Monday, October 29, 2001
Counsell's calling is postseason
By Tim Sullivan
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PHOENIX — Craig Counsell is the Diamondback in the rough.
He's all grit and no glamour, a ballplayer who leads the league in stains accumulated and deeds unnoticed. Arizona pitcher Randy Johnson, reflecting on the contributions of his second baseman, referred to Counsell during a recent interview as “Greg.”
Some guys are easily overlooked unless you're paying close attention. Counsell is that kind of guy, October excepted.
Something happens to Counsell when the leaves begin to fall, and it leaves those around him bemused and befuddled. Six months a year, Counsell is a dirty shirt, a gamer, a ballplayer who survives by diving after ground balls and getting the bunt down under duress. Then, in the games that matter most, he resurfaces as a star.
Counsell was at it again Saturday night, swatting the second-inning home run that told the New York Yankees this World Series would be different; a competition rather than a coronation. It was Counsell's second home run of the postseason — the first one having swung the National League Championship Series — and about as improbable as a Barry Bonds bunt.
“I'm not trying to grab the spotlight or anything,” he explained. “I'm just trying to help my team win.”
Counsell is a journeyman who has endured by understanding his limitations and recognizing his role. He played all four infield positions for the Diamondbacks this season and accumulated only eight errors in his travels. He was both adaptable and adept, skilled at advancing runners and taking pitches and all of the subtle things that never show up on SportsCenter.
Asked to identify the source of his post-season power, Counsell is as confused as anyone.
“I can't really explain it,” he said the other day. “All I can say is my approach in the regular season is the same as it is in the post-season. And maybe my approach in the regular season is one that is better suited for the post-season. You know what I mean?”
Seize the moment
In theory, the player who concentrates on the task at hand and not the magnitude of the moment has a better chance of succeeding on the postseason stage. In practice, postseason success is hard to predict. World Series history has been written by both Babe Ruth and Luis Sojo; Cookie Lavagetto as well as Willie Mays.
For Counsell, Saturday's home run was the start of his second chapter.
In 1997, Counsell was a member of the Florida Marlins, and responsible for some of the finest moments of that endangered franchise. It was his swing that tied the seventh game of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, and it was his foot that later plopped on home plate with the winning run.
Expendable
Despite this experience, Counsell remained expendable. He moved from the Marlins to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who cut him loose in the spring of 2000. In one of those transactions typically reported in agate type, Arizona signed him to a minor-league contract.
Rather than take the hint and prepare for his post-baseball career, Counsell seized the opportunity and earned promotion. Last week, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the NLCS.
“Home runs are a rarity,' Craig Counsell said Saturday night. “I've hit a couple this postseason, but I'm not going to say it is an accident. But it is out of the norm, I guess. My game is getting on base for the middle of the lineup. That's what I try to do. The home runs are just a bonus.”
Contact Tim Sullivan at 768-8456; fax: 768-8550; e-mail: tsullivan@enquirer.com.
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Counsell's calling is postseason
