This is part one of a two part series dedicated to the Milwaukee Brewers hometown Skipper: Craig Counsell. Be sure to be on the lookout for part two, which will drop next week.
My fellow Brewer fans know Craig Counsell is our hometown hero; he grew up in Whitefish Bay, played for our Brewers in 2004 and 2007-2011, retired as a Brewer, was a part-time color analyst on air with Uecker for us for a bit while serving as a special assistant to Doug Melvin, and currently serves as our faithful leader. If you missed it in January, his contract was extended through 2023. Counsell has the one of most recognizable batting stances of all time. We sincerely love this guy.
Defensive Prowess
As much fun as Craig Counsell was to watch at the plate, he was better known as a player for his defensive capabilities. He is in the top 100 players all time for defensive WAR at #62 with 18.8. Counsell also had four seasons in which he ranked top 10 in the league (2001 1.5 9th, 2002 1.7 9th, 2005 3.5 2nd, 2006 2.7 3rd). He ranks #1 in a few season advanced stats too. By the SAFE methodology, he was both the highest rated 2B and 3B from 2002-2008. He also made the leader boards by being the 4th oldest player in the league in 2011. In the same year, Counsell also had the second highest fielding percentage among second basemen with .991.
Clutch Appearances
One of my favorite things about baseball is the incredibly specific statistics that always tell interesting stories. For example, Counsell has the distinction of having been on base the last two times the World Series was won in a walk-off. (Remember, he has two rings as a Florida Marlin in 1997 and an Arizona Diamondback in 2001). In fact, Counsell was the winning run in the 11th inning of game 7 in the 1997 WS. He was also the 2001 NLCS MVP after batting 8 for 21 in the series.
Counsell was also part of some big moments for the Brewers. He fielded the final groundout securing Trevor Hoffman’s 600th save. Counsell was also among those who simulated bowling pins for Prince Fielder after a walkoff.
Be sure to check out:
Counsell’s player page on baseball-reference and go down the baseball-reference rabbit hole, one of my favorite pastimes.
All of the fantastic Brewers articles here on OTH Wisconsin, such as coverage on when and how baseball will be resuming and other fan favorites.
For More
Follow me on Twitter for more great content @JosephineMars42 and follow OTHWisconsin @OTHWisconsin as well. Discuss this and everything to do with sports at the Overtime Heroics forums.
