Water Tower Park Renamed in Honor of Craig Counsell

The Little League field that retired Milwaukee Brewer Craig Counsell played on as a kid will be named after the hometown hero.

, the home field for Whitefish Bay Little League located on the north end of Lydell Avenue, was renamed Craig Counsell Park Monday night through a resolution unanimously passed by the Village Board. The suggestion was made by a resident, who wished to remain anonymous.

Counsell grew up in Whitefish Bay, playing Little League in Water Tower Park and for the Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes at , where his old number 19 is hung on the fence by home plate.

After a 15-year major league career, including two World Series victories, Counsell retired in 2011 as the fourth-oldest player in the league. Graduating from Notre Dame and playing for the Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, he played his last five years of major league ball with the hometown Brewers.

Counsell is following in his father's footsteps by joining the Brewers' front office, where he works as special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin. Counsell and his wife live in Whitefish Bay and have four children.

New dugout

The park is also getting a makeover with new wooden dugouts.

Alan Deakin proposed to build open-air shelter dugouts on the majors field at the park as part of an Eagle Scout project.

Since approaching the village, Deakin has drafted engineering plans and will have to appear before the Architectural Review Commission for final approval. Deakin and his fellow scouts hope to have the project finished by Labor Day.

"(Alan) has done a real bang-up job on this," said Village Manager Pat DeGrave.