Craig Counsell, one of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ all-time
most beloved
players and owner of the funkiest batting stance in
team history, is announcing his retirement
from
baseball, according to Scott Miller of CBS
Sports.

Counsell, who had spent the last five seasons with
Milwaukee, will take a job in the Brewers’ front office as
a special assistant to executive vice president general
manager Doug Melvin.

“It’s hard to make the decision but in a lot of ways, it’s
easy go make the decision,” Counsell said at a Tuesday
press conference. “It’s easy when you’ve got more
softball teams calling you than baseball teams, and those
softball teams want to DH for you.”

Counsell had two stints with the Diamondbacks. In March
of 2000, he signed as a free agent with Arizona after
being
released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Counsell became a
valuable utility player for the D-backs, eventually
becoming a starter in 2001.

The left-handed hitting infielder batted .381 with 4 runs
batted in during the 2001 National League Championship
Series against the Atlanta Braves, winning the series MVP
award.

Counsell had only two hits in the 2001 World Series
against
the Yankees, but one was a solo home run in the 1st inning
of Arizona’s 9-1 Game 1 win. Counsell was also hit by a
pitch by Mariano Rivera one batter before Luis Gonzalez
knocked in Jay Bell with the World Series-clinching run.

During the press conference, Counsell looked back fondly
at both the 2001 Series, and the 1997 World Series in
which he scored the game-winning run for the Florida
Marlins in Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians.

“You play in game sevens of World Series, tell me what’s
above that,” Counsell said. “Those are without a doubt
the two things that stand out.”

In 2003 the Diamondbacks traded Counsell, along with five
other players to Milwaukee in the trade that brought
Richie Sexson to Arizona. A year later, Counsell re-
signed with the Diamondbacks as a free agent. After
spending 2005 and 2006 with Arizona, Counsell again signed
with Milwaukee as a free agent.

Counsell ranks among the Diamondbacks’ all-time leaders in
games played, at bats, runs, hits and stolen bases, and is
ranked number one overall in team history in Defensive
WAR.

In 16 big league seasons with Colorado, Florida,
Los Angeles, Arizona and Milwaukee, Counsell hit .255 with
42 home runs, 390 runs batted in and had 1,208 hits.

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