Polzin: It wasn't all jeers for Craig Counsell during his unhappy homecoming (2024)

MILWAUKEE — Miguel Vallejo Jr. took a break from doing something he loved Monday morning to offer some perspective on a business decision made by an adult.

The teenager was in his happy place — a batting cage — at a Little League baseball facility in Whitefish Bay that Vallejo and his father have been visiting for years. There are fields closer to the family’s home in Milwaukee, but the drive is worth it because this place has everything a young ball player could desire.

Indeed, Craig Counsell Park is a dandy venue that includes three diamonds, with turf covering the main attraction, Brewer Field.

The man the facility was named after was back in town for the start of a four-game series between the top two teams in the National League Central, and Vallejo and his father planned to either watch it on television or listen to it on the radio. Five hours before the first pitch, they were dodging raindrops under an overcast sky 10 miles north of American Family Field.

The younger Vallejo admitted he was mad at first when he found out last November that Counsell was leaving the Brewers, whom he’d managed for nine seasons, for the rival Cubs. Not as angry as the vandal who spray-painted a three-letter expletive over Counsell’s name on the sign at the front of the park hours after that news broke, but feeling a little betrayed was a natural response for any Brewers fan, regardless of age.

Vallejo got over it pretty quickly, however. And, seven months after that bombshell had dropped, Vallejo offered the assessment of someone mature beyond his 14 years.

“I just think vandalizing the sign wasn’t the right thing to do,” he said. “If it’s for his good, then he had to go. The Brewers, maybe they didn’t have enough funds to get him back.”

Counsell later sat in the visiting dugout Monday afternoon, two hours before his Cubs dropped a 5-1 decision to the Brewers, and reiterated that he was looking for something exciting and a new challenge after being in the same place for so long. Being in a new tax bracket — Counsell got a reported five-year deal worth $40 million, the highest salary for a manager in the sport — was a nice little perk, too.

“They offered something better,” Miguel Vallejo Sr., wearing a Brewers hat, said in between pitches to his son. “Why not? I’d take it.”

One spot over in the batting cage was another father and son. Nick Hansen said he’s both a Brewers fan and a Craig Counsell fan.

“He’s done a lot for the community,” Hansen said while playing catch with his 9-year-old son, Griffin. “When you get offered the kind of money he got offered, and him being able to keep his family still here in the community, you can’t really blame him. I have no ill will for him heading to Chicago.

Other than the sign being defaced, Hansen said he hasn’t heard much griping about Counsell’s move from people in Whitefish Bay. Counsell may be Public Enemy No. 1 around Milwaukee this week, but the same can’t be said in his hometown.

“I’m sure today when he gets announced, there are going to be some boos out in the crowd,” Hansen said. “But that’s kind of to be expected.”

Counsell knew what was coming. He predicted cheers from the Cubs fans in attendance — and there were many — and jeers from some in the home crowd.

Some in the sellout crowd of 41,882 wasted no time letting Counsell know they thought he was a sellout.

He was booed heavily after heading back to the dugout following the playing of the national anthem. More boos arrived during and after a video tribute to Counsell on the massive scoreboard in center field that ended with the Brewers delivering a “Thank You #30” message to the man who had two stints as a player with the club before taking over as the team’s manager in 2015.

The boos kept rolling when Counsell and Brewers manager Pat Murphy exchanged lineups at home plate, and just as noticeable were the louder-than-usual cheers for Murphy when he was announced three minutes later.

“Look, cheer, boo, whatever, man,” Counsell said before the game. “Just have a good time at the game. That’s what fans get to do. Just have a good time. It’s Memorial Day, you don’t have to work today, let’s all have a good time.”

Turns out, it wasn’t a fun experience in the end for Counsell. The teams were locked in a pitchers’ duel between lefties Robert Gasser of the Brewers and Justin Steele of the Cubs until Milwaukee broke the game open with a five-run eighth inning highlighted by Willy Adames’ three-run home run.

The win puts the Brewers at 31-22 on the season, 4½ games ahead of Counsell’s .500 team.

Murphy, who was Counsell’s coach at Notre Dame and joined Milwaukee’s staff as his former player’s bench coach in 2016, is an interesting character. It’s easy to see why Brewers’ fans have embraced him.

Sure, the winning helps, but Murphy just comes off as a likeable guy. He’s got a business-like approach and yet it’s not accurate to call him a no-nonsense figure because his pressers sometimes feature a healthy dose of nonsense.

Like Sunday, after a loss at Boston, when he offered a tongue-in-cheek response after being asked about the big week ahead: “Who do we play?” Murphy asked.

Or Monday, when Murphy went around the room during a pregame news conference with more attendees than usual and asked reporters he wasn’t familiar with to identify themselves and later playfully chided those who didn’t ask any questions.

Murphy downplayed Counsell’s return — the primary topic of conversation — and made it clear that Monday was no time to be sentimental.

“This is important to a lot of our guys in there and it’s important to this community,” Murphy said. “So we have a job to do, we have a responsibility, and that’s it. These four games won’t make or break either of our seasons, but they’re important.”

I was admittedly skeptical of the Murphy hire last fall. Just like Counsell was looking for something new and exciting, I wondered if it was time for the Brewers to do the same and go outside the organization for a new voice in the clubhouse.

But what Murphy has done so far, under challenging circ*mstances, has been tremendous. Memorial Day is deep enough into the season that it’s a solid benchmark, and the Brewers arrived at that point with a comfortable lead in the division.

Murphy used the word “love” four times during an answer on Sunday following a loss at Boston that ended a 4-5 road trip. What he liked is that the Brewers had precious few lapses during that stretch.

“We’ve got all these injuries. We have first-time players,” Murphy said a day later. “I can build you a case why we should suck. I’m just really thankful.”

So is young Miguel Vallejo Jr., who had this to say at the end of his mature take on Counsell’s departure.

“We have Pat Murphy,” Vallejo Jr. said. “He’s also good at winning games.”

Counsell had predicted an “interesting day,” and he got one. He emerged from the visiting dugout at 6:40 p.m., wearing a backpack around his shoulders and walked quickly down the first base line toward the exit.

Destination? Presumably his home in the Milwaukee area for some family time, where he could put American Family Field and an unhappy homecoming in his rear-view mirror for a few hours.