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The Milwaukee Brewers have the worst record in baseball, at 7-18 as injuries and underachievement have dampened things. Manager Ron Roenicke was fired on Sunday night, despite the team winning three of their last four games, and he will be replaced by Craig Counsell.
Counsell finished his 16-year major league career with the Brewers from 2007-2011, and he joined the team’s front office as a special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin in January of 2012. Counsell was not a star player, but he won two World Series titles during his career (1997 and 2001) and was MVP of the 2001 NLCS with the Arizona Diamondbacks (.381, five runs scored and four RBI).
The 44-year old Counsell has no managerial experience, but the Brewers showed some commitment to him by signing him to a three-year contract through 2017. This is clearly a lost season for Milwaukee, barring an unrealistic dramatic turnaround and a run at a Wild Card spot, but with the big picture in mind Counsell looks like a solid choice to take over as manager.
There was some speculation that former Minnesota Twins‘ manager Ron Gardenhire was among the options to replace Roenicke, which probably would have raised expectations in the short-term based on his name recognition. But Melvin and the Brewers’ organization deserves a lot of credit for avoiding a retread with a dismal recent track record, and instead going with the fresh voice that Counsell can presumably offer.
Beyond his longevity it’s easy to dismiss Counsell’s track record as a player and call it mediocre, and he was clearly a utility infielder by trade (.255 career batting average and zero All-Star Game appearances). But great players rarely become great managers, and hiring Counsell with an eye toward the future is a good move for the Brewers.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
