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Hoyer and the Cubs agreed to a five-year, $40
million deal to hire Counsell days after his contract with the
Milwaukee Brewers expired.
"It just felt like an exceptionally hard decision but one that I
felt like I had to make if the opportunity was there," Hoyer
said at the general managers' meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., on
Tuesday. "My job is to figure out how to win as many games as we
can in the short term and the long term, and there was nothing
about this move that I felt like didn't meet that criteria."
Ross played for the World Series-winning Cubs in 2016 and was
hired to replace Joe Maddon after the 2019 season. Hoyer flew to
Florida this week to meet with Ross and deliver the news in
person. Hoyer said his message was the move wasn't about
replacing Ross, it was about not being able to pass on the
chance to hire Counsell.
"He's unbelievably sharp," Hoyer said of Counsell. "His sense of
what his job entails and the responsibility of his job stood out
to me. This guy wants to handle every singular part of the
process and views that as his responsibility. The way he views
the totality of everything as his responsibility."
Counsell said he took the job because he wanted a new challenge.
He also was a candidate for openings with the New York Mets and
Cleveland Guardians.
Hoyer added about Ross, "There was a suddenness to all this that
was unavoidable but unfortunate. I think the world of him. I
think he has an amazingly bright future. He'll land on his feet
and have a great career in this game for a long time. If it's a
really hard decision and I'm willing to make it, it feels like
I'm doing the right thing for the organization."
--Field Level Media
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