It starts with people and process. I think down there had an incredible run for almost ten years. Really good people that are scattered all throughout the industry at this point. A lot of my good friends are still over there as well.

I think the number one thing that I learned over there is just making sure you're surrounded by good people and have a really good process, and hopefully results will follow.

Q. Matt, having the background that you have with Erik, with everyone in the organization there, when you were there, when you were all kind of coming up through this together, did you think about what it would be like to compete together for a championship or maybe even against each other? Was there anything extra special for you for this to be a part of that conversation?

MATT ARNOLD: Yeah, we did compete for championships there, but that was a long time ago. We have a little bit of a different formula here, and they have a really good formula there obviously, and we learned a lot from each other.

Still really good friends. Maybe not this week, but for sure for a lifetime. I consider them some of my closest friends.

Q. Mark, I know this is old news for the organization, but when David Stern and Craig Counsell left, there was upheaval in the leadership of the franchise. From your perspective, what is it about the infrastructure that's in place that's allowed you guys to essentially not skip a beat since then?

MARK ATTANASIO: Well, the infrastructure, if you have a -- if you study businesses and organizations, you want to have good succession planning. I'd make the point that before you get to even Matt and Pat Murphy, you had David Sterns and Craig Counsell, who really got us up the next leg in terms of not only bringing a winning culture to the club here, but also started to put infrastructure in place, which Matt in particular has really enhanced. What we've done in baseball ops the last five years is extraordinary.

A lot of people talk about analytics, but that also -- it's really as much about player development and how you develop folks -- players from our Dominican facility all the way up to the Major Leagues in the same manner.

To Matt's point, how we treat people and how he treats people and how Murph does -- but Matt made sure we have all the scouts here, people from all over the world to share this with us because they're part of it, right?

MATT ARNOLD: Absolutely.

Q. What are your messages for the fans that might remember the '57 Braves and still wear the Braves hats and for the people who have been waiting for 44 years for another trip back? And then the younger folks who may not have been here before and say, hey, this is cool, let's do it more often?

MARK ATTANASIO: When our group first took stewardship of the team in '05, all you really heard about was the '82 Brewers and somewhat the '57 Braves. In fact, we have suites upstairs which commemorate the history in that.

One of the things we want to do is create our own history, which I think we've done before this, but this is such a meaningful step. It didn't really -- I thought about this a lot the last -- well, practically since 2008. It's just sinking in what a historic step this is now.

When I talked to Pat Murphy the other day, he said probably ten years from now we'll be looking back on this and thinking about it. It's all happening so fast. But I can say the electricity in the city is tangible. You can feel it.

I was out last night, and people were saying as great as a Packers Super Bowl win is, the Bucks, obviously a terrific championship a few years ago, but the city feels even more energized. I'm very proud of everybody that we were able to help contribute to that.

Q. To that point, tickets even for the viewing parties have sold out in minutes. Do you know how many tickets were sold, and have you seen what they're going for now in retail?

MARK ATTANASIO: I know they were sold out -- do you know how many tickets we sold? 31,000 for each game. 20-minute sellout and $15 a ticket. We're glad that our fans can all share in this together.

Q. So much conversation around the labor and economic situation has been that situations such as what you built here are not necessarily sustainable over the long term. How sustainable do you feel what you built here is?

MARK ATTANASIO: Do you want to take a shot at that?

MATT ARNOLD: Sure, it's super important to us. In every move we make, we want to try to win tonight. That's Murph's mantra, it has been for years. But we have to keep an eye on the present and one eye on the future in every move that we make. Every trade we have to think about that. There are tradeoffs for what you can do to help the team today and what that looks like going forward.

So we invest a lot of minutes in acquisition and development, like Mark said earlier. We've got to make sure that pipeline is very strong. That's our foundation. So, yeah, making sure this is sustainable is a core to one of Mark's tenets that he talked about when he first bought the team many years ago.

Q. Without systemic change, Mark, do you think you can keep this going?

MARK ATTANASIO: With or without?

Q. If everything stays pat.

MARK ATTANASIO: This has been our goal for 22 seasons, to compete; and that said, I think the system that's being proposed, which is similar to other leagues in terms of revenue-sharing system, not only will help us compete but more importantly all of the teams with lower payrolls too, which is something also I think the fans want.

Q. Since kind of talking about market sizes, as you well know, Milwaukee is the smallest MLB market in terms of population and media market. Can you speak to how the fan support here, both in the city and the region, sort of allows you to maximize what you are able to do?

MARK ATTANASIO: We've talked about this in less august settings. The fan support, the sponsorship support, the support from our leaders in the community and the state has allowed us to -- I used to use the words punch above our weight, and the payroll and whatnot reflects that.

