Craig Counsell

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1995-2011)

Craig Counsell was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2011 for 5 teams, including the Colorado Rockies, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,624 career games, he hit .255 with 1,208 hits, 42 home runs, and 390 RBI. Craig Counsell was an NLCS MVP.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .255
HR 42
RBI 390
H 1,208
OPS .686
PIV -5,877
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
8/21/1970 in South Bend, IN, USA
MLB Debut
1995-09-17
Last Game
2011-09-28
Awards
NLCS MVP

Full name: Craig John Counsell

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Career Batting Statistics

Craig Counsell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,624 4,741 647 1,208 218 40 42 390 103 589 663 .255 .342 .344 .686 -5,877

Career AVG .255 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .342 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .344 vs. league average .421 across their career seasons — 18.2% below league average.

Career OPS .686 vs. league average .755 across their career seasons — 9.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Craig Counsell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1995 COL NL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1997 COL NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1997 FLO NL 51 164 20 49 9 2 1 16 1 18 17 .299 .266 (+12%) .336 (+12%) .419 (-5%) .756 (+2%) 0.0
1998 FLO NL 107 335 43 84 19 5 4 40 3 51 47 .251 .266 (-6%) .335 (+6%) .420 (-11%) .755 (-4%) -91.0
1999 FLO NL 37 66 4 10 1 0 0 2 0 5 10 .152 .271 (-44%) .344 (-39%) .433 (-62%) .778 (-51%) -573.5
1999 LAN NL 50 108 20 28 6 0 0 9 1 9 14 .259 .271 (-4%) .344 (-10%) .433 (-27%) .778 (-20%) -573.5
2000 ARI NL 67 152 23 48 8 1 2 11 3 20 18 .316 .270 (+17%) .344 (+16%) .437 (-4%) .782 (+5%) 216.9
2001 ARI NL 141 458 76 126 22 3 4 38 6 61 76 .275 .263 (+4%) .332 (+8%) .426 (-15%) .758 (-5%) -246.5
2002 ARI NL 112 436 63 123 22 1 2 51 7 45 52 .282 .261 (+8%) .331 (+5%) .416 (-16%) .747 (-6%) -364.7
2003 ARI NL 89 303 40 71 6 3 3 21 11 41 32 .234 .264 (-11%) .332 (-1%) .422 (-28%) .754 (-16%) -723.6
2004 MIL NL 140 473 59 114 19 5 2 23 17 59 88 .241 .266 (-9%) .335 (-2%) .427 (-26%) .762 (-15%) -1108.2
2005 ARI NL 150 578 85 148 34 4 9 42 26 78 69 .256 .264 (-3%) .330 (+6%) .418 (-10%) .749 (-3%) -130.5
2006 ARI NL 105 372 56 95 14 4 4 30 15 31 47 .255 .269 (-5%) .336 (-3%) .431 (-20%) .768 (-12%) -700.9
2007 MIL NL 122 282 31 62 12 2 3 24 4 41 47 .220 .268 (-18%) .335 (-4%) .422 (-27%) .758 (-17%) -706.8
2008 MIL NL 110 248 31 56 14 1 1 14 3 46 42 .226 .263 (-14%) .333 (+7%) .416 (-27%) .749 (-12%) -346.1
2009 MIL NL 130 404 61 115 22 8 4 39 3 42 54 .285 .262 (+8%) .332 (+7%) .417 (-2%) .750 (+2%) 201.7
2010 MIL NL 102 204 16 51 8 0 2 21 1 21 29 .250 .257 (-3%) .325 (-1%) .402 (-21%) .728 (-12%) -348.4
2011 MIL NL 107 157 19 28 2 1 1 9 2 20 21 .178 .255 (-30%) .320 (-13%) .399 (-44%) .719 (-30%) -704.2
Career · 18 seasons 1,624 4,741 647 1,208 218 40 42 390 103 589 663 .255 — — — — -6,199

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Craig Counsell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
41 118 12 27 5 0 2 14 12 23 .229

