The Chicago Cubs made headlines when they not only stole Craig Counsell away from their NL Central rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, but also made him the highest-paid manager in MLB history in their five-year, $40 million pact. At the time, the deal felt more than deserved, as the Brewers consistently found ways to win with minuscule payrolls. The results early into his Cubs tenure, though, have left a lot to be desired.
Chicago won just 83 games in 2024 — the same number of games they won in 2023 — and missed the playoffs. They improved in 2025, but are on the verge of elimination in the NLDS against the very team Counsell left, the Brewers. On the flip side, Milwaukee has won the NL Central title in each of the last two years without Counsell, and just set a franchise record with 97 wins this past regular season. Oh yeah, as mentioned prior, they're one win away from sending Counsell home.
The results might be a bit mixed for Counsell in Chicago, but it's still hard to dismiss his abilities as a manager completely. Michael Busch's dominance in the leadoff spot is proof of that.
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Michael Busch has dominated out of the leadoff spot
Busch led off Game 3 of the NLDS with a home run against Quinn Priester. It was a home run that the Cubs desperately needed after giving up a run in the top half of the frame.
Michael Busch. Tie game. pic.twitter.com/ODilCz67DI
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 8, 2025
Any lead-off home run is impressive, but this is nothing new for Busch. It's his second time leading off a game with a long ball in this series alone, and perhaps more impressively, it's his seventh leadoff home run in just 54 plate appearances from that spot in the order this season.
Michael Busch with ANOTHER leadoff homer for the Cubs, just as he did in Game 1 on Saturday. Ties the game, 1-1. That's 7 home runs to leadoff a game for him in just 54 overall games batting first this season. Incredible.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 8, 2025
Per StatMuse, Busch's seven leadoff home runs would now rank in the top five in the majors when combining regular season and postseason, and he's done so in 40+ fewer games than the others in the top five. In other words, it's remarkable what Busch has been able to do.
Michael Busch's leadoff dominance is a testament to Craig Counsell's genius
Busch had an All-Star-caliber first half, in which he established himself as one of the best first basemen in the game against righties while primarily hitting fourth and sixth in the Cubs' order. Many managers would've stuck with what was working with a young player like Busch, but instead, Counsell opted to change things up when the Cubs' offense started to struggle, and Busch has taken full advantage.
It's up to the manager to find ways to get the most out of his respective players. I don't know whether platooning Busch is what's best for him, but clearly, the move from the clean-up spot to the leadoff spot has been for the best for one of the game's best to hit from the No. 1 position.
The Cubs might still fall short in this best-of-five series against Counsell's former team, but ultimately, the loss would come down to a talent discrepancy, which is not something Counsell is in control of. Getting beaten by a good team shouldn't cause anyone to doubt a great manager like Counsell. Busch's success out of the leadoff spot is proof of that.