The story is a fairy tale.
A Whitefish Bay kid realizes his dream of becoming a Major League Baseball player, plays for his favorite team, and ultimately manages the team he grew up watching.
Yes, Craig Counsell’s story is right out of a movie.
But everything about Counsell’s opportunities, and success is earned. With one more win, Counsell will become the Brewers all-time leader among Brewers Managers.
Counsell’s story is similar to that of Harvey Kuenn. A West Allis native, Kuenn’s hall of fame career took flight after his collegiate playing days at UW-Madison. While Kuenn never played for the Brewers, he managed the team to it’s only World Series appearance in 1982.
Prior to Counsell, Kuenn was the most beloved Managers in Brewers history, and arguably the best in franchise history.
Today, the title of “best Manager in Brewers history” belongs to Counsell. A Manager whose intelligence is unmatched, and whose connection to the players is Herculean strong. A Manager who creatively deploys his players and pitching staff.
In today’s day of free spending large market teams, the smaller market Brewers face countless obstacles in fielding a team with legitimate World Series aspirations.
None of that has mattered to the Whitefish Bay kid who continues to live out his dream in Milwaukee.
