Why will Craig Counsell succeed with Cubs? Let the Brewers stars tell you

There was growing buzz in baseball circles in recent days that Craig Counsell was expected to leave the Milwaukee Brewers, with the New York Mets, Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros all emerging as teams interested in the veteran manager.

Quietly, the Chicago Cubs emerged as one of the teams interested in Counsell. They did not ask the Brewers for permission to speak to Counsell before his contract expired on Nov. 1, as first reported by Jesse Rogers of ESPN, and in a matter of days agreed to a record-setting five-year, $40 million contract to sign the coveted manager away from Milwaukee.

The move has left Brewers players stunned, with Brandon Woodruff telling reporters: “Lord have mercy.” Corbin Burnes told reporters: “I think my reaction is the same as everyone in the organization and the fan base. We’re just shocked initially … But on the personal side, it’s going to be strange.” Veteran catcher William Contreras tweeted three facepalm emojis.

In August, when the Brewers were playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles, I asked both Christian Yelich and Willy Adames what made Counsell such a good manager. Here are their responses, and an inside look at what the Cubs are getting in their new manager.

Christian Yelich

“He’s the same guy every day, you know? I know a lot of people say that, but he really is the same. You win five in a row, you lose five in a row. He just gets it. He’s been through it all, especially with this team. We’ve been a good team the last few years. We’ve had a lot of good and bad stretches. There’s never any panic. He’s like, ‘Let’s win tonight and figure out the rest later.’ That’s how he operates. He’s a good communicator. Guys really like playing for him.

It’s nice to have the consistency of having him there every day. I’ve played on teams before where there’s a new manager every other year and then it’s different directions, different philosophies. It’s just been nice to have the same steady figure at the helm for the last six years. We’ve gotten closer in the last few years, just talking, getting older as a player. Just talking about different things and how he’s also played in the big leagues. He just really gets it.

He hasn’t had any locker room blowups, either. We’ve had probably less than five total team meetings in the entire time I’ve been here. We don’t have team meetings here, which is probably a good thing. That means you’ve been winning a lot of games. He’s probably yelled at us like two times in the whole time I’ve been here and each one of those times we’ve definitely deserved it as a group. Sometimes you need that over the course of a year. But a lot of times, if you’re not playing well, you just have to play better. Getting yelled at doesn’t change anything and I think he understands that.

On how much being a former player has helped him: “A lot. You know what guys go through. You know what a major-league season is like. You know what it’s like to succeed, fail, what it’s like to be on a World Series winning team and everywhere in-between. I think that experience helps him a lot in communicating with guys and knowing what’s going on.”

Willy Adames

“His feel for the players. He understands how players feel, how to treat them, how to communicate with them. I think because he’s been around for so long in the game, both as a player and manager, he just knows when to talk to a guy and when not to talk to a guy. He knows how to say things and how to handle players. The way he sees things for players is just the best. It’s incredible. Obviously, the way he treats players is just incredible.

“His experience in being a player helps a lot. Coming here, I had always heard he was a clubhouse guy. He understands how everyone in here feels, especially watching everyone in here play every day and see how everyone is doing. He just knows what to do, what to say, in each moment. That’s why being a player like he was has helped him to be the type of manager he is today.

I’ve only had (Kevin) Cash and Counsell as managers, but he’s up there (in best managers in baseball). I just know how he’s treated me. He’s treated me like he’s known me his whole life. He’s been really helpful. He’s been amazing. In the minors, I had really good managers and really good coaches. He’s definitely up there.”

Favorite Craig Counsell story: “It was 2021 or 2022, it was a home game and I was hurt. He came out to the field and was going to take me out of the game. He was like, ‘No, no. I want you to be ready for the postseason.’

I ended up hitting a go-ahead home run in that game and he was so happy. I went up to him and I was like, “And you wanted to take me out of the game!” He just started dying laughing. Some of the guys told me they haven’t seen him smile or laugh like that before in the way he was smiling that day. For me, that story sticks out just because that’s when he was coming out of his comfort zone and just having so much fun.”