Playoff Batting by Year

Craig Counsell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2011 NLCS MIL 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2011 NLDS2 MIL 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 NLDS2 MIL 4 12 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .167
2001 NLCS ARI 5 21 5 8 3 0 0 4 0 3 .381
2001 NLDS2 ARI 5 16 2 3 0 0 1 3 2 2 .188
2001 WS ARI 6 24 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 7 .083
1997 NLCS FLO 5 14 0 6 0 0 0 2 3 3 .429
1997 NLDS1 FLO 3 5 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 .400
1997 WS FLO 7 22 4 4 1 0 0 2 6 5 .182

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1624 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Craig Counsell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home822232131957123205.246
Away802242032863719185.263

Last 10 Games — Batting

Craig Counsell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2011-09-28 MILPITW 101000000
2011-09-26 MILPITL 301000000
2011-09-25 MILMIAW 100000100
2011-09-24 MILMIAW 000000000
2011-09-21 MILCHCL 100000000
2011-09-17 MILCINW 321000010
2011-09-11 MILPHIW 000000010
2011-09-10 MILPHIL 000000000
2011-09-07 MILSTLL 100000000
2011-09-06 MILSTLL 300000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Craig Counsell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 4 0 4 1 0 1
2B 574 485 1080 1527 23 346
3B 385 276 213 624 22 59
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 478 383 546 1204 34 266

Season-by-Season Fielding

Craig Counsell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1995 COL SS 3 0 1 1 0 1
1997 FLO 2B 51 47 124 149 3 37
1998 FLO 2B 104 101 237 299 5 72
1999 FLO 2B 12 10 20 29 1 4
1999 LAN 2B 38 23 54 85 1 13
1999 LAN SS 2 0 0 1 0 0
2000 ARI 2B 25 15 32 43 2 12
2000 ARI 3B 23 13 3 37 2 6
2000 ARI SS 6 5 3 15 2 2
2001 ARI 1B 2 0 1 1 0 0
2001 ARI 2B 55 45 95 133 1 34
2001 ARI 3B 38 22 27 58 2 4
2001 ARI SS 58 46 70 124 5 31
2002 ARI 2B 13 10 24 23 0 5
2002 ARI 3B 94 88 66 194 7 13
2002 ARI SS 22 11 23 37 1 8
2003 ARI 1B 2 0 3 0 0 1
2003 ARI 2B 10 7 9 22 0 5
2003 ARI 3B 57 49 32 105 2 9
2003 ARI SS 26 18 23 66 1 9
2004 MIL 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2004 MIL SS 129 128 165 357 9 70
2005 ARI 2B 143 140 305 459 8 97
2005 ARI SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
2006 ARI 2B 2 2 5 7 0 0
2006 ARI 3B 7 2 2 6 0 0
2006 ARI SS 88 83 127 296 9 75
2007 MIL 2B 24 22 46 61 1 14
2007 MIL 3B 50 27 21 73 0 10
2007 MIL SS 27 17 20 55 1 14
2008 MIL 2B 19 11 16 42 0 5
2008 MIL 3B 38 30 23 54 1 6
2008 MIL SS 24 19 30 73 2 13
2009 MIL 2B 50 44 92 131 0 37
2009 MIL 3B 43 27 27 58 4 5
2009 MIL SS 27 19 35 70 1 20
2010 MIL 2B 3 1 3 7 1 2
2010 MIL 3B 20 9 7 20 3 5
2010 MIL SS 42 25 30 79 2 17
2011 MIL 2B 25 7 18 37 0 9
2011 MIL 3B 14 9 5 19 1 1
2011 MIL OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
2011 MIL SS 23 12 19 30 1 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Craig Counsell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 4
Second Base 574
Third Base 385
Shortstop 478
Left Field 1

Awards & Honors

Craig Counsell — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2001 NLCS MVP

Salary History

Craig Counsell's recorded salaries total $20,980,001 over 13 seasons, 1997 to 2011. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Counsell's career ran from 1995 to 2011. No salary is recorded for 1995, 2000, and 2001.