Still with some of the metrics you point out, I think we still have among the smallest media revenues, including this year, but we're able to get to a No. 19 or No. 20 type out of 30-team payroll because of that support that we get. We put all of our resources back into the team.

It's the hard work of everybody who's here, including some of the business people over there, and everybody working together to make it all happen.

Q. One more at least about the market size. I'm curious, we're going to hear about how small the market is a lot over the next week-ish. Is that a point of pride? Is that an identity you embrace? Or do you chafe at the constant small market Brewers designation?

MARK ATTANASIO: Rick Schlesinger can confirm when I first got here, I told Rick, who was even then the lead business person -- a little more gray hair with the stress now. Aging like a fine wine.

I said the two things I didn't want to hear was we're too small or we can't do this. I actually kept trying to say we were a mid-market team even though clearly we weren't. Now I would say because of everybody's efforts, if you want to cast a demographic, we sort of cast like a bottom mid-market team. Definitely, I think the people is what makes a difference here.

Q. Matt, did the rule changes three years ago impact the way you built the team and made trades and acquisitions and signings?

MATT ARNOLD: Yeah, we're always trying to stay nimble with the rules, and we have a lot of people that put a lot of minutes into that and making sure we optimize every move that we can make. Yeah, any time there's a rule change, we're going to pay attention and try to adjust accordingly.

Q. Projecting and figuring that small ball and base to base would become a better chance of success with these rules than the bash your way to titles?

MATT ARNOLD: It's certainly part of it. It's kind of our brand with Murph as well. We've run out a lot of different shapes of teams over the years here that have had some success, and this one, I think, kind of identifies with the way you're talking about sort of the rules have shifted and we've tried to adjust accordingly as well.

Q. Mark, as you look at all 30 teams, what's your analysis on why you've been able to succeed, and what has gone right here compared to some of the other similar small markets?

MARK ATTANASIO: I think every team has a challenge. It's not easy to run a baseball team. Interestingly, when I first bought the club, looking at it as an investment matter. I said to Wendy Selig, well, there's just four line items we have to pay attention to. He said, no, that's not true.

The very first year when the outfield grass was bare at the start of the season because the tundra was frozen here, not only at Lambeau Field, I learned there's a lot to do when it came to running a baseball team.

Look, we just -- every day we tried to just make things better, and that's the broadly speaking we, every day. Matt, I don't want to put you on the spot, but how many days off would you say you have a year?

MATT ARNOLD: Not -- it's like Christmas morning, a nice little window for me. It's great. I love that. It's not -- it's my life's passion, so I don't consider it work. I consider it awesome.

Q. Matt, what have you seen from Brandon Woodruff this week, and what are some of the factors you're considering on whether or not to put him on the roster?

MATT ARNOLD: Woody looked really good the other day. We're still working on what that, I think, could look like for a roster. We have a decision to make. Still going to spend some minutes talking about him and again the rest of our group there.

Look, transparently, obviously this is a guy that's one of the most successful, dominant big-game pitchers I've ever been around, and there are also some rule constraints that we're having to work through with the health, et cetera, that have to be a consideration because he hasn't pitched in a game since July 4.

A lot of unknowns there, but obviously the good version of that guy is somebody you'd love to have on your roster.

Q. Murph has his own style of dealing with players and style of play. What makes the players connect so seamlessly with him, and do you sort of do work on the front end to make sure they'll fit with this kind of style of play and manager?

MATT ARNOLD: Mark and I talk about this a lot, just having that collaborative voice. I think Murph is a huge part of that when we acquire anybody via trade -- frankly, even during the draft he'll have some thoughts because everybody -- it's like six degrees of Pat Murphy. He kind of just knows everyone.

I love talking with Murph about who fits in this room. Sometimes we have to take on distressed assets here, and he's great about that. Guys that were available or cast-offs in other places have come in here and flourished. I think having that input from Murph when we acquire those types of guys is really, really important.

Q. Mark, your success as a club, do you think that strengthens or weakens the argument for what we're talking about as salary cap?

MARK ATTANASIO: I think the fact that two teams like the Brewers and the Rays -- we hear all the time that we play baseball the right way, that it's exciting to watch. I think they probably hear the same. I think that's good for baseball.

So whatever that means relative to revenue systems or otherwise, I think if you have a more competitive set, you can have more exciting baseball.

Q. Along the lines of what Tyler was asking when it comes to Murph, this is a guy that is very highly regarded. You talk to all of the players, and they have a special story when it comes to Murph. How do you think he particularly relates to not just the 26-man, but the 40-man? He seems like he's also a psychologist and knows how to connect the right way with each respective player who have very different personalities and very different backgrounds.

