Just one day after the Chicago Cubs pulled off one of the biggest coups in recent MLB memory by replacing manager David Ross with former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, Counsell spoke out about the decision.
Counsell’s contract expired on November 1 after he spent the previous nine seasons managing the Brewers. Milwaukee attempted to negotiate during the season, but Counsell was unsure of what he wanted to do. Milwaukee’s contract offer after the season was for 5.5 million dollars per year, well short of the record-breaking five-year $40 million contract the Cubs ultimately offered.
Speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Counsell made it clear that his aim on Tuesday was to thank the Milwaukee community and explain himself, not to address what went down between him and the Brewers, leading to his departure.
Counsell explained that he simply needed a new challenge, saying, “I think as I was going through this process, it became clear that I needed and wanted a new professional challenge. At the same time, look, I’m grateful to be part of this community. And that’s going to continue, hopefully, because it has nothing to do with baseball, that part of it. I’m looking forward to being part of a new community and hopefully impact our community well, too. But as I went through it, it just became clear that I needed a new challenge.”
Counsell, Milwaukee’s all-time winningest manager, is aware that the decision will be hard on some fans, as it was even hard on him. “Yesterday was an emotional day. I was sad at first, then happy, then I was crying, then I was laughing. So, I went through all of it. It’s all the things that make for a really full day. So, that’s the immediacy of it. I mean, there was a lot yesterday. I understand that it was a decision that affected a lot of people. And I take that very seriously. And of course, that went into the equation,” he said.
