Craig Counsell: 3 things to know about NY Mets manager candidate who will be interviewed

Craig Counsell is the only manager that New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has known while leading a Major League Baseball franchise.

When Stearns took over as the Milwaukee Brewers' general manager in 2015, Counsell was finishing his first season managing the club. Now, with Counsell's contract expiring and Stearns leading the Mets front office, the former major leaguer was the one major logical candidate for the Mets' manager vacancy following Buck Showalter's dismissal.

According the SNY's Andy Martino, the Brewers have granted the Mets permission to talk with Counsell before his contract expires after October.

With that, here are three things the Mets should know about Counsell:

1. Wisconsin roots

Counsell's roots both as a manager and a player have Wisconsin origins. He graduated from Whitefish Bay High School and stayed in the Midwest as he attended Notre Dame out of high school.

Counsell spent six seasons working across the Brewers' infield, including the final five seasons in his 16-year major-league career.

After retiring from his playing career in 2011, Counsell jumped into a front office role as a special assistant to Doug Melvin and later spent time in the Brewers' radio broadcast booth in 2014. Counsell was hired as Brewers manager after Ron Roenicke was fired in the 2015 season.

The question could be whether the Mets will be able to pry Counsell away from the Midwest. He and his wife, Michelle, have four kids, with his two sons playing college baseball at Minnesota and Michigan, and his two daughters still in high school at Whitefish.

2. Will he leave the Brewers?

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has voiced his hopes that the team would be able to retain Counsell beyond the 2023 season.

The 53-year-old has helped lead the Brewers to regular success since taking over in 2015. In his nine seasons as manager, Counsell posted a 707-625 record (.531 winning percentage) with three NL Central division titles, five postseason appearances, including the National League Championship Series in 2018, and finishing second in NL Manager of the Year voting three times.

Counsell has led the Brewers to winning records in six of his last seven seasons at the helm.

3. His wacky batting stance and clutch moments

Counsell has won a pair of World Series titles - 1997 with the Florida Marlins and 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The infielder, who spent more than 385 games at second base, shortstop and third base over his career, was known for his unusual batting stance where he held his bat high above his head.

Counsell had a flare for the dramatic in each of those memorable seasons, tying 1997's Game 7 with the Cleveland Indians with a sacrifice fly and scoring the winning run. He was named the MVP of the 2021 NLCS after going 8-for-21 with three doubles, five runs, four RBI and one stolen base in the Diamondbacks' series win over the Atlanta Braves.

Counsell collected 1,208 hits and 647 runs over the course of his career, finishing with a lifetime OPS of .686.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets manager candidates: Craig Counsell to be interviewed