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MLB MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 20, 2018Robin YountQ. People have talked for so many years about the '82 bunch, I know you hear that a lot. What's it been like to watch this group, especially kind of unexpectedly surge forward like this? And what would it mean to you to see more Brewer guys in the World Series? ROBIN YOUNT: Well, I'm sure not just for me personally but for everybody here in Wisconsin, this is a big deal. We're not like some of the bigger franchises that experience this stuff a little more often than we have over Brewer history. So when a team is this good and plays this well in the playoff atmosphere we're all excited. I'm as excited as anybody. I know one thing, it's a heck of a lot easier to be in uniform during these games than it is being a fan in the stands. I mean I'm more nervous now than -- way more nervous today than I was when I played. And it's not to throw out the first pitch, because that's easy. The game coming up is -- in my gut right now is pretty exciting. Q. Does that surprise you? ROBIN YOUNT: I don't know. I guess we don't get to experience it as much around here as we would like. The one time I almost went free agent was because I wanted to experience this again and didn't feel like it was going to happen in the next few years that I had left when I played. So this is what every little kid and even adults and these players out there dream about, getting a chance to play in a game like this. So this is really good stuff. Q. Of course you made the move from shortstop to centerfield mid-career, and in today's game with 12-, 13-man bullpen, positional versatility is more prevalent now. Can you talk about the challenges you faced making that transition, and observations you noticed about the game today and how position players being asked to play new positions at a moment's notice? ROBIN YOUNT: It's funny you bring that up. I was watching the games in LA, I was fortunate enough to go to our games when we were playing the Dodgers out in LA, and the moves the Dodgers were making with some of their players playing at different positions, and knowing myself just how difficult it was to go from shortstop just to centerfield, and these guys playing different positions, three different positions in a single game, and playing them all well, is very, very impressive. I mean they must work awful hard because they look like they're comfortable at all these positions. And then with all these shifts that go on, you've got guys all over the place, which they're out of their normal position when they're doing the shifting. So you've got to give these guys a lot of credit for the defense they're able to play with having to move around as much as they do. Q. Craig had mentioned earlier that he saw a lot of similarities between this current team and you guys in terms of personalities. At the same time they played kind of similar in that there were a lot of must-win games down the stretch. You guys won the Division, and then rallying back from '02. How did you stay calm, cool, and relaxed when you had your backs up against the wall? And did you see something similar from this team this year? ROBIN YOUNT: Yeah, I wouldn't be able to comment fairly on the group of guys personally that we have today because I really haven't been in the clubhouse enough to know personalities and this. I watch them play on the field a bit. So that part of it I wouldn't be able to compare it. But what it is, is everybody's a professional and an athlete, and nobody throws in the towel. That last game is hard to win. And so I just think when -- especially this series. I think before it started if you kind of looked on paper, these two teams are very, very similar. And it doesn't surprise me a bit that this has gone to seven games. You see two teams that I think are so much alike that it's played out for six games. They've each won three. There's one to decide it. And you know what, this is going to be really fun tonight. Q. Do you have memories of 12-year-old Craig Counsell? And what do you think, for him, to be here in his hometown, potentially going to manage his boyhood team in the World Series? ROBIN YOUNT: It's funny, we were driving in just on our way here and had the radio on and Craig was on the radio for -- I don't know if he was live. But anyhow, he was doing his interview. And I'm kind of getting off your question for a second, but I'll get back to it. He said something about, you know, I have a routine and guys get into routines. And it's not a superstition, I don't want you to get that wrong, but it's a routine. Well, last night I parked in the parking lot over here and when I drove in today, I parked in the same parking spot (laughter). It's not a superstition now, it's just a routine, I don't want you to mistake that. So we are creatures of habit that way. And when things are going well you kind of follow suit, right? And so getting back to asking about Craig, I don't remember him at 12. I remember him teenage years, high school, because I hit him some ground balls before batting practice a few times at County Stadium, and out at second base, we played catch and hitting ground balls. Oh, my gosh, we listen to him on the radio and it's like, man, he's got it together. This guy, that's that kid that we knew, we knew his dad, his dad worked for us here in the Brewers, and this kid has really turned out to be something special. I love the guy. I think he's a great manager, he's a great human being. And I'm just so impressed with where he is today. And the things he's done in his career, let's face it, not even -- rarely given a chance to be an everyday player in the Major Leagues and to have the postseason success he's had over his career. Now getting to manage, hopefully, we win tonight, get to manage in the World Series. And I mean things like that, we know that stuff is not easy to do. And it takes special people to get into those situations over and over and over again. Certain people, they've got something that's just a little different. The intangible stuff, it's hard to measure. But why are the same