The Milwaukee Brewers hired David Stearns as their new general manager on Monday. The former assistant GM of the Houston Astros became the youngest GM in the MLB after the Brewers made the official announcement yesterday, and Stearns is excited to begin his new job.
On Tuesday the 30-year-old spoke with ESPN Insider Buster Olney on the Baseball Tonight Podcast and answered some revealing questions about his transition and his goals with his new team.
We've transcribed parts of the interview below:
Olney: What was your process in preparing for your interviews with the Brewers?
Stearns: Well it all turned out fairly quickly, so I can't say there was a ton of time to think about it. Obviously, in Houston, we were right in the middle of a pennant race and that was my primary focus. I was fortunate in my position with the Astros that one of my responsibilities was knowing a fair amount about other organizations and other teams, so I just clarified my thoughts a little bit about where the Brewers were as an organization and made sure I had a coherent plan to go in and talk to [owner] Mark [Attanasio] and his group about. That was really it. I wanted to make sure it was genuine and make sure it was well-thought out. But given the place and the schedule and what was going on in Houston, I can't say it was an extensive preparation process.
Olney: What's the greatest organizational challenge for the Brewers this year as you take over?
Stearns: I think the greatest organizational challenge right now going forward is getting everyone comfortable with a slightly new plan, a slightly new direction and making sure that we're all growing in the same direction and everyone understands where we are going. I think Doug [Melvin] and his group have done a good job of starting that process. There's been a tremendous amount of organizational continuity here over the last decade-and-a-half under Doug and any time you bring in a new voice that going to lead to some new change. How we adjust to that change in the short-term is going to go a long way towards the success we have this offseason and next year.
Olney: You mentioned in your press conference about the passion of this fan base, which I always feel like is incredibly underrated... What are your plans to connect with fans there in Milwaukee?
Stearns: It's already started. I went out to dinner last night and I think I got a pretty good view of the passion of the fan base when sitting down with my fiancée at the restaurant in downtown Milwaukee. I had pretty much the entire restaurant filter over at some point or another to congratulate me, so I don't know how many cities in the United States and in baseball where that would happen to a first-day general manager, but it was very welcoming and very encouraging. This is a great fan base. I think anyone who's watched them pack the house year in and year out over the last decade has been pretty impressed with how they've supported the team.
Click here for the full interview.
