Baseball’s work-life balance? Counsell, Shelton try to find time for family
PITTSBURGH — Pirates manager Derek Shelton missed Thursday's game against the Cubs to attend his son Jackson's college graduation at Florida Atlantic.
Craig Counsell sent his approval. Counsell has two sons playing college baseball, at Northwestern and Kansas, and rarely sees them play live.
“Yeah, I'm actually happy Derek Shelton's missing the game today,” Counsell said before the contest. “We texted each other last night, and I'm happy that he's happy he's doing that, because it does feel sometimes hard to walk away from things. Examples of that perspective are helpful for us, helpful for everybody.”
Counsell actually skipped two games while he was manager of the Brewers to attend his sons' high school graduations in 2021 and '23. He also has two daughters, Finley and Rowan, the youngest still in high school. He missed Finley's graduation last year.
“We all think about the work-life balance, you know?” Counsell said. “So it's no different than anybody else's job, really.”
Is it? Personal days can be difficult in any profession, but an entire baseball team is expected to show up for work 162 times per season.
“It's a funny thing, I always enjoy having that conversation with maybe the non-sports world: 'No, can't take a day off. Not an option,’” Counsell said, before providing a sample exchange:
“'You going to be here this weekend?'
“'No.'
“'Why not?'
“'There are no days off.'”
Home for Counsell is still suburban Milwaukee. So even though he's likely to be booed constantly when the Cubs face the Brewers this weekend at American Family Field, it's still home.
“I'm going home and getting some work-life balance,” Counsell said with a smile. “So I'm happy about that.”
Counsell's younger son, Jack, spent his freshman year at Michigan, then transferred to Northwestern searching for more playing time. That part has panned out, since he has 28 starts this spring, mostly at second base. Jack could be seen hanging out at Wrigley Field with his dad late last summer.
But despite the proximity, Counsell has not made it over to Evanston for a game. His older son, Brady, transferred from Minnesota to Kansas this year and has started every game for the No. 23 Jayhawks. Playing mostly third base or left field, Brady is hitting .291 with 11 home runs and might get a chance in the minor leagues after the season.
Counsell actually did get a chance to watch Brady play — and hit a home run — because Kansas played a series at Arizona State in March, right after the Cubs returned from Japan. According to Counsell, he did not get acknowledgment from his son while rounding the bases, the way Pete Crow-Armstrong pointed at his parents at Dodger Stadium a few weeks ago.
Obviously, there are sacrifices that go along with the financial benefits of serving as a major-league manager. It's a job very few people have ever walked away from voluntarily. And there was just a three-year gap between Counsell's final year as a player and first as a manager.
“It's the life you know, it's the life my family knows,” he said. “So it's actually very normalized. It's like, 'Why are you home?'”