people always there? It's interesting. Q. About that '82 team, you were able to make the World Series, the best team this franchise has ever had. What have the years been like for you in regards to that team? How is that team regarded around town? Do you still hear about it? What do you think these guys are going to be in for if they can pull it off tonight? ROBIN YOUNT: I think the fans of Milwaukee, not just Milwaukee, the whole state of Wisconsin remembers the '82 team. I think wherever we go we get comments on that. But the generations are turning over. The ones that saw us play are getting a little long in the tooth. We've got the next generation. And they're going to remember these guys like mom and dad remember the '82 group. So these guys are making -- they're starting a legacy of their own, which is great. We need this stuff around here. This is what gets people excited. And if it wasn't for the fans none of this stuff happens. So to see this much excitement around here, it's the best. You wish it could happen every year, but obviously it doesn't. Q. Mark Attanasio has been the owner here for 13 years. The team has done fairly well, three playoff series and a lot of attendance. What have you noticed about what he's brought to this organization? ROBIN YOUNT: I think the greatest thing that has happened to this organization in my opinion is this stadium, in a big picture. Think about, we were playing Game 7 here in an hour or two, whatever it may be. Do you know what it's like outside? (Laughter) Can you imagine a game of this magnitude and we'd have to play in what's outside tonight? Anything could happen. The best team might not win. Flukes, this or that. What was the football game in the Super Bowl, was it the Ice Bowl or something? We could have had something like that in a major playoff game if we didn't have this stadium. You know there will be baseball every time you come to this ballpark now, regardless of weather. I think that was so big for this franchise and this city and this state. It's helped attendance. It's a great ballpark. And so it's just -- certainly Mark has been able to -- through the success of MLB as an industry, bring the level of the organization up a notch. I mean all of the organizations around baseball, because, I think, of the success that baseball is having today is directly related to how franchises have grown. So I think you can probably give Mr. Selig a little check next to his name, too, on that. Q. Can you talk about how impressed you are with how they've rebuilt the team here? Talk about this is a small market team here. In today's economy, there would be no way they could afford the talent of the '82 team, you and Oglivie and Fingers, and they brought in a general manager who made a lot of great moves, got controllable talent like Yelich. What are your impressions about that? ROBIN YOUNT: Well, I think obviously they've done a great job around here because we've turned a kind of mediocre team into a really good team very quickly. So the way teams are built today, though, with all the analytics and all of that, it's so much different than it was back in the day. And free agency. It took franchises a lot longer, especially expansion franchises, to ground themselves and you didn't seem to make progress nearly as quickly as you can today. And I think that's really good for the system because I think what it does is it creates hope for everybody. I think you see other organizations that are smaller market teams today become competitive fairly quickly, when they weren't so competitive just a few years back. And I really believe that that's good for baseball. There's always hope that you're not too far away. And obviously they've done a great job here in doing that. Q. When you were growing up playing at Sunrise Little League, who were the guys that you went to Dodger Stadium to go see? ROBIN YOUNT: I didn't get to go to Dodger Stadium very often, unfortunately. I think that was Koufax and Drysdale. And when I was a little guy, Willie Davis and Maury Wills and that group. But I'm just going to be very honest, I grew up in LA, but I was a Giant fan. I didn't really care for the Dodgers all that much. So I guess I'm not surprising anybody if I say I'm cheering for the Brewers tonight (laughter). Even though I'm from LA. Q. You say you're not nervous about throwing out the first pitch. But 45,000 people are going to go bonkers when you walk out on that mound. ROBIN YOUNT: No, they're going to go bonkers when the Dodgers and the Brewers come out on the field. Q. You know they're going to go a little bonkers to see Robin Yount. What will that mean to hear the reception you know you're going to get out there? Have you practiced or is the arm ready to go? ROBIN YOUNT: No, I haven't picked up a ball in, I don't know, it's been a few years. But it doesn't matter. The adrenaline will be there. I feel pretty good that I can lob a ball from the pitcher's mound area to the home plate area. I should be able to get it in the area without having to try too hard. But I will say there's something about going out on a Big League field, for me, that is very comfortable. I'm not comfortable sitting right here talking to you folks, but I feel very comfortable out on that field. And I know when I walk out there I'm going to feel like I'm at home. And that's just the way it's been. Q. You mentioned a little while ago that you came very close to leaving free agency, I think it was the Angels in '89. ROBIN YOUNT: '89 or '90, somewhere in there. Q. What made you decide to finally come back here? ROBIN YOUNT: I never left. So I didn't -- Q. To stay, I guess, better way of putting it. What was the deciding factor in chasing the ring or staying here? ROBIN YOUNT: It was the right thing to do at that point in my career. Mr. Selig convinced me that it was the right thing to do. The fans of this community and Wisconsin convinced me it was the right thing to do. And as bad as I wanted to go chase that ring, after I had made the decision to stay I knew it was the right thing to do. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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