Rick Schlesinger: Milwaukee Brewers COO

The Brewers are finally getting some national recognition, do you ever allow yourself the opportunity to yell out loud “hey, what about us??” 

It’s always nice to break through and get some recognition, but I also think there are some advantages to flying under the radar. We never like to use “small market” as an excuse. We are one of thirty Major League teams, and we expect to compete at the highest level regardless of our market size. If we’re winning enough games, the national recognition eventually comes. We might just have to make a little more noise than the bigger market teams to get that momentum started.

As a born and raised Wisconsinite, is being the COO of the hometown Brewers the Holy Grail of possible careers for Rick Schlesinger? 

Absolutely. There are not a lot of opportunities in professional sports, and one of the drawbacks is that as an executive you usually have to be flexible on relocating. I was raised as a Brewers fan and I can’t think of anything better than being able to work for my hometown team.

The team looks to be having fun winning games, the fans are obviously having fun in the stands, how much fun is it in the offices running Brewer baseball?

We never lose sight of how special the opportunity is to work in professional sports. The work is not always easy, but it’s always interesting. For a sports fan, there is nothing better than bringing your passion to your work. We are all fans, just like our friends and neighbors. The energy around the office is always very high, and much of that is driven by how much we all love the Brewers.

What are you doing when you are not running the operations of a major league baseball organization?

I enjoy going to little league games and spending time on the lake with my family.

You have been a part of ownership changes and management changes and have continued to increase your impact on the team, what makes that possible? 

We are fortunate to have one of sports’ best owners in Mark Attanasio. He gives us the resources we need to be successful and my focus is to use those resources wisely. I believe we have a strong management team in place, and that’s critical to long-term success.

Last and most important question….can we do it this year? 

I’m bullish on this team. We’ve had some rough patches but I love the way the guys play the game. For a more definitive answer, let’s agree to meet again sometime in early November!