A week after reports first surfaced that he would be joining the Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers have officially bid Craig Counsell farewell.
The Cubs introduced Counsell as their newest manager Monday, marking an end to his lengthy tenure in Milwaukee. In response, the Brewers broke their silence on social media by thanking Counsell in a goodbye post.
Counsell played for the Brewers from 2007 to 2011, and he joined their front office in 2012. After spending time as a color analyst on the team's local radio broadcast in 2014, Counsell stepped in as Milwaukee's manager in May 2015.
In the nine seasons since, Counsell led the Brewers to a franchise-record 707 wins. He also guided the team to five postseason appearances and three NL Central crowns when they had only boasted four playoff bids and three division titles in the 46 years prior to his arrival.
Counsell's departure – while not out of nowhere, given his contract had expired – still shocked the baseball world at the time. Even one of his star players, catcher William Contreras, expressed his frustration on social media in the wake of the move.
Many fans felt spurned by Counsell leaving for Chicago, as seen in both the broader social media reaction and some explicit graffiti left at Craig Counsell Park in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Even Brewers owner principal owner Mark Attanasio took a shot at Counsell in a public statement last week.
"We're all here today because we've lost Craig, but I've reflected on this – Craig has lost us and he's lost our community also," Attanasio's statement read. "It's a really special place to be."
The wider organization played it right down the middle with their farewell to Counsell, though, keeping things neutral with a lone social media graphic. It remains to be seen if the team will go any further in their remembrance of Counsell's time in Milwaukee.
The Brewers are now in the midst of a search for their next manager, with new candidates entering the conversation almost every day.
More must-reads: