The Chicago Cubs are reportedly hiring Quintin Berry to handle a few responsibilities on the north side beginning in 2025. Berry, 39, had been a coach with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2021-24, which obviously included three years working alongside current Cubs manager Craig Counsell.
According to The Athletic’s news article on the planned hiring, Berry will be the third base coach for the Cubs while also working with players as a base-running coach. The former MLB player previously served as the first base coach during his tenure on Milwaukee’s coaching staff.
Prior to his first-base coach duties with the Brewers, Berry spent two seasons as Milwaukee’s outfield and base running coordinator.
More details from The Athletic here.
Following the end of their 2024 season the Cubs announced a handful of prominent coaching changes, which included dismissing first base coach Mike Napoli and third base coach Willie Harris.
In 2024, the Brewers led MLB in “base running runs above average” according to Fangraphs at 19.7. The Cubs were tied for fourth, but at 10.7 that was nearly half as productive as the Brewers.
You could probably argue that the players’ ability matters most when actually discussing a team being better at any aspect of the game, but at the very least Berry has plenty of experience throughout his baseball career that will hopefully translate into a better all-around base running team from the Cubs moving forward.
Berry spent time with 14 organizations throughout his pro career and appeared in the majors with five different teams: Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Brewers. You might remember Berry being with the Cubs in the final month of the 2015 season, serving as the team’s top pinch-running option. He was on the Wild Card Game roster and later replaced an injured Addison Russell on the NLCS roster against the New York Mets.
The Brewers have run the NL Central for the nearly the past decade and they’ve done it by always winning at the margins and doing the little things better than other teams. That includes being a great base-running team and hopefully Berry’s wisdom can help the Cubs.