Craig Counsell — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2011 MIL NL $1,400,000
2010 MIL NL $2,100,000
2009 MIL NL $1,000,000
2008 MIL NL $2,800,000
2007 MIL NL $2,800,000
2006 ARI NL $1,750,000
2005 ARI NL $1,350,000
2004 MIL NL $3,166,667
2003 ARI NL $2,516,667
2002 ARI NL $1,516,667
1999 FLO NL $245,000
1998 FLO NL $185,000
1997 FLO NL $150,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $20,980,001

College History

Craig Counsell — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Notre Dame South Bend IN 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Craig Counsell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Walt Weiss
    .258 avg, 25 HR
  2. 94
    Scott Fletcher
    .262 avg, 34 HR
  3. 83
    Connie Ryan
    .248 avg, 56 HR
  4. 82
    Luis Alicea
    .260 avg, 47 HR
  5. 81
    Spike Owen
    .246 avg, 46 HR
  6. 81
    Mickey Morandini
    .268 avg, 32 HR

Craig Counsell: the record in brief

According to the bio, Craig Counsell debuted on September 17, 1995 and played a final game on September 28, 2011. The team column moves through the Colorado Rockies (1995 to 1997), the Florida Marlins (1997 to 1999), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1999), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2000 through 2006), and the Milwaukee Brewers (2004 to 2011). Listed as a second baseman, Counsell batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6'0" and 180 pounds. The birth record reads August 21, 1970, in South Bend, IN, USA. Counsell's full given name, per the bio, is Craig John Counsell.

Counsell's career batting table shows 1,624 games, 4,741 at bats and 1,208 hits, a .255 average, along with 42 homers, 390 runs batted in, and 103 stolen bases. Counsell got on base at a .342 rate and slugged .344 (.686 OPS). The .255 career average is close to the .265 the league hit across the same seasons. 2005 produced Counsell's most hits, 148 of them for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 2002 brought the most runs batted in, 51. On the bases, the high point was 26 steals in 2005.

Frequently Asked Questions about Craig Counsell

What years did Craig Counsell play?
Craig Counsell played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2011.
Was Craig Counsell a pitcher?
No. Craig Counsell was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Craig Counsell hit?
Craig Counsell hit 42 career home runs with 1,208 hits.
What teams did Craig Counsell play for?
Craig Counsell played for 5 teams: the Colorado Rockies (1995, 1997), the Florida Marlins (1997–1999), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1999), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2000–2003, 2005–2006), and the Milwaukee Brewers (2004, 2007–2011).
What were Craig Counsell's career stats?
In 1,624 games, Craig Counsell had 1,208 hits, 42 home runs, 390 RBI, 647 runs, and 103 stolen bases, with a .255 batting average.
How much did Craig Counsell earn in his career?
Craig Counsell's recorded salaries total $20,980,001 over 13 seasons, 1997 to 2011. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Counsell's career ran from 1995 to 2011. No salary is recorded for 1995, 2000, and 2001.
What was Craig Counsell's salary?
Craig Counsell's last recorded salary was $1,400,000, in 2011. His highest recorded salary was $3,166,667, in 2004, and his lowest was $150,000, in 1997. The Salary History table lists each season from 1997 to 2011.
What position did Craig Counsell play?
Craig Counsell played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Craig Counsell and how much did he weigh?
Craig Counsell was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did Craig Counsell hit each season?
Craig Counsell's home runs by season: 0 in 1995, 1 in 1997, 4 in 1998, 0 in 1999, 2 in 2000, 4 in 2001, 2 in 2002, 3 in 2003, 2 in 2004, 9 in 2005, 4 in 2006, 3 in 2007, 1 in 2008, 4 in 2009, 2 in 2010, and 1 in 2011. His most in one season was 9, in 2005.
What was Craig Counsell's career batting average?
Craig Counsell batted .255 over his career, with 1,208 hits in 4,741 at bats.
How many RBI did Craig Counsell have?
Craig Counsell drove in 390 runs in his career.
Is Craig Counsell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Craig Counsell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.