Counsell latest manager to face former team in postseason

In 2023, Craig Counsell piloted the Brewers to 92 wins along with the third division title and fifth playoff appearance in his eight years at the helm. Counsell, however, became a free agent after that season, and the Cubs swooped in quickly.

Just two years later, Counsell found himself in an odd position, as Chicago squared off with Milwaukee in the 2025 NLDS. That's tied for the fewest seasons between a manager leaving one club and then facing said club in the playoffs. Counsell's old team -- now led by Pat Murphy -- got the best of their former manager, as the Brewers eliminated the Cubs in a decisive fifth game.

Here is a list of other managers -- including a couple of Hall of Famers -- who matched up against their previous team in October soon after moving off of their bench. The list is ordered by the number of seasons between the manager's departure from a team and when they saw that team in the postseason.

• Cubs-Brewers NLDS Game 1 FAQ (Sat., 2 p.m. ET, TBS)

2 seasons: John McNamara, Red Sox, 1986 ALCS vs. CAL
Angels manager, 1983-84

McNamara took over the the reigning AL West champions in 1983, but the club faltered that season (70-92) and worked its way up to only .500 in 1984. With his contract expired, McNamara decided to move on to Boston, which hadn't been to the postseason in 10 years. In his second season, McNamara got the team all the way to the World Series. On the way there, the Red Sox ran into the Angels in the ALCS. Boston climbed out of a 3-1 series deficit in a matchup that will be forever remembered for Dave Henderson's go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning of Game 5, with the Red Sox one strike away from elimination.

The '86 pennant gave McNamara his only trip to the Fall Classic in 19 seasons as a manager with six franchises. He returned to the Angels as an instructor in the early '90s and went 10-18 as their interim manager in 1996, his final year as a big league skipper.

2 seasons: Billy Martin, A's, 1981 ALCS vs. NYY
Yankees manager, 1975-79

Martin helmed the A's from 1980-82, a period that is sandwiched between the five times he either resigned or was fired as Yankees manager. He won the World Series with New York in 1977 and soon after he was fired in '79, he latched on with Oakland. The A's finished in first place during the shortened 1981 season, which would be their only postseason appearance between 1976-87. They swept the Royals in the Division Series, but the Yankees returned the favor in the ALCS, outscoring Oakland 20-4 in the three-game set.

2 seasons: Joe McCarthy, Yankees, 1932 WS vs. CHC
Cubs manager, 1926-30

McCarthy got good results in his five seasons with the Cubs as he transformed what had been an also-ran franchise for the better part of 15 years into a contender. He won 91 games in 1928 and an NL-best 98 games the following season. That club ultimately lost the 1929 World Series in five games to the Philadelphia Athletics. McCarthy was let go by the Cubs after the 1930 season and hired by the Yankees, with whom he would turn what had been a good managerial career into a legendary one.

McCarthy's Yankees captured eight pennants, seven World Series titles and recorded a .627 winning percentage in his 16 seasons on the job. Those Bronx Bombers faced the Cubs twice in the Fall Classic. The first meeting in 1932 is known for Babe Ruth's "called shot" and ended in a Yankees sweep. Six years later, McCarthy and the Yanks faced -- and swept -- the Cubs again.

5 seasons: A.J. Hinch, Tigers, 2024 ALWCS vs. HOU
Astros manager, 2015-19

When Hinch arrived in Houston in 2015, the Astros were coming off a four-year stretch in which they averaged 104 losses per season. He would soon have them seeing triple-digit wins. Houston became just the fourth team in the Divisional Era (since 1969) to win at least 100 games in three straight seasons from 2017-19. That first year culminated with the franchise's first World Series title. However, in 2020, Hinch was suspended for the season by MLB and fired by the Astros in the wake of the club's sign-stealing scandal.

Hinch landed on his feet with the Tigers in 2021 and led them to the 2024 postseason following a late-season surge. They kept right on rolling in their American League Wild Card Series, which saw Hinch return to Houston. Superb pitching from Tarik Skubal and company helped Detroit sweep the best-of-three series before its run was ended by the Guardians in the ALDS.

5 seasons: Dave Roberts, Dodgers, 2020 NLDS vs. SD
Padres manager, 2015

Though Roberts managed the Padres for just one game in 2015, he was a San Diego coach from 2011-2015 -- all the while honing the skills that led the Dodgers to hire him as manager ahead of the 2016 season. Since taking the helm in Los Angeles, Roberts has led the Dodgers to 10 straight postseason appearances, including the 2020 NLDS against his former mates in San Diego. And it wasn't much of a series from the Padres' perspective. The Dodgers swept in three games, outscoring San Diego 23-9 on their way to their first World Series title since 1988.

5 seasons: Terry Francona, Cleveland, 2016 ALDS vs. BOS
Red Sox manager, 2004-11

Francona's exploits in Boston are well-chronicled. He managed the Red Sox for eight seasons, winning two World Series titles -- including the epic reverse-the-curse championship in 2004 that ended the team's 86-year title drought. So when he faced the Sox in the 2016 ALDS as manager in Cleveland, another franchise with a long championship drought, there was an extra layer of intrigue. But for all the intrigue, there was little drama. Cleveland swept Boston in three games on its way to the World Series, where it would take a 3-1 series lead against the Cubs, only to see Chicago rally to win it all.

6 seasons: Buck Showalter, Orioles, 2012 ALWC Game vs. TEX
Rangers manager, 2003-06

Showalter's time as Rangers manager produced just one winning season (2004) and no postseason appearances, but he found more success as skipper in Baltimore, which included a win over Texas in the 2012 AL Wild Card Game. It was a game defined by strong Orioles pitching that paved the way for late clutch hitting. Baltimore starter Joe Saunders and three relievers held the Rangers to one run and kept the game tied 1-1 into the sixth, when the Orioles scratched across the first of what would be four unanswered runs on the way to a 5-1 win and a ticket to the ALDS.

6 seasons: Whitey Herzog, Cardinals, 1985 WS vs. KC
Royals manager, 1975-79

Herzog's five seasons as Royals manager coincided with Kansas City's rise into one of the premier teams in the AL, with three straight division titles from 1976-78. He was let go after the 1979 season, missing the team's first World Series appearance in 1980. But he would get plenty of World Series exposure over the next decade as manager of the Cardinals, guiding that team to three NL pennants in six seasons. One of those, in 1985, pitted St. Louis against Herzog's former team in an all-Missouri World Series. Herzog's Cardinals jumped out to a 3-1 series lead and were three outs from a championship in Game 6 before a Jorge Orta grounder led to one of the most controversial calls in World Series history and helped fuel a KC walk-off win. That ultimately led to an 11-0 Royals blowout in Game 7 to take the title.

6 seasons: Bob Lemon, Yankees, 1978 ALCS vs. KC
Royals manager, 1970-72

Lemon led the Royals to one winning season (1971) during his three-year tenure as skipper and had never been to the postseason as a manager before he got there with the Yankees -- taking over mid-season for the fired Billy Martin -- in 1978. That was also the third straight season in which the Yankees faced the Royals in the ALCS, and the third straight season in which New York broke Kansas City's heart. With Lemon at the helm, the Yankees dispatched the Royals in four games to advance to a third straight World Series and a second straight win over the Dodgers in the Fall Classic.