Craig Counsell

Team Number:	30
Birth Date:	08/21/1970
Height:	6'0"
Weight:	185lbs.
Position:	Infielder

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Craig Counsell made his Major League debut in 1995 with the Colorado Rockies and has since played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Counsell has played on two World Series Championship teams. During the 2006 season, Counsell was on the disabled list for 6 weeks with a fractured right hip. In November 2006, he signed a two-year deal, returning to the Milwaukee Brewers to play second base. Other players tout him as a sound player who has the fundamentals of the game of baseball down to a science. Teammates have spoken highly of Craig’s character both on and off the field.

Married to his high school sweetheart, Craig and his wife have two sons. Craig Counsell attended high school just miles from Miller Park at Whitefish Bay (WI) High School, then went on to graduate with a degree in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame. While at college, Counsell played baseball all four years. His father, John Counsell, played for the Minnesota Twins in the 60’s, and continued to work with Major league Baseball as a Director of Community Relations for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Visitors to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY can see the spikes Craig Counsell wore in the 1997 World Series.

Craig Counsell used to have one of the most interesting batting stances that you would ever see in major league baseball. Holding the bat high and straight up, Councell would bring the bat around and into the wheelhouse. Now the corkscrew stance has come to an end. Craig Counsell decided to change his stance after his batting average started to drop. Councell ended the 2007 season with an on base percentage of .343, but his batting average was below .230

After the change, Counsell’s average was .365 during exhibition play. Who knows if Counsell’s stance was the reason for hitting a double in the 10th inning of the opening game of the 2008 season, but Brewers fans are happy with what they see from this 12 year veteran.

Craig Councell played in 110 games in 2008. He had numbers similar to the previous year, and played serious defense yet again. Although his RBI’s were lower, he had a higher batting average, and slugging percentage. He’s not relied upon for hitting home runs, and that’s a good thing, since he only hit one in 2008.

Councell is off to a fast start in 2009. One month into the season, his batting average of .333 comes from five doubles from his 18 hits. He got that lone home run out of the way already, slapping one out of the park against the Chicago Cubs.

Craig Councell felt the pressure of standing in for the injured Rickie Weeks. Councell played in 130 games, and that would not have happened if Weeks were not out for the season. His batting average dropped a bit as the summer wore on, but the Milwaukee Brewers managers had no issue with that fact. He was a top-ten hitter in triples, and finished with a .285 batting average.