Thoughts: The Cubs’ decision to hire Counsell is more surprising than Joe Maddon’s move to the North Side.
Monday, when they revealed they removed David Ross as well as hired Craig Counsell in the new manager, the Chicago Cubs sent a shocking message to the rest of baseball about their plans.
Counsell signed a record-setting five-year deal for the Cubs that is said to pay him $40 million a year. This makes him the most lucrative manager in MLB history.
That would be interesting enough on its own. A lot of people think that Counsell is one of the best managers in baseball.
The Cubs have improved how they make decisions during games while also making a division foe less strong.
Fans and experts alike immediately thought that was a lot like the move the Cubs made in 2014.
The Cubs fired Rick Renteria and hired Joe Maddon to the Tampa Bay Rays as their free agent manager.
They did this because they liked Maddon as a manager and thought he could get the most toward of some the team’s young stars.
Maddon then led the Cubs to the 2016 World Series, four straight playoff appearances, and six series wins. He did more during his time as manager compared to any Cubs manager in a hundred years.
People saw the decision to hire Maddon even though Renteria was also in the running as a win and a cold, planned one. The team wanted to take a big step forward in keeping a well-liked captain on the job.
So, the comparison to the move of employing Counsel whereas saying goodbye to Ross is a good one.
But what makes this move a little bit distinctive is not merely how quickly it all came together, but also how much people in the city loved Ross and how that didn’t matter within the end.
A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that Counsell, 53, became the highest-paid manager in the big leagues with a five-year deal worth in excess of $40 million.
The person spoke on the condition in anonymity because the terms of the deal had not been made public.
Ross, 46, had four seasons in Chicago and went 262-284. In his first year, 2020, the Cubs won the NL Central.
He was also a popular backup catch for the Cubs after they won the World Series in 2016, which was a big moment for the team.
“On behalf of the entire Cubs organization, we want to thank David for all he has done for our team, both on and off the field,” President of Baseball Operation Jed Hoyer said in a statement.
“David always showed he could lead, first to be a player afterwards as a manager.” David’s influence on our company will be on par with that of the greats who came before him, and it will last for generations.
It was like when Chicagoland fired Rick Renteria following one season and hired Joe Maddon as their new manager in 2014. At that time, Hoyer was a general manager.
After that, Maddon led the Cubs to the playoffs four times in a row. They lost twice during the NL Championship Series but won the title in 2016.
Counsell, who grew in Milwaukee and became the Brewers’ most successful manager, was added to the team. This likely means that the Cubs plan to be busy in free agency.
They want to get Cody Bellinger back to fill out the central position of their group, and they might also look for help in the rotation.