The Chicago Cubs took some flak when they signed former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell to a 5-year, $40 million contract prior to the 2024 season, making him the highest paid MLB manager of all-time.
Counsell’s first year as team skipper didn’t really win over any of the doubters as the team finished an uneven season with a “meh” 83-79 record and, once again, failed to make the playoffs.
This year, though, the team has looked stellar as it played through MLB’s toughest start-of-schedule to earn a pretty firm first place position atop the NL Central Division.
And much of this very early success can be attributed to Counsell’s molding of the team into a multi-tooled offense that can adapt to the always unpredictable weather conditions of Wrigley Field.
Working With The Unpredictable Wrigley Field
Veteran Cubs observers can attest to the realities of Wrigley. With the wind blowing out, it’s a big-time hitter’s park. With the wind blowing in, it’s a big-time pitcher’s park. In the frigid cold, the game play goes one way; In the humid heat, the game play goes another.
Last season, the swirling winds at Wrigley were mostly blowing in, turning it into one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in all of baseball. Stats reveal that, in 2024, Wrigley registered the second-lowest batting average and slugging percentage among major league parks. It also had the lowest home run rate in all of the MLB.
Cubs pitching reaped the benefits of those conditions, posting a 3.08 ERA at home versus a 4.53 ERA on the road.
The Cubs offense, however, was stifled. Inconsistent run production was a running issue throughout the 2024 campaign.
The 2025 Chicago Cubs’ Focus On Versatility
This year, there seemed to be a conscious effort to diversify the offense in an attempt to avoid those long stretches where the hitters seemed at the mercy of Wrigley’s weather conditions.
So far, the effort has been a success.
“A lot of the offseason for me was about, where can we create advantages for our group of players?” Counsell recently told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “It’s kind of like a therapist. You have to acknowledge Wrigley. There are 13 position players and 13 pitchers. Every day, one side’s pissed, one side’s happy. But we’ve got to win a baseball game.”
“When the wind is blowing in? The home run doesn’t exist. It’s baseball without a home run,” Counsell continued. “It’s really embracing that. And maybe if the other team doesn’t completely embrace that, we can get an advantage. It’s the same conditions. Can we just be a little ahead of it?”
Sculpting a team into one that can thrive on the long ball as well as succeed at small ball isn’t easy, but the Cubs front office did just that and Counsell has been the on-field general utilizing that multi-front offense.
The Team Has Embraced That Mindset
From hearing the comments of Cubs players, it’s pretty clear that this versatility approach has become a standard talking point for the team.
“He [Counsell] encourages us to be smart and athletic on the bases and with the way we play the game in general,” infielder Jon Berti told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “It’s understanding that Wrigley can change day to day. Wind blowing in, wind blowing out, cold, hot, whatever, we got to find different ways to win.”
Pitcher Jameson Taillon is also emphasizing the mindset.
“It’s a good brand of baseball we’re playing,” Taillon also told The Athletic. “I remember watching the really good Cubs teams and playing against the really good Cubs teams in ’16, ’17, ’18. They found a way to win the shootouts and the close one-run games.
“We’re trying to get back to that. When the wind’s blowing out, we can slug with anyone. But when it’s blowing in, we know we have great defense. So on the pitching side, just throw strikes, mix pitches and let our defense work. On the offensive side, just run the bases really hard, take the extra 90 feet, hustle on everything.”
All of this seems like good, smart, practical strategy for the Cubs. It does make one wonder, though, why nobody’s gone this route before.
Maybe because Craig Counsell wasn’t there?
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