MILWAUKEE — The Brewers home opener against the Twins Tuesday afternoon at American Family Field was in many ways the start of a new era.
There’s a lot of new players. And a new manager in Pat Murphy. Even after sweeping the Mets in New York, Pat Murphy isn’t getting carried away.
“First weekend had a lot of good parts to it. A lot of not so good,” said Murphy. “So what we’re evaluating, what we’re going by, we’re still developing our personality.”
“I think our expectation is always to win,” said Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, who homered Tuesday. “I think that’s been pretty pretty evident over the years. “We’ve had a lot of talent come through the room and a lot of successful teams, but each year has been its own year.”
20-year-old Jackson Chourio is the youngest player in Major League Baseball. He singled to drive in a run in his first home at-bat on Tuesday. The Brewers thought do much of Chourio in the offseason that they rewarded the outfielder with an $82 million contract before he played an inning in the major leagues.
“It’s hard for us to compete in the free agent market,” said Brewers owner Mark Attanasio. “Here we can have a guy who can be homegrown, whose story the fans can follow for at a minimum of eight years. I think there’s a value to that.”
Through an interpreter, Chourio was asked how he blocks out the distractions and hype.
“The organization has treated me incredibly, even since before I signed the contract. So, you know, ever since after signing. Really? Now it’s just time to demonstrate my abilities and go out there, perform.”
Brewers radio broadcaster Bob Uecker was at the ballpark to do the game. Fans gave him a huge ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard. He has said he’ll take things day-to-day at age 90.
“Uek is very focused on always being at a hall of fame level,” said Attanasio. “So he doesn’t want to just be in the booth, to be in the booth. It will be his choice and we’ll see.”
This is the 20th season that Attanasio has been the Brewers owner.