Photo Credit: Arturo Pardavila III
As Craig Counsell settles into his new three-year contract as manager of the Brewers, he’s also defying a historical trend.
MLB managers used to have long and storied careers, but that trend has largely evaporated in recent years. Of the top 10 winning-est managers in the history of the sport, only three managed in the 2000s, and none have led a team since Tony La Russa left the Cardinals following the 2011 season. Longtime Giants manager Bruce Bochy was 11th on the list when he left his post this offseason and left just one active manager among the top 39 all-time; Terry Francona, who has won 1667 games across stints with three teams, is 18th.
Bochy’s departure from the Giants and Clint Hurdle’s September dismissal from his longtime post with the Pirates left Craig Counsell in a new position of seniority: Hired on May 4, 2015, he’s been with his club longer than any other National League manager. There are only two others hired the same year, Don Mattingly of the Marlins and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers. Francona and three others have longer tenures than Counsell in the American League.
Of course, having a contract is not a guarantee of continued MLB service. Managers are often fired with full or partial seasons remaining on their deals and paid to wait at home for their next opportunity. Counsell’s new contract runs through 2023 and raises the possibility, however, that someday soon he’ll stand alone atop virtually all the franchise’s managerial leaderboards.
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Counsell is already the first Brewers manager ever to be at the helm for multiple playoff appearances, winning the National League Central in 2018 and returning to the postseason as a Wild Card in 2019. The previous managers to lead the Brewers into October all did so just once: Ron Roenicke in 2011, Dale Sveum as an interim manager in place of Ned Yost in 2008, Harvey Kuenn in 1982 and Buck Rodgers in 1981. If the Brewers reach the postseason one more time during his tenure, Counsell could become the franchise’s all-time leader in playoff games managed: both he and Roenicke currently have 11 and trail Kuenn, who managed 12.
Phil Garner never managed a postseason game with the Brewers, but he’s been the franchise’s all-time leader in regular season games for 23 years now, passing Tom Trebelhorn in 1997. It wasn’t that long ago that his mark of 1,180 games with the Brewers appeared unassailable, but now it’s coming up on the horizon. Assuming he remains in the role and the MLB seasons remain at 162 games, Counsell will manage his 1,181st game and supplant Garner on that list sometime around June of 2022, and he will still have more than a year left on his contract.
If the Brewers continue to contend in the National League, Counsell will surpass Garner’s other record significantly before that. He needs just 158 wins to reach 563 for his managerial career, which is what Garner had when he departed following the 1999 season. Two full seasons of .500 baseball would get Counsell there around the end of the 2021 season. Counsell has had the benefit of some better teams than Garner had along the way: He finished the 2019 season 24 games above .500 for his career at 405-381, while Garner had just one winning season in eight years in Milwaukee and finished 54 games under .500 at 563-617.
The Brewers drew some criticism when they handed Craig Counsell the reins in May of 2015, with many noting that Counsell had played and worked in the front office but never coached a game at any level before taking over for Ron Roenicke. The Brewers have been rewarded for their faith in him, however, as he stands poised to rewrite the franchise record books in the years to come.
