Having an phenomenal bullpen is a HUGE part of thatI think 1 run games are your best way of judging a in-game manager. No, they don’t cost every game, but can they manage a bullpen and find ways to scrap runs across when needed.
Brewers were 29-18 in 1 run games this year. Go through Counsells career, he has a winning record 6 of the last 7 years in 1 run games.
Cubs were 21-24 this year and haven’t been more than 1 game above .500 in 1 run games since 2017.
Counsell was worth every penny.