Counsell wants no part of hitless record - Winona Daily News

MILWAUKEE - Craig Counsell has been involved in some historical moments during his 14-plus seasons in the major leagues.

He scored the winning run for the Florida Marlins in the 1997 World Series and was on base when the Arizona Diamondbacks scored the winning run in the 2001 World Series.

But there's a bit of baseball history the Milwaukee Brewers hope Counsell can avoid. The veteran utility infielder entered Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a hitless streak of 45 at-bats.

That's one short of the all-time record for a position player, set by Brooklyn catcher Bill Bergen in 1909. It turns out that wasn't unusual for Bergen, who had a .170 career batting average in 3,228 plate appearances - a dreadful figure even for the dead-ball era.

Manager Ron Roenicke wants nothing more than to spare Counsell, who turns 41 this month, the embarrassment of tying or breaking such a dubious record. But he knows the only way to guarantee that is to simply not let Counsell hit again, an option he doesn't see as realistic.

"Nobody wants that," Roenicke said. "I don't want to ever do something that's a negative for a player. But if I completely stay away from a guy, what does that do to him?

"He's one away, what do I do, never use him again the rest of the year? Then why is he here? He wouldn't want to be here if it came down to that. He's here because of what he does for this whole team. He's part of this team; he's a big part of this team."

Making the situation even more delicate is that Counsell, who grew up around the Brewers as the son of a team employee, has long been one of the team's most popular players, dating to an earlier stint with the team.

But that popularity is waning with each pop-up or infield dribbler that comes off his bat. Counsell's last hit came June 10, when he went 3-for-3 against St. Louis, and his lone highlight during that span was a walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth inning against Cincinnati on July 10.

While fans at Miller Park have generally been encouraging, the sentiment is not as friendly on talk radio or online, where he's considered a waste of a roster spot for a team in the thick of a pennant race.

Roenicke is just enough aware of those sentiments to dispute them.

"If people think that way they don't pay attention to the whole game," he said. "People don't understand what he brings to this team. It's easy to look at numbers and just say, How does he contribute?' About a week ago I put him at second base and he makes three great plays. How many guys can really go out and do that off the bench?

"Am I concerned? Of course I'm concerned. He's on this team, I'm concerned about him.

"I still see a good major league ballplayer, that's what I see. The way he carries himself, he's not hanging his head.

"When he makes an out and he comes back in here, does it bother him? Absolutely it bothers him. We all feel for him. But I think he's valuable for the stuff he does (on the field) and the stuff he does in (the clubhouse).

"What makes it more difficult is just trying to figure out the total package value he has to this team. The offensive part that he's not performing well at, it's a small part that he brings to this team."

If it's any consolation, Counsell still has a long way to go to break the record for all players. That mark is held by former Milwaukee Braves pitcher Bob Buhl, who went 0-for-87 from late 1961 to early 1963, including an 0-for-70 season in 1962.