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Longtime Brewers executives (L to R) Tyler Barnes, Rick Schlesinger and Jim Bathey are preparing to retire, with Marti Wronski (far right) set to succeed Schlesinger as president of business operations. Scott Paulus Closing the revenue gap<\/p>\nJim Bathey is retiring after 35 years with the Milwaukee Brewers, and his colleagues are hoping he goes out on top.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the team\u2019s World Series run, Bathey, the team\u2019s vice president of ticket sales, walked out of a meeting to find every member of Milwaukee\u2019s business operations department wearing a \u201cWin For Jim\u201d T-shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was speechless,\u201d said Bathey, who was a high schooler selling popcorn at Milwaukee County Stadium during the Brewers\u2019 last World Series appearance in 1982. \u201cIt was pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gesture reflected the front office culture that principal owner Mark Attanasio sought to build when he and his partners bought the team in 2005 \u2014 one where people wanted to work and stay. That continuity and institutional knowledge have helped Milwaukee navigate the economic disadvantages of operating in Major League Baseball\u2019s smallest media market, even as the Brewers have reached the postseason in eight of the last nine years. Following a sweep of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, Milwaukee stood four wins from its first World Series title.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t leave. They love to work here,\u201d Bathey said. \u201cI had a couple opportunities to leave, but I chose to stay because the way this organization treats its employees is over the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
The longevity extends throughout the organization, starting with Rick Schlesinger, president of business operations, now in his 24th year. Other executives include Chief Operating Officer Marti Wronski (23 years); Tyler Barnes, senior vice president of communications and affiliate operations (22); Tom Hecht, vice president of consumer experience (22); Steve Ethier, senior vice president of stadium operations (22); Katina Shaw, vice president of community relations (20); and Matt Lehmann, vice president of event operations (19).<\/p>\n
Schlesinger pointed to Bathey\u2019s ability to forecast ticket sales as an example of the value of that institutional knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen somebody more accurate in terms of assessing ticket sales and ticket numbers,\u201d Schlesinger said. \u201cI would tell him in the offseason, \u2018OK Jim, we\u2019ve got a game on July 24 against the Pirates. How many people are going to be there?\u2019 And he would know within six months before the season started, and these numbers are uncannily accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a \u2018no ego\u2019 front office,\u201d said Wronski, who will be elevated to Schlesinger\u2019s role when he retires on Dec. 31, 2027 (Barnes and Ethier are also retiring that day). \u201cIt\u2019s not all sunshine and rainbows every day, but because of the culture that has been developed and we are fierce in protecting, we\u2019ve stayed because we believe in one another and we believe in exactly what we\u2019re doing and why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milwaukee\u2019s executive team watches virtually every game together from a luxury box.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we do talk plenty of business in there, our families are there. We\u2019re laughing and poking fun at each other,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cI mean, this place, it feels like a second home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Longtime Brewers executives (L to R) Tyler Barnes, Rick Schlesinger and Jim Bathey are preparing to retire, with Marti Wronski (far right) set to succeed Schlesinger as president of business operations. Scott Paulus Closing the revenue gap<\/p>\n
The Brewers continue to punch above their weight on the business side, helping support a baseball operation that has built its success around the draft, player development and shrewd signings and trades.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee entered the season facing a projected $20 million revenue shortfall following its shift from FanDuel Sports Network (Main Street Sports Group) to MLB Media in February, Attanasio said.<\/p>\n
The Brewers made up $11 million of the projected shortfall, sources said, through better-than-expected distributor rates negotiated by MLB, higher advertising revenue driven by the team\u2019s success and more than 100,000 direct-to-consumer subscriptions \u2014 triple the initial projection. The team\u2019s TV deal is worth $30 million this year, down from $35 million last year, Attanasio said.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee\u2019s payroll nevertheless rose to $155 million, ranking 19th in the majors, from $144 million and 22nd in 2025.<\/p>\n
A 103-win regular season \u2014 Milwaukee\u2019s second consecutive campaign with baseball\u2019s best record \u2014 helped the team exceed its revenue projections. The Brewers drew 2.8 million fans at American Family Field, ranking 11th in the majors and posting their highest home attendance since 2019. Locally, they had baseball\u2019s highest viewership share (6.27).<\/p>\n
The October run pushed Milwaukee into positive book income, with 99.8% of season-ticket holders purchasing postseason tickets. The ultimate financial outcome will depend on the length of the World Series; participating teams receive the lion\u2019s share of Games 5-7 gate revenue.<\/p>\n
