After two seasons at the helm, manager Craig Counsell agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension through 2020 with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.
The team announced the move ahead of what would have been the final year on his deal.
Counsell has led the Brew Crew to a 134-165 record, and they improved by 12 wins from 2015 to 2016 in going 73-89.
The 46-year-old Counsell had no previous managerial or coaching experience when he took the Milwaukee job in 2015, as he was a front office assistant and color analyst for the Brewers in the years following his retirement from playing in 2011.
Counsell played 16 MLB seasons as a utility infielder with the Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Brewers.
The South Bend, Indiana, native attended high school in Milwaukee and spent the final five seasons of his playing career with the Brewers.
Counsell took over a Milwaukee team that went 82-80 in 2014, and although the Brewers regressed in his first season, they began to bounce back as a younger team in 2016.
Much of Milwaukee’s pitching staff is under the age of 30, while young hitters such as shortstop Jonathan Villar, outfielder Domingo Santana and utility player Hernan Perez made significant strides last season.
Milwaukee will be hard-pressed to compete for a National League Central title in 2017 with the likes of the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, but thanks to the progress made in 2016, Counsell afforded himself the opportunity to help the club take another step forward.
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