Milwaukee Brewers: Looking Back on 5 Craig Counsell Managerial Milestones

For nearly eight combined seasons, manager Craig Counsell has been synonymous with Milwaukee Brewers baseball. On Tuesday night, he passed another big milestone in his time as leader of the Crew.

On Tuesday night, Counsell managed his 1181st game for the Brewers, officially making him the all-time leader in games managed for the Milwaukee franchise. In honor of that, let's take a look back at the big milestones that he has passed along the way.

Here are five milestones from Craig Counsell's managerial career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Craig Counsell's 1st Game as Brewers Manager: May 4th, 2015

A change was needed. After a 2014 season that saw what seemed like a sure playoff berth turn into an epic collapse, the Brewers were 7-18 through their first 25 games of the 2015 campaign. They even already had an eight-game losing streak under their belts.

So although manager Ron Roenicke was coming off of two straight wins, the Brewers relieved him of his services and put Counsell in charge. It was the beginning of what would eventually be a golden era of Milwaukee baseball.

Craig Counsell's 1st Win as Brewers Manager: May 4th, 2015

As it turns out, Counsell's first game as Brewers manager would also be his first win as Brewers manager. And like many wins over the course of the skipper's career, this one would come in comeback fashion.

After falling down 3-0 early to future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, Milwaukee finally broke through against him in the sixth with a Gerardo Parra RBI triple. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Hector Gomez, Carlos Gomez, and Ryan Braun would each produce runs to give the Crew a 4-3 lead. Francisco Rodriguez would close the game out in the ninth to give Counsell his first career win.

Craig Counsell's 1st Playoff Win as Brewers Manager: October 4th, 2018

Similar to his first career regular season game, Counsell's first career playoff game as Brewers manager also resulted in his first career playoff win. And just like before, this one came as the result of a late-game comeback.

A Christian Yelich two-run homer in the third gave the Brewers an early 2-0 lead, one that seemed like it might last long enough for the win. Unfortunately, a Jeremy Jeffress blown save in the ninth would help eventually send the game to extra innings. It wouldn't go any farther than the tenth, though, as Mike Moustakas would send an RBI single to right for the dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Craig Counsell Becomes Winningest Manager in Brewers History: June 15th, 2022

Counsell began really closing in on Phil Garner's franchise record for wins early last June, but an eight-game losing streak kept delaying the inevitable event. Then, after Counsell tied Garner on June 12th, it truly became only a matter of time.

June 15th on the road against the New York Mets ended up being the day and this win ended up being an easier one. Corbin Burnes gave up two runs over six innings while striking out eight, seven different Brewers players drove in runs, and eight collected hits as the Crew cruised to a 10-2 victory to make Counsell the winningest manager in franchise history.

Craig Counsell Becomes the All-time Leader in Games Managed in Brewers History: April 11th, 2023

Last night, Counsell passed Garner for yet another milestone, this time becoming the leader in games managed in all of Brewers franchise history. Burnes was at the forefront of this one too, pitching eight shutout innings, while Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez, and Mike Brosseau all homered in a 7-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Counsell has now passed nearly every milestone possible as a Brewers manager. Perhaps some day he can pass the one that no Milwaukee manager has ever passed: winning the franchise's first ever World Series.