Craig Counsell

Craig Counsell
Counsell at the 2015 Winter Meetings
Milwaukee Brewers – No. 30
Infielder / Manager
Born: (1970-08-21) August 21, 1970 (age 46) South Bend, Indiana
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 17, 1995, for the Colorado Rockies
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 2011, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics (through October 2, 2016)
Batting average	.255
Home runs	42
Runs batted in	390
Managerial record	134–165
Winning %	.448
Teams
As player Colorado Rockies (1995, 1997) Florida Marlins (1997–1999) Los Angeles Dodgers (1999) Arizona Diamondbacks (2000–2003) Milwaukee Brewers (2004) Arizona Diamondbacks (2005–2006) Milwaukee Brewers (2007–2011) As manager Milwaukee Brewers (2015–present)
Career highlights and awards
2× World Series champion (1997, 2001) NLCS MVP (2001)

As player

As manager

Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player and current manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Counsell was an infielder who played sixteen seasons for five teams. Counsell is currently the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers of the National League, a position he has held 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.

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 college at the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team.

The Colorado Rockies of MLB selected Counsell in the 11th round of the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut with the Rockies on September 17, 1995, and appeared in only three games for Colorado that season. The Rockies traded Counsell to the Florida Marlins for Mark Hutton in July 1997. He immediately became the Marlins' regular starting second baseman. He scored the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for the Marlins, on an Edgar Rentería single over pitcher Charles Nagy's head, after tying that game in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly.