Former Diamondbacks GM Joe Garagiola Jr. saw Craig Counsell’s managerial qualities

MESA, Ariz. — During the last year of his 16-year playing career, Craig Counsell asked for advice.

Specifically, Counsell sought Joe Garagiola Jr., the general manager who resurrected his once-stagnant career with the Diamondbacks after he was released by the Dodgers with two weeks left in spring training in 2000.

Garagiola knew Counsell as a youth, and both were Notre Dame grads, but Garagiola provided favorable insight over a cup of coffee during the Brewers’ trip to Arizona.

“If you want to go to the front office, ultimately you’ll be a general manager,” Garagiola told Counsell. ‘‘And you’ll be great at that because you understand players, you understand what a team looks like with the component parts. You’ll be terrific.

“And if you want to stay on the field and be a manager, you will be great at that because you see the game, you understand the game, have a feel for it, and these are intangibles you can’t teach, and you have them.”

Those words helped sculpt Counsell’s future — first as a special assistant to Brewers GM Doug Melvin before returning to the field as manager one month into the 2015 season.

On Saturday, Counsell reflected on his post-playing career while tugging at the collar of his Cubs hoodie.

“Frankly, I did not think it would be this,” Counsell said of his manager role. “But doing that [front-office] job taught me that I loved doing this [managing].”

Counsell took over for Ron Roenicke in the Brewers’ dugout without any experience. But Bob Brenly quickly recognized Counsell’s baseball acumen once Brenly took over as the Diamondbacks’ manager in 2001.

“My initial thought was this guy should be on the coaching staff instead of on the active roster,” said Brenly, a color analyst on Diamondbacks telecasts. “He was that alert and aware of what was going on. It was really like having another coach on the field. He was one of the most prepared players I ever had.”

And Counsell’s impact on the Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Series title team came less than two years after he was cut by the Dodgers — his third team in three years — and facing an uncertain future.

“It was hard for me to figure out,” Brenly said. “Maybe his talent didn’t say he was gong to be a perennial All-Star, but his knowledge of the game and the abilities he did bring to the field made him more than a serviceable player. He was indispensable on that 2001 team.”

Garagiola, however, held Counsell in even higher regard.

“When he was with the Marlins, we were in Miami [in 1998], and on the field I said, ‘The only reason I can’t get you in a trade is because you’re not making enough money,’ ’’ Garagiola quipped, referring to the Marlins’ fire sale after the 1997 World Series.

“When I saw the Dodgers released him, I was on it immediately, calling his agent [Barry Meister] and saying we’ve got to work something out.”

When the Diamondbacks returned from a one-game trip to Hermosillo, Mexico, Garagiola turned on his cell phone and was happy to learn from Meister that a deal had been finalized.

“I was not going to let anyone beat me out on Craig Counsell,” Garagiola said.

Counsell sensed another team would be interested, but he admitted it was odd to be at his Florida home on St. Patrick’s Day.

“I knew I’d have to go to the minor leagues,” Counsell said. “I was fine with that. I felt I could prove myself and wanted to play every day and get myself going.”

Counsell’s experiences have helped him handle tough news, such as telling veterans that they won’t make the Opening Day roster. He also can share his observations as an opposing manager with his current players and provide the occasional quip.

“The players pick up on that,” Garagiola said. “It just makes everybody feel better about things. He’s not guessing or playing hunches. Whatever he’s doing is grounded in real-time information. And you can’t fool players with that. They know and have pretty good X-ray machines.”