Crazy stance and all, Counsell will be missed

Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
September 29, 2006

We looked through the newspaper's archives and found lots of references to his batting stance, described variously as "corkscrew," "heli-crazy," "Tilt-a-Whirl," and "a chiropractor's dream."

But not one story about how it got that way.

Immediately, we assumed that Arizona State coach Pat Murphy taught him the thing, probably as a practical joke because that's how Murphy rolls.

Remember, Murphy coached Counsell during his formative years at Notre Dame, where he was Murphy's first recruit - if you count giving a guy $500 worth of scholarship money "recruiting" him.

"It came down to us and Wisconsin," Murphy said. "And Wisconsin didn't have a baseball team."

See what we mean?

Anyway, the stance . . .

"You know I didn't teach him that crazy stance, hell no," Murphy snorted. "The kid has gone to hell in a hand basket since I had him, hasn't he?"

Murphy's kidding, of course. Counsell is in his 11th major league season.

"He had a real standard, sound batting stance," Murphy remembered, semi-serious this time. "I used to kid him about being an 'ear dropper.' He'd drop his left ear to the ground as he swung the bat.

"But if you look at his numbers in college, his walks to strikeouts were incredible; he hit 15 or 16 home runs one year - and that's up in the cold country.

"And he was a great leadoff hitter because he could hit a double or a home run, or he could get you a hit with two strikes on him. He can hit with two strikes as good as anybody."

So, any idea where the stance came from?

"I don't know," Murphy conceded. "I just tell him, 'You need help, man.' "

Murphy remembers Counsell weighing only 135 pounds when he started at Notre Dame.

"I say it all the time, but he just kept getting better," he said. "He's bright as all get out and he was not going to be denied. He's going to figure out a way. He's not a guy who is going to knock down the door, but he'll figure out a way to make you let him in.

"I think he's an amazing story, and one of the great examples for any kid. There's a kid at McClintock who idolizes him, and his dad is going to get him out of school early so he can go meet him (today). This kid weighs 105 pounds, but he's a hell of a baseball player."

Murphy said Counsell is a great role model for undersized athletes because he didn't let it keep him from the big leagues.

"I wasn't smart enough to play him in the infield his first year," he said. "I was afraid he'd get hurt by a ball.

"I'm serious. I was trying to teach him third base his sophomore year and kept hitting bombs at him with the fungo. I thought I could make him tough, so I was hitting them hard on this really bad field we had and one took a bad hop and broke his nose. He had a small nose before I hit him.

"As he was leaving, with blood everywhere, I said, 'Counsell, don't think a broken nose is going to get you out of taking fungos.' I was kidding, but sure enough he came back at 5:30, it was about zero out and he wanted to take some more.

"I felt horrible because I was joking. But he took them."

About that time, something clicked with Murphy because he shifted gears back to the batting stance. He does these things.

"Here's my theory, and I've never said it to him," he said. "Carl Yastrzemski was at Notre Dame way back. He was there for one semester as a freshman. A lot of people don't know that.

"Craig's dad (John) was around at that time because Craig was born in South Bend (Ind). I think there's some Yaz influence. He'll read that and say it's bull."

Murphy might be onto something. The Red Sox great was known for holding his hands unusually high, although he lowered them later in his career.

"Or," Murphy continued, "maybe he just wanted to stick out so people will remember him."

We decided there was only one way to know for sure. So we asked Counsell.

"I got released by the Dodgers in 2000 and signed with Arizona," he said. "I had a poor year the year before, and had a bad spring training. I was struggling hitting, so I was trying to switch it up.

"I think it was the first day there, and I was working with Dwayne Murphy just trying things, experimenting. That's how it happened."

Counsell said he felt like he was taking a "loopy" path to the ball and wanted to get his hands high to make sure he was hitting down at the baseball more.

"That's why I thought in my mind it would work," he said. "I feel like it's always changing."

He said he is asked about a lot by kids.

"And angry fathers," he added. "Lots of angry fathers."

Of course, there is no greater compliment than imitation, and Counsell admits it's flattering when he sees kids trying to copy his stance.

"I get a lot of moms and dads, who tell their kid, 'Show Craig your imitation.' And when we go to other cities, fans probably know me more for that than anything I've done on the field."