Counsell A Brewer But There Is Room for Rockies in His Heart

Craig Counsell was a part of the original Rockies organization, an 11th-round selection in that first Rockies draft, in June of 1992, and a part of that Bend Rockies Short-Season Class affiliate that played the first game in the history of the organization.

But to be honest, Counsell bleeds Brewers Blue. And it’s not just because he is the manager of the Brewers, who pulled out a 3-2 victory against the Rockies in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Thursday night.

Counsell grew up hanging around County Stadium. His father, John, was the director of the Brewers Speakers Bureau and Community Relations when Counsell was growing up.

That, however, does not mean he lacks ties to the Rockies.

Over the years, he has spent a lot more time in the visiting clubhouse at Coors Field than the home clubhouse, but the ballpark will always have a special memory. His time in the big leagues with the Rockies was limited, but in September of 1995, the first year of Coors Field, he made his big-league debut. He appeared in three games that year, and then, in July of 1997, he was back with the Rockies for one day, serving as a pinch-runner on July 27.

The next day he was dealt to the Marlins and embarked on a career that saw him play a key role in two World Series championships before eventually retiring at the age of 40 at the end of the 2011 season to initially become a special assistant with the Brewers. And on May 4, 2015, he became the manager of the franchise, earning NL Manager of the Year honors last year.

It all started with the Rockies who selected him out of Notre Dame in the 11th round in June of 1992. He was the starting shortstop for the 1992 Bend Rockies, hitting second, in the first game played by an affiliate of the Rockies organization.

And in the eighth inning of that game, with Bend trailing 4-1 and one out, it was Counsell who reached base, three batters ahead of Will Scalzitti hitting a grand slam that landed on the root of the Albertson's behind the left field fence. The Rockies added another run for a 6-4 win which was televised back to Denver, and had a media overflow seated in the stands of the 3,000-seat Bend ballpark.

The team won the Northwest League South Division that year before losing back-to-back games to Bellingham in the NWL Championship Series.

“If you were part of the Bend group, you got a lot of attention,” Counsell recalled. “We were the first players to put on the (Rockies) uniform, which is the complete opposite of what happens normally when you go to (a short-season minor league). “

Attention like that first game ever?

“It was a huge deal,” he said. “It really made you feel a part of the organization, proud to be a Rockie. You were part of that first group and it ended up a lot of players from the draft played in the big leagues.“

Ten players played in the big leagues, including Counsell, who played more games in the big leagues (1,624) than any of the others.

The Class of `92: Big-League Graduates

Rnd	OvPck	Name	Pos	G	AB	HR	BA	G	W	L	ERA	SV	Drafted Out of
1	27	John Burke	RHP	28	21	0	0.19	28	4	6	6.75	0	University of Florida
2	65	Mark Thompson	RHP	93	104	1	0.154	94	18	24	5.74	0	University of Kentucky
3	95	Roger Bailey	RHP	92	97	1	0.206	92	18	19	4.9	1	Florida State University
7	207	Jason Bates	SS	319	677	12	0.239						University of Arizona
10	291	Garvin Alston	RHP	6	1	0	0	6	1	0	9	0	Florida International University
11	319	Craig Counsell	SS	1624	4741	42	0.255						University of Notre Dame
14	403	Juan Acevedo	RHP	258	65	0	0.092	367	28	40	4.33	53	Parkland College
17	487	Angel Echevarria	OF	328	543	21	0.28						Rutgers
25	711	Quinton McCracken	2B	999	2462	21	0.274						Duke University
28	795	Mark Strittmatter	C	4	4	0	0						VCU

“If a team gets 10 players from a draft, it is thrilled,” he said. “Maybe, the fact we were made to feel so much a part of the organization from the beginning, our path was a little easier. It did make you feel you established some loyalty right away because of how big a deal it was.”

Of the 10 players, Counsell may have had the longest career, but he played fewer games with the Rockies than any of the other nine. He appeared in just four games, including that pinch-running appearance the day before he was dealt to the Marlins.

Counsell Big-League Tenure

16 Yrs		1624	5488	4741	647	1208	218	40	42	390	103	49	589	663	0.255
		G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA
ARI 6 yrs		664	2639	2299	343	611	106	16	24	193	68	35	276	294	0.266
MIL 6 yrs		711	2063	1768	217	426	77	17	13	130	30	13	229	281	0.241
FLA 3 yrs		195	662	565	67	143	29	7	5	58	4	1	74	74	0.253
COL 2 yrs		4	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
LAD 1 yr		50	122	108	20	28	6	0	0	9	1	0	9	14	0.259

The irony is original general manager Bob Gebhard explained trading Counsell for right-handed reliever Mark Hutton with the claim Counsell had always been a shortstop and wouldn’t play second base.

The Marlins must not have known that. They immediately inserted him at second base in the final days of July 1997, and he was a key factor in the Rockies expansion cousins from Florida winning a world championship that year.

He scored the game-winning run against Cleveland in the 11th inning of Game 7 on Edgar Renteria’s single. History also notes that with the Diamondbacks in 2008 it was Counsell, who was hit by a pitch from Yankee closer Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning to load the bases ahead of Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off single, making Counsell the only player on base for the last two World Series ending walk-off games.

He wound up a full-fledged utility infielder in the big leagues, and played more games at second base (574 games, 468 starts) than shortstop (478 games, 393 starts) or third base (385 games, 275 starts).

But it all started with the Rockies, and Counsell ahsn’t forgotten.

“I think seeing something at the start was always a little interesting,” said Counsell. “There are still people there, the trainer (Keith Dugger, now in the big leagues with the Rockies) I had for five years in the minor leagues who took care of too many injuries. …. The man who turned the scouting report in on me, Paul Egins (now the Rockies traveling secretary) is an original.

“I think seeing somethign at the start is always interesting. They create an energy with the fans right away with the great ballpark and a group of sluggers that made their team recognizable in the community. It’s an organization I keep tabs on because I was a part of it for a long time.”

He smiled at mention of the first spring training in Tucson in 1993. The franchise did not have a deep supply of players.

“On the minor league side there around 60 players at spring training, is all,” said Counsell. “There was a Triple-A team, but no Double-A team.”

 Counsell and others from that 1992 draft were brought over to the big-league camp to fill out exhibition game rosters.

That meant they got big-league meal money for a day.

It also meant memories.

“I played in a game against the Brewers, and I got to play against Robin Yount,” said Counsell, thinking back to his youth, and hanging out at County Stadium watching the emergence of Yount from prospect to MVP. “It was at the old (Brewers) complex)in Chandler.”

It was a road trip.

“Yeah, and the other thing I remember is there was beer on the bus after the game,” he said. “I mean, cold beer on the bus. Like, that was the big leagues. When else was I going to play against Robin Yount and have cold beer on the bus after the game?”

It was one of the perks of being a part of the start of an expansion franchise that Counsell will never forget.