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On this day in 1957 Mark Attanasio was born in the Bronx, New York. Following the 2004 season he led a group of investors that purchased the Brewers from the Selig family and is currently wrapping up his eighth season as owner.
The Brewers finished .500 in Attanasio's first year at the helm, going 81-81 in 2005, and have been at or above the break-even point in five of his eight seasons with the team. They had made just two playoff appearances in 36 seasons before Attanasio, and they've since made two more.
Perhaps most notably, the Brewers were near the bottom among major league teams in payroll under the Seligs in the early 2000s and have expanded salaries all the way up over $100 million this season. The Brewers were 2616-2921 all time following the 2004 season but are 662-627 since.
Attanasio turns 55 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- Tyler Thornburg, who turns 24.
- 1997 Brewer Eddy Diaz, who turns 41.
- 1998 Brewer Joe Hudson, who turns 42.
- 1986-90 Brewer Rob Deer, who turns 52.
- 2009-10 Brewer manager Ken Macha, who turns 62.
Today is also the second anniversary of Trevor Hoffman's 601st save and final major league appearance in 2010. We covered that event in this space last year.