Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970) is a retired American Major League Baseball infielder who played sixteen seasons for four teams. Counsell is currently the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers of the National League, a position he has held since May 2015.
Counsell is best known for his playoff performances in 1997 with the Florida Marlins and in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has the distinction of having been on base for the last two times that the World Series ended with a walk-off hit, and was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player in 2001. He is also known for his unique batting stance; for much of his career, Counsell held his bat over his head, and seemed, during his preparation for hitting, to stretch it higher still. Late in his career, Counsell lowered his batting position significantly.
Counsell was born in South Bend, Indiana. He grew up in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and attended Whitefish Bay High School, where he played baseball. His father, John, worked for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) as their director of the speakers bureau and director of community relations. Counsell attended college at the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team.