900th win – Craig Counsell celebrated his 900th victory as Cubs manager with a quirky Malört ritual, reflecting on mentorship, information-driven baseball, and the long road to milestone success.
SAN DIEGO — The bitter taste of victory, at least according to the Cubs’ celebration Tuesday night, arrived in a small bottle.
On the road in San Diego. players and staff marked Craig Counsell’s 900th win as a major-league manager by urging him to try Jeppson’s Malört. a Chicago-adjacent liqueur known as much for its reputation as for its flavor.. The moment was more than a joke; it became a window into how milestones land in modern sports—part historic. part human. and often shared with a team’s own rituals.
For Counsell, the number itself carried the weight of longevity.. He reflected on what it means to reach a round milestone that places him 78 wins behind the all-time manager list leader Jimy Williams. and fifth among active managers.. Behind the math. he returned to something simpler: you spend a long time in the game. and the best parts aren’t just the numbers but the people—players getting their chances. doing the job. and earning trust when it matters most.
“You think about players No.. 1,” Counsell said, describing the mindset that comes with being around long enough to see careers develop.. In his telling. the “rewarding moments” show up in ordinary ways: a reliever getting a shot over a short stretch. a call that turns into a dependable outing. a player’s growth that can be measured in outcomes but recognized in temperament.
That perspective also shapes how he talks about mentorship at mid-50s—an age where. for managers. the role naturally tilts from learning toward teaching while still requiring constant adjustment.. Counsell acknowledged that he still considers himself in a student mode. not because the fundamentals change overnight. but because leadership is built on feedback loops.. There is no finishing school for managing in the majors, and the season doesn’t pause for reflection.
Part of that continuity comes from relationships.. Counsell described how he stays in touch with other managers by phone and by check-ins that are less about nostalgia and more about practical calibration.. Even when they aren’t lifelong friends. he said. there’s a shared understanding that questions can be run both ways—covering everything from strategy to day-to-day decision-making.. Winter meetings may gather managers under one roof. but they also bring trade and roster talk that turns conversations into working sessions.
There’s also a broader coaching culture beyond baseball that Counsell taps into.. He said he favors basketball coaches for the common threads—managing people upward to front offices and downward to players—and he described a visit to University of San Diego basketball coaches while in San Diego.. He even pointed to content from social media that he finds useful. including the work of women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson at Duke.
In a league where analytics dominate headlines, Counsell offered a more personal framing.. He said he doesn’t like the label “analytics. ” preferring the more neutral word “information”—a distinction that matters because it shifts focus from buzzwords to application.. To him. the real task isn’t collecting data for its own sake; it’s absorbing it and conveying it clearly enough that players and staff can use it under pressure.
That approach reflects a background he credits to Notre Dame, including a degree in accounting.. He joked about the mismatch between what he studied and what he became. but the implication was straightforward: numbers taught him a discipline. and baseball leadership demands that kind of clarity.. Even when the sport changes—more video. more measurement. more rapid decision cycles—the job remains about converting knowledge into execution.
The Malört moment may have been the most visual part of Counsell’s 900-win night. but it was also a reminder that leadership in sports is often built on small acts that create team identity.. A milestone can be celebrated with something silly. yet still communicate professionalism: the same person who allows himself one last laugh is also the manager thinking about how to keep players learning. keep staff aligned. and keep the organization moving forward.
For fans, it’s an easier story to carry than a spreadsheet.. Counsell’s message—about rewarding journeys. ongoing learning. and the shared craft of managing—lands beyond the ballpark because it mirrors how careers grow in the real world.. And as his place in the active-manager conversation continues to climb. the question will be less about whether he can reach the next number and more about what kind of team culture he builds each time the calendar turns.