The Milwaukee Brewers may have advanced against the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. Still, manager Pat Murphy had something else on his mind after the Cubs-Brewers showdown. In a postgame reflection that carried more emotion than celebration, Murphy couldn’t hide his frustration over how Milwaukee fans have treated Craig Counsell. The former Brewers manager now leads the Cubs, but to Murphy, the boos that echo through American Family Field every time Counsell appears sting far deeper than a simple rivalry.
In baseball terms, Murphy and Counsell’s bond runs more than three decades deep. Their story began at Notre Dame in 1989 when Pat Murphy coached a young, undersized freshman named Craig Counsell. “I was tough on him, really inappropriately tough,” Murphy recalled. Yet that toughness forged respect and a lifelong friendship. Years later, after Counsell’s playing career ended, it was Murphy who found himself being taught the major league ropes by his former player.
When Counsell became Brewers manager, he pulled Murphy from the minors and made him his bench coach. The two men grew even closer through wins, losses, and the daily grind of baseball life. So when Counsell left Milwaukee for the Cubs, Murphy didn’t see betrayal. Instead, he saw a personal decision made by a loyal family man.
As the rivalry heated up again this October, Murphy couldn’t stay silent. “I hate that,” he said bluntly about the fans’ reaction. “If you know him and his family, they love Milwaukee.” Murphy shared that Counsell often spoke with local kids, especially young athletes, and always embraced his Wisconsin roots. To Murphy, that connection is what makes the hostility hurt most.
After the Brewers eliminated the Cubs in Game 5 of the NLDS, Counsell was waiting outside the clubhouse to congratulate Murphy and his son. The two hugged, proving their friendship endures beyond the diamond. “We’re real friends,” Murphy said. “That will never stop.”
For Murphy, that moment said it all. In baseball, rivalries may divide teams, but genuine respect and loyalty never fade.