MATT ARNOLD: From my perspective, I think you nailed it. He has a really good line of communication with all of our players, and even, like you said, it's not just the 26 guys, it's the 40 guys. Even if they're not here, he's going to send them a text. He's going to check in.

He's always talking to Rick Sweet, our staff in Triple-A, to make sure everyone feels connected. That's something that's really important to Murph.

MARK ATTANASIO: And I would say Matt makes sure everybody feels connected on his side, which is why we have everybody here for this and for this whole run actually.

Q. We talk about player development all the time in baseball. When you have so many guys that might be on your second or third club, how do you get that buy-in with the messaging so guys believe they can come here and be the best version of themself?

MATT ARNOLD: I think a lot goes into that. Certainly it's player by player. You try not to hit them in the face with something right away. You kind of say hi, how are you? Who are you? Get them comfortable with your environment. And then hopefully they trust the results we've had here for a while to make sure, hey, we just want what's best for you.

We try to do that with every guy, and it's a different message to different people, and our guys, our coaches do a fantastic job with the way they connect with our players when they're brand new here.

Q. Mark, you've been more accessible than many of your peers. I know a lot of that has to do with your team playing in the World Series, but why is it important for you to get out in front of the camera, to talk to the media, to have your fan base hear from you? Why is that important?

MARK ATTANASIO: If you're asking me why it's important to talk to media, the media is essential for us to be able to communicate with our fans. We can get 40,000 people into the ballpark here, but we want to communicate to millions of people around the country or who are fans of our team.

I think it helps to hear from the owner as well as just the manager or the head of baseball ops.

Q. It seems like the best organizations in this day and age in baseball have an openness of communication, meaning the intern, if he has an idea with R&D, to the coaches, it all kind of works. Would you say that's developed here over time? Do you think that's been a huge factor in the success here?

MARK ATTANASIO: Do you want to talk about it from a baseball side, and I'll talk about it from a business side?

MATT ARNOLD: Sure. Having been an intern, yeah, I can walk you through that. It's awesome. I was so blessed to be an intern in a couple different places. I don't know if that's a blessing. That's probably not the right word for that. A little pain along the way.

(Laughter.)

No, incredibly fortunate with respect to having somebody that would listen, like you're saying. Like being able to sit there, I still remember John Hart coming over and sitting on a couch right next to me. I'm like, oh, my God, John Hart actually cares what I have to say. I don't know if he did or didn't, but that meant a lot to me. So I've tried to carry a lot of that forward.

MARK ATTANASIO: Rick Schlesinger and Marti Wronski run a very flat business group, and ideas are welcome from interns. People who are with us one or two years get given a lot of responsibility. A lot of creativity you see around the ballpark bubbles up from some of the younger people, not the old folks like me.

Q. You talk about changing the revenue system, the players, even some today, have said they really don't want it, the union leadership, it seems relatively unified. How do you change their minds as owners? Are you worried that doing so will create a lot of missed games?

MARK ATTANASIO: I think that relative to evolution of this idea, which is in all the leagues right now in the U.S. other than ours, is something that a lot of time -- Matt uses the word minutes, a lot of minutes will be spent between both sides.

I actually think, notwithstanding staking out the positions, there's been good dialogue so far in the labor discussions. Rob and his team, Rob, the commissioner, will take the lead on that.

Q. Matt, the word culture probably gets tossed around a little bit too much in baseball, in business, and whatnot, but with you and the Rays it seems real on both ends. What does it look like to you? How do you know you have it, and where does good culture come in an organization?

MATT ARNOLD: It helps to have good players, I would say. When they perform well, obviously the vibes are good. I've been in situations where it's not good. I was a Devil Ray, so I know what it's like to pick first multiple times, and to have that evolution, I feel like one of the important things we learned there and obviously have tried to carry on here, it's just like there's light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how bad it is.

We have it really, really good here thanks to him and a lot of people that I work with, that there's optimism. You have people here who are willing to commit to the vision and want to be a part of it. When you have those type of people, special things can happen, like we've had this year.

Q. During your time, you've obviously been very -- pretty aggressive in your sort of baseball ops spending, the size of your front office, technology, scouting. How would you assess the return on investment you've gotten from some of those expenditures over the years?

MARK ATTANASIO: Let me jump in on that. One of the things, I would say Matt has been very efficient in how we've spent. They have FIQ numbers for the league, and we're sort of right in the middle, right in the middle of 30 teams in terms of what we spend on baseball ops. I try to run the business that way, by the way, across the board.

Similar to how we can all talk about market size, but we try to calibrate our expenditures accordingly. I would say 15th, give or take, in baseball ops expense and 19th in player expense. Most wins in baseball over the last two years, I think we're doing a pretty damn good job.