Standing-room-only tickets for Game 1 approached $3,000 on the secondary market.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could literally sell 100,000-plus tickets for each World Series game,\u201d Bathey said of the Brewers\u2019 41,000-seat ballpark, which lost 1,700 right-field terrace seats last year to make room for a new baseball operations office. \u201cBut we don\u2019t have that luxury.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bigger financial windfall could come in 2027 through increased ticket sales and sponsorships, providing additional revenue for payroll, ballpark infrastructure, technology and other resources. The Brewers are set to open the premium Truss Club, with a capacity for 400 ticket holders, on Opening Day next year, and complete the two-phase UW Credit Union Plaza, featuring a beer garden, food and beverage offerings and a six-hole mini-golf course.<\/p>\n
Labor uncertainty looms, however. Schlesinger said the team is planning for a full season but is prepared to adjust its financial projections if a lockout leads to missed games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a great opportunity to take all the enthusiasm and convert it into revenue,\u201d Schlesinger said. \u201cWe\u2019re always going to be the team with affordable tickets that tries to be as fan-friendly and sponsor-friendly as possible. And I don\u2019t think that will change because it\u2019s part of the culture. But we can use this to drive ticket sales and fuel baseball operations.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"LOS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HHP5NAOEZVDNPED4EVR7EOGVWM.jpg\")
Brewers fans celebrate during a game at Dodger Stadium. Milwaukee drew 2.8 million fans during the regular season, its highest attendance since 2019, while 99.8% of season-ticket holders purchased postseason tickets. MLB Photos via Getty Images Passing the torch<\/p>\n
As Schlesinger prepares to step aside, he likes to joke with Wronski: \u201cDon\u2019t fix all my mistakes in the first six months. I think she\u2019ll at least take nine months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both native Wisconsinites followed similar career paths, transitioning from legal to business roles. Schlesinger was part of the 2002 Anaheim Angels title team as VP of business and legal affairs before joining the Brewers the following year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like after 25 years, it\u2019s good to have a new voice, a new vision, somebody who looks at things differently,\u201d said Schlesinger, who assumed his current role in 2019. \u201cThe business is changing quickly, with technology and AI and all the ways we look to engage the fans, and it\u2019s perfectly aligned for somebody new to explore all those opportunities and lead the next generation. I\u2019m very happy that we have such a qualified replacement. I\u2019ll still have some involvement in the club, but Marti won\u2019t need me to hold her hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wronski recalled conversations with Schlesinger a few years ago about the need to keep pace in business strategy and analytics, leading to the hiring of Mark Schlifske as vice president in 2023.<\/p>\n
The expanded business strategy and analytics team has contributed to projects such as the UW Credit Union Plaza, which opened its first phase this season. Barnes said the project activated an area beyond the center-field wall that had gone largely unused during the ballpark\u2019s first 25 years.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Wronski wants to balance innovation with the team\u2019s \u201cWin Our Way\u201d identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis whole sentiment that it\u2019s not good to have no changeover, I understand that entirely,\u201d she said. \u201cBut at the same time, you don\u2019t show the people the door just to show them the door. If people are performing at a high level, meeting expectations, you\u2019ve just got to keep digging in and looking at where your own organizational weaknesses are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlesinger, Bathey and Barnes could remain involved as consultants on special projects after retiring.<\/p>\n
For now, things seem to be falling into place.<\/p>\n
Schlesinger faced the possibility of missing Game 5 of the NLCS to be at his son\u2019s Southern California wedding, but the Brewers eliminated that conflict by sweeping the Dodgers. Meanwhile, a double rainbow appeared over American Family Field as the team charter returned from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Wronski\u2019s assistant joked: \u201cThe whole universe is cheering for the Milwaukee Brewers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four more wins, and Bathey, a Brewer through and through, can go out on top.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get to the doorstep of the World Series and you don\u2019t quite open the door, there\u2019s a lot of frustration and disappointment and thinking maybe you\u2019re just never going to get there,\u201d Schlesinger said. \u201cBut when we broke through to get there, the fan base has just exploded with enthusiasm and excitement. In the history of the franchise, we\u2019ve never won the last game played in a baseball season. And we want to get there and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jim Bathey is retiring after 35 years with the Milwaukee Brewers, and his colleagues are hoping he goes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1558,28,112,2325,363,8837,46942,23573,19632],"class_list":["post-892080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-markets","tag-baseball","tag-business","tag-markets","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-mlb","tag-print","tag-unlocked","tag-upfront","tag-world-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}