Former Brewers Say Manager Candidate Can Make it With Mets

The New York Mets are pursuing Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell for their opening.

The New York Mets need a new manager and Craig Counsell appears to be the favorite to get the job.

Based solely on his resume with the Milwaukee Brewers — where the Wisconsin native led them to five playoff berths — his credentials would get him an interview. But there’s also the connection he has to new president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Stearns was the general manager and later president of baseball operations in Milwaukee before stepping away as an advisor. When his contract with the Brewers ended, Stearns, who grew up in Manhattan, took the job with the Mets.

But one question does linger — does ‘Wisconsin Nice’ work in the Big Apple? New York City is a meat grinder of a sports market, no matter how skilled you are in the dugout. You can’t always kill everyone with kindness.

Recently, the New York Post talked to some of Counsell’s former players in Milwaukee and asked them how they thought Counsell would fare in New York.

Their take? Counsell has what it takes to manage in baseball’s biggest market.

“Absolutely,” said former Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who played for and was a teammate with Counsell in Milwaukee. “If the opportunity was right for him and his family, obviously. I mean, it’s a big market, going from Milwaukee to New York is a big jump in terms of market size, attention.

“But he knows what it’s all about. As a player, you know very well what’s going to happen whenever you show up in a big market like that. … I think Couns’ honestly would welcome that challenge. I really do. I think he’d relish it.”

Another player quoted in the story included Keon Broxton, an outfielder under Counsell from 2016-18.

Both talked about Counsell’s ability to think well ahead of the ballgame and convey that to players in a way that was easy to understand. He’s not a big speech guy, Lucroy said, and his leadership came more from knowing the game and breaking down data and situation quickly.

But he also took time to learn players and learn what made them tick so he could support their success.

“He understands our bodies,” said Broxton. “You make a crazy dive and you get up — if he sees you’re not able to be yourself, he’s going to see that and come and ask you how you feel.”

The Mets were granted permission to speak to Counsell about the opening a few days before the end of his contract with the Brewers on Oct. 31. Whoever Stearns hires would replace Buck Showlater.