How the Chourio-Yount meeting came together

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- As Brewers phenom Jackson Chourio prepares for his first taste of postseason baseball, Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold agreed that it was time for the kid to meet "The Kid."

Hopefully, you’ve seen the result. MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi interviewed Chourio and Robin Yount over breakfast not far from American Family Field on the morning after the Brewers clinched another National League Central title and produced this story and video piece, which aired Thursday on MLB Network.

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Chourio and Yount have been mentioned in the same breath all season. The 20-year-old Chourio put together a 20-20 season after becoming the youngest Brewers player to make his Major League debut on Opening Day since Yount did so as an 18-year-old 50 years earlier in 1974. But somehow, they had never met.

This is the story of how the Brewers changed that.

“It was just really cool to be able to meet him and get to talk to him a little bit,” Chourio said. “It turned out to be just a really cool experience.”

Chourio has Arnold to thank, because it was the GM who got the ball rolling in August, knowing Yount would be in town in late September to help launch postseason ticket sales. Arnold says he got the idea during one of his regular morning hits on the Brewers’ flagship radio station from hosts Vince Vitrano and Erik Bilstad, who wondered how it was possible that Chourio and Yount had never met.

“I just passed the idea along,” Arnold said. “I thought it would be an awesome idea to get them together.”

Brewers senior VP of communications Tyler Barnes shared the idea internally, and senior director of media relations Mike Vassallo pitched the story to MLB Network, knowing that Morosi spoke Spanish and could bridge the communication gap. Meanwhile, Tom Hecht, Milwaukee's VP of consumer experience, secured a venue at Blue’s Egg, a popular brunch joint near the ballpark.

No one could have predicted that the agreed upon date -- the morning of Sept. 19 -- would be so fortuitous. Not only did MLB Network televise the game the day before, with Morosi reporting from the field, but the Brewers clinched the NL Central with a Cubs loss before the first pitch. As a capper, the Brewers beat the Phillies that night in walk-off fashion, with Chourio tripling to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning and scoring the winning run.

The party went late into the night, with Chourio well-stocked with non-alcoholic beverages courtesy of his teammates, who filled a baby carriage just for the rookie. But Chourio was right on time the following morning to meet with Yount, arriving with younger brother Jaison (the Guardians' No. 3 prospect, No. 66 overall) and Jackson’s assistant, Jorge Segura.

“This is a former Brewer. I was excited the whole time,” Chourio said.

Since Chourio was born more than 10 years after Yount’s 20-year career ended, it’s understandable that he didn’t know the full scope of Yount’s legacy in Milwaukee. The third overall pick in the 1973 Draft, Yount was as surprised as anybody to find himself standing at shortstop on Opening Day in ‘74, and he’s the first to admit he wasn’t ready. But the Brewers of those early years had no expectations, and Yount was able to learn on the job.

For Chourio, it’s been much different. Signed out of Maracaibo, Venezuela in 2021, he quickly moved into MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects list for the Brewers, and then into the overall Top 100, climbing all the way to No. 2 before signing an eight-year, $82 million contract last December that set a record for a player yet to step foot in the Major Leagues.

Knowing how hard it is to survive in the big leagues at age 20, what does Chourio think of Yount making it at 18?

“Incredible,” he said. “There’s no other way to put it. To play at the highest level at 18 years old is incredible.”

Did Yount offer any words of wisdom?

“All he said is for us to go and have a good postseason,” Chourio said, “and that he was going to be there supporting us. You could feel his support. You can feel him rooting us on. Hopefully we can take his advice and have a good postseason.”

Yount would like nothing more.

“I just can’t wait to see him in the postseason for many years to come,” he said, “because there’s no telling where he’s going to go.”