Brewers officially name Craig Counsell as manager

— -- The Milwaukee Brewers named Craig Counsell as their new manager Monday, less than 24 hours after firing Ron Roenicke.

Counsell, who had served as a special assistant to Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, signed a three-year contract to be Milwaukee's manager.

Counsell, 44, is a Milwaukee-area native who spent six seasons of his 16-year big league career playing for the Brewers.

"I am grateful and honored to have the opportunity to manage the team that I rooted for, played for and worked for in the front office," Counsell said in a statement released by the team. "In the 10 years that I have been a member of the organization, I have grown to feel a great responsibility to baseball in the city of Milwaukee."

Counsell will replace Roenicke, who was fired Sunday night after the Brewers started the season with a major-league-worst 7-18 record. Melvin told reporters that the decision "came together fairly quick," pointing to a lack of "consistency" under Roenicke.

Milwaukee started 20-7 in 2014 and spent 150 of the regular season's 183 days alone in first or tied for the NL Central lead, including every day from April 5 through Aug. 31. The Brewers skidded to a 9-22 finish and wound up third in the division, eight games back of St. Louis and two behind Pittsburgh.

"This has been a difficult time for the Brewers, and we all share the responsibility," Counsell said. "I understand the work ahead to be the team our fans deserve. We have challenges ahead of us, and I look forward to working tirelessly to achieve our goals."

Counsell scored the winning run for the Florida Marlins in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series and was MVP of the 2001 NLCS for Arizona. He had been Melvin's special assistant since 2012 and was among the candidates last offseason to succeed Joe Maddon as Tampa Bay's manager.

"Craig has many years of major league playing experience, and his three-plus years of learning all aspects of baseball operations helps prepare him for this managerial position," Melvin said in a statement. "There will be challenges, but Craig has never shied away from leadership responsibilities on the field as a player or in his most recent role.

"I believe his on-field success as a player and his awareness for preparation should resonate in the clubhouse. Growing up in Milwaukee, it is very important for him to bring a winning culture and team success to Brewers fans."

Roenicke became the first manager fired 25 games or fewer into a season since 2002, according to Stats. Detroit's Phil Garner (six games), Milwaukee's Davey Lopes (15), Colorado's Buddy Bell (22) and Kansas City's Tony Muser (23) were all let go quickly that year.

In just over four seasons with the Brewers, the 58-year-old Roenicke was 342-331.

In his first season as major league manager in 2011, Roenicke led the Brewers to a 96-66 record -- the best in team history -- and the NL Central title. The Brewers beat Arizona in the first round of the playoffs and lost to St. Louis in the NLCS.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.