MILWAUKEE — Tens of thousands of baseballs, gloves, bats, shirts and more equipment were loaded up Tuesday to send out to Phoenix, AZ in preparation for Brewers Spring Training.
Senior Vice President of Communications Tyler Barnes said at American Family Field on Tuesday that seeing all this equipment packed up marks a great time of the year because it means a changing of the seasons.
“For all of us here, and I think all of Wisconsin… we see this as the first day of summer,” he said. “It shows us that there may still be some ugly snow mounts on the ground but spring is in the air, and we’re right around the corner from baseball.”
The Milwaukee Brewers are swinging for a World Series while positioning themselves for future success.
— 620 WTMJ (@620wtmj) February 6, 2024
As the team gears up and heads to Arizona for Spring Training, here's the latest on Wisconsin's Afternoon News. #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/8m1Zv2I8uj
Barnes said around 80% of their staff heads to Phoenix every year for camp. Some of them are already on there way, including players who are starting on some unofficial training ahead of camp.
The Brewers have a new manager in Pat Murphy and some new players who will be at camp, but Barnes told WTMJ that even with all the personnel changes, “excited” would be the one word he’d use to describe how he’s feeling ahead of the season.
“This is the most excited I’ve been in terms of the composition of the roster. I really am very excited about where we are as a team,” he said. “That first day when you walk out there and the pitchers and the catchers have reported… you hear the pop of the glove with the ball going in… There’s nothing like it.”
Barnes emphasized how they wanted to create a roster that was “sustainable in the long term while not necessarily compromising this year.” They have goals to be “bullish” on protecting their future while competing in the present.
“Only one team gets to win the last game of the Major League Baseball season [in the World Series],” he said. “We hope it’s us.”
Barnes is happy to chase those World Series goals in Milwaukee, especially with the Brewers securing a long-term deal to play at American Family Field.
“We never felt there was any sort of a dead end [with finding a solution to stay in the city],” he said. “It’s great to have that behind us now and look forward and know this ballpark is going to be a gem for generations to come.”
The first Brewers Spring Training Camp game is on February 24th.
Brewers loading up tens of thousands of baseballs, gloves, bats and more to send to Phoenix, AZ for Brewers Spring Training!@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/PjDLTaVEIa
— Juelz (@jujuelz_is) February 6, 2024
American Family Field’s New Parking System
Along with a new season and new players, there will be a new parking system installed at American Family Field.
The new system will not have parking attendants or accept cash. Barnes believes it will benefit fans and be easy to adjust to.
“The parking attendants will be redeployed. They will be throughout the parking lots helping people understand the new system,” he said. “There is no money exchange when you’re here at the ballpark… but you do need to make sure you either pay in advance and activate your session by entering your license plate… or you scan the QR code when you get here and you pay online.”
Barnes added this new parking system will allow for easier traffic flow coming in and out of games. He said the goal is to get people inside to watch the games as quickly and as seamlessly as possible. Fans register for parking ahead of games on the Brewers ballpark app.
