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Cubs News

The ‘beautiful story’ that makes Craig Counsell bawl

4 weeks agoMatt Danielewicz

During the second day of Cubs Convention over the weekend, Cubs manager Craig Counsell sat down with Jon “Boog” Sciambi in front of fans.

At the Q&A portion of the panel, a Cubs fan asked Counsell about a book titled “The Chicken Runs at Midnight,” which talked about the 1997 Florida Marlins World Series team as well as the heartwarming family story that is behind the book.

“There was a coach named Rich Donnelly, who was the third base coach for that Florida Marlins team,” Counsell said. “Rich had a daughter that was diagnosed with cancer and when Rich was with Pittsburgh, she was going through treatments and she was in the hospital.

“She would call her dad and they would try to have fun conversations that help take her mind off things. She would ask her dad, ‘Dad, what are you telling the runners? What are you telling those runners when you cup your hands? Are you telling them the chicken runs at midnight?’…So it became the family motto: ‘the chicken runs at midnight.'”

[WATCH: Sit down with Craig Counsell panel]

Coach Donnelly’s daughter, Amy, passed away in 1995, as Counsell recounted. As Donnelly became the third base coach in 1997 for the Marlins, Counsell was on that team and received a nickname “The Chicken” from Donnelly’s sons due to his unique batting stance.

Game 7 of the 1997 World Series was an epic moment in baseball history. Counsell ended up scoring the game-winning run on Édgar Rentería’s single in the 11th inning. In the ensuing chaos, Counsell and Donnelly experienced a wholesome moment.

“Everybody’s running around,” Counsell said. “You’re running around like a little kid. You’re as happy as you can be and you’re hugging everybody.

“Rich [Donnelly] finds his son on the field, the bat boy. Rich’s son is bawling and crying. He’s like ‘Tim, why are you crying? We just won the World Series.’ He [Tim] says, ‘Dad, look at the scoreboard. It’s just after midnight. The Chicken ran at Midnight!”

To this day, hearing that story makes Counsell emotional as he reflects on the saying and story of the 1997 World Series.

“I didn’t know that I was a part of the story for about 2 or 3 years and Rich told me the story and I bawled for half an hour,” Counsell said. “It’s a beautiful story.”

For the full panel with Cubs manager Craig Counsell, head to the Marquee Sports Network app.

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