Craig Counsell
Craig Counsell was born in South Bend, Indiana, United States on August 21st, 1970 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 53, Craig Counsell biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 53 years old, Craig Counsell has this physical status:
Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player who is the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
He was an infielder who played sixteen seasons for five teams.
Counsell has been the Brewers' manager since May 2015. Counsell is best known for his playoff performances in 1997 with the Florida Marlins and in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He has the distinction of having been on base for the last two times that the World Series ended with a walk-off hit, and was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player in 2001.
He is also known for his unique batting stance; for much of his career, Counsell held his bat over his head, and seemed, during his preparation for hitting, to stretch it higher still.
Late in his career, Counsell lowered his batting position significantly.
Early life
Counsell was born in South Bend, Indiana. He grew up in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and attended Whitefish Bay High School, where he played baseball. His father, John, worked for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) as their director of the speakers bureau and director of community relations. Counsell attended the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team. He was an infielder for the Irish, with a career batting average of .306, 204 runs, 166 RBI, 50 doubles and twice as many walks (166) as strikeouts (82), graduating in 1992.
Personal life
Counsell and his wife, Michelle, have four children together. The family resides in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
Professional career
In the 11th round of the 1992 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected Counsell. On September 17, 1995, he made his MLB debut with the Rockies on September 17, 1995, but he appeared in only three games this season. In July 1997, the Rockies traded Counsell to the Florida Marlins for Mark Hutton. He was a quick success as the Marlins' starting second baseman. After tying the game in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly, he scored the winning run in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for the Marlins on an Édgar Renter single over pitcher Charles Nagy's head.
Counsell was sold by the Marlins to the Los Angeles Dodgers in June 1999 for a player who would be announced later (minor leaguer Ryan Moskau). Counsell was fired by the Dodgers in 2000 spring training, and he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was with the Diamondbacks for four years. Counsell went 8-for-21 in the 2001 National League Championship Series (NLCS), and received the NLCS Most Valuable Player Award. Luis Gonzalez was struck by a pitch from Mariano Rivera in the bottom of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, where Gonzalez led the Diamondbacks to victory in the Diamondbacks' winning run, a bloop single over the drawn-in infield.
With Chris Capuano, Chad Moeller, Lyle Overbay, Jorge de la Rosa, and Junior Spivey, the Diamondbacks traded Counsell to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2003, and a player for Richie Sexson, Shane Nance, and a player to be named later (minor leaguer Noochie Varner). Counsell was first drafted in 2004 as a shortstop with the Brewers. Counsell returned to the Diamondbacks as a free agent for two seasons after one season with the Brewers.
Counsell returned to the Brewers as a free agent for 2007 and took over the role of utility infielder. On August 16, 2008, he scored his 1,000th career hit against Los Angeles Dodgers Derek Lowe. He was the fourth-oldest player in the National League in 2011 and had the second-best career fielding percentage of all active second basemen (.991). Counsell received more regular playing time in 2009 due to injuries and inconsistent play from other Brewers players, and they finished in the top ten in the National League in the latter class.
Sporting News selected Counsell as the 13th top celebrity in sport in 2010.
Counsell won the all-time record for consecutive at-bats for a position player, going hitless after a streak of 45 at-bats as a bench player and spot starter. Bill Bergen, a notoriously poor hitter, was first beaten in 1909 and later tied by infielder Dave Campbell in 1973. Bergen's streak had been reported at 46 at bats, but subsequent analysis revealed that Bergen's streak came to an end at 45, meaning Counsell tied but not broken the record. Eugenio Vélez of the Los Angeles Dodgers tied the record just a few weeks after Counsell tied it.
Counsell's contributions to the Marlins' and Diamondbacks' championship teams were well-remembered by both teams' fans. The home fans would give Counsell ovations as he batted during his last season as a member of the Marlins and Diamondbacks games in 2011.
Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" was Counsell's regular at-bat music.
Counsell had a batting stance for the majority of his career, with his bat firmly above his head, and his arms straight above his head. Counsell lowered his bat more in his position as he neared his end of his career, but he'd almost have his back to the pitcher, where the number on his back was almost entirely apparent to the pitcher. Counsell also didn't wear batting gloves for the bulk of his career, with the exception of his rookie season and his final season.
Counsell was both the top-rated 2nd baseman and the highest-rated 3rd baseman on the SAFE: Spatial Aggregate Fielding Evaluation system for evaluating defense over the course from 2002 to 2008, with average runs saved of 10.18 and 5.86 respectively.
Post-playing career
Counsell retired as a professional baseball player in early 2012 and the Brewers opened a front office position for him. Counsell served as a special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin. Counsell was named a part-time color analyst for Brewers radio broadcasts in 2014. While primary announcer Bob Uecker was out, he recalled Darryl Hamilton and Jerry Augustine to call games with Joe Block.
Counsell was hired by the Brewers to be their boss on May 4, 2015, the day before Ron Roenicke was dismissed the day before. He has been with the team for three years. In his first two seasons as manager, the Brewers, who were rebuilding, went 61–76 and 79–89 under Counsell.
The team went on a surprising run in 2017, going 86–76. They came in second place in the Netherlands Central Central, just one win shy of a wild card berth. Counsell came in 4th in the NL Manager of the Year voting.
The Brewers won the NL Central by defeating the Chicago Cubs by a score of 3–1. He had a lower percentage of replay difficulties in 2018 than any other MLB manager with ten or more challenges, at 20.6%. Since a landslide sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the National League Division Series, the Brewers have advanced to the National League Championship Series. At Miller Park in Milwaukee, the Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in their third game of the season in the series, before falling to the Dodgers in seven games. After spending a complete season with the team, Counsell became only the second Brewers manager to lead the team to the playoffs. In NL Manager of the Year voting, he came in second, losing to Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker after the season ended.
Counsell played his 500th game as a manager on September 18, 2021, beating the Chicago Cubs 6–4. He came in second place in the National Manager of the Year poll, finishing second in second place with a first place vote, 22nd place votes, and four third place votes.
Counsell won by 533 over the New York Mets on June 15, 2022, beating Phil Garner (563) for most victories as a Brewers manager.