How the Cubs hired Craig Counsell out of the blue and shocked baseball fans
From where he stood, the boss didn’t see any weaknesses. Hoyer saw Counsell get the most out of a Milwaukee Brewers team that, based on paper, never looked like having the best players in the division but kept winning.
Over the past few months, it has always seemed possible that Craig Counsell may be managing somewhere else. It might be a while off, but it’s a chance.
People thought that Counsell might go to work for the New York Mets if he didn’t want to go back with the Milwaukee Brewers.
This was especially true after David Stearns had been recruited to run baseball operations over the Mets.
But almost everyone could have seen what happened on Monday afternoon coming. Jed Hoyer, the president of the Cubs, has always looked up to Craig Counsell.
The hated Chicago Cubs, among other teams, swooped into and stole the managerial position free agent with a claimed five-year deal worth an aggregate of $40 million. This happened after a crazy few hours of reports, rumors, and social media excitement.
The baseball world was shocked when the Chicago Cubs hired Craig Counsell as their latest manager.
Cubs squad president Jed Hoyer always liked Counsell’s moves during games, how he runs the clubhouse, and how he deals with the public.
At first, Hoyer didn’t want to hire Counsell because he had already chosen David Ross to replace Joe Maddon.
Hoyer became more interested in Counsell as the market went on, though, and on November 1, he called out to Counsell.
The Cubs managed to sign Counsell onto a five-year pact worth more than $40 million after a good meeting.
The Cubs’ surprising move shows that they want to get better and be competitive within the coming years.
On Monday, the Chicago Cubs dismissed manager David Ross as well as hired Craig Counsell.
Sources close to the deal told ESPN that the record-setting five-year, $40 million deal was what drew the former Milwaukee Brewers manager to Chicago.
The moves, and this the Cubs made Monday afternoon, shocked the baseball world, which thought Counsell would either go back to Milwaukee or be hired by the New York Mets.
Ross was praised by the Cubs in public. On October 2, owner Tom Ricketts said, “He’s our guy.”
When Counsell’s deal with the Brewers ended on October 31, the Cubs quickly showed interest and made an offer that shattered the pay scale for managers at the time.
Terry Francona, who managed the Cleveland Guardians, made $4.5 million a year, which was the most ever paid for a manager.
During his 16-year career, Counsell was a leader in the Major League Baseball Players Association. When he became a free agent, he asked the Cubs to raise manager salaries, and they did.
Counsell’s new salary of more than $5 million put him in a league with Joe Torre of the New York Yankees.
Chicago fired Maddon at the end of the 2019 season and hired Ross, who had no longer played baseball but had helped the Cubs win the World Series in 2016.
Ross was the Cubs’ first manager, and he led them to the National League Central title to the 2020 season, which was cut short because of COVID-19.
The Cubs had a couple of bad years during which they traded away key players from their title run.
They got back on track in 2023, going 83–79 but missing the playoffs because of a slump in the late season.
The hire of Counsel gives a team that wants to make the playoffs a sense of urgency. Counsell has been the Brewers’ manager for nine years and has led them to the playoffs five times in the last six years, including this season when they went 92–70 and won the NL Central.
Counsell is from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and grew up just 15 minutes away from the Brewers’ baseball park. He holds the record for most wins by a Brewer (707), as well as the most playoff wins.
The team had not been able to repeat its run to Game 7 of the NL Championship Series in 2018. Since then, they have gone 1-8 in the playoffs.