Could Craig Counsell be the next New York Mets manager? Fans do not seem to be very enthused about the idea.
Since Buck Showalter parted ways with the team earlier this month, the New York Mets have been in the market for a new manager. However, fans have not exactly been supportive of the front office's seemingly thankless quest.
On October 25, reports emerged that Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell was interviewing for the vacant New York Mets managerial role. A former MLB player, Counsell has managed the Brewers since 2015, bringing the team to three first-place divisional finishes in that time.
"The Mets have received permission to interview Craig Counsell for their managerial position, reports @martinonyc. They will be interviewing him soon" - SNY Mets
Despite Counsell's decent managerial pedigreem Mets fans not embacing the option of having the 53-year old assume coaching duties for their team. In nine years with the Milwaukee Brewers, Counsell has failed to make it past the NLCS, despite commanding one of MLB's most competitive lineups.
On October 1, just as the Mets' disastrous 2023 season was ending, team owner Steve Cohen announced a big move. Former Brewers GM David Stearns would be coming on board as the Mets' new president of baseball operations.
Inheriting a raging fanbase was the least of Stearns' concerns. After manager Buck Showalter was fired, GM Billy Eppler submitted his resignation. All of a sudden, it seemed as though there was nobody to be held accountable for the team's dissapointing 75-87 performance, the eighth-worst in MLB.
Finishing twenty-nine games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East was not an easy pill for Mets fans to swallow. With further reports swirling of the team's possible play to ink Shohei Ohtani, fans will want a manager with a proven track record, and Craig Counsell does not seem to cut it.
Is Craig Counsell the man to turn the New York Mets around?
The problems that the New York Mets faced in 2023 were far larger than any one person, let alone their manager. Despite having one of the game's most established skippers in Buck Showalter, Mets' bats looked lost, and their pitching struggled mightily with consistency.
In truth, Craig Counsell is a strong manager who has shown an ability to manage a team successfully. That said, Mets fan, still duly embarrassed, want big moves made. It is likely that they will be expecting the acquisition of a far bigger name than Counsell to head up the team's clubhouse next season.