Brandon Crawford

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Brandon Crawford
Brandon Crawford July 16, 2018 (50121260746) (cropped).jpg
Crawford at the 2018 MLB All-Star Game
San Francisco Giants – No. 35
Shortstop
Born: (1987-01-21) January 21, 1987 (age 35)
Mountain View, California
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 27, 2011, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.254
Home runs130
Runs batted in654
Teams
  • San Francisco Giants (2011–present)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
FISU World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2006 Havana Team
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2017 Los Angeles Team

Brandon Michael Crawford (born January 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Crawford played college baseball for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Crawford was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Giants.

He made his MLB debut in 2011. He was the sixth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his first MLB game, and the first shortstop to hit a grand slam in an MLB postseason game. He is a three-time All-Star (2015, 2018, and 2021), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (2015–2017, and 2021), two-time Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award winner (2012 and 2016), and won the Silver Slugger Award at shortstop in 2015. Crawford has played the most games at shortstop for the Giants in franchise history, and at the end of the 2021 season was 3rd of all active players in games played at shortstop.[1]

Early life[]

Crawford is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. He was born in Mountain View,[2] and his family lived in Menlo Park before they moved to Pleasanton when he was in elementary school, which is where he grew up. He grew up a San Francisco Giants fan, and his family purchased season tickets and a commemorative brick in Willie Mays Plaza outside AT&T Park when the ballpark opened in 2000.[3]

Crawford attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton, where he was a three-sport athlete playing football, basketball, and baseball. He was the starting quarterback for the Foothill Falcons, and graduated in the class of 2005.[4]

College career[]

Crawford at UCLA in 2007

Crawford attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a physiological sciences major. He played baseball for the UCLA Bruins from 2006 to 2008, and helped lead the team to the NCAA Regionals in three consecutive seasons,[2] the first time in school history.[5] Crawford was named the team's MVP in 2006 and 2007, and was named to the All-Pac-10 Conference team in 2007.[2] In the summer of 2007, he played for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6] He also played in the Northwoods League for the Mankato MoonDogs in 2005 before he attended UCLA.

He helped lead the United States national team to the title in the 2006 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Championship.[7]

Professional career[]

Draft and minor leagues[]

The San Francisco Giants selected Crawford in the fourth round, with the 117th overall selection, of the 2008 MLB draft by the Giants, and signed for a $375,000 signing bonus.[2][8] Crawford started his first full season as a professional with the Class-A Advanced San Jose Giants in 2009. In 25 games, he hit .371 with six home runs and 17 RBIs, good enough for a slugging percentage of .600 and 1.045 OPS.[9] In May, Crawford was promoted to the Double-A Connecticut Defenders, where he spent the rest of the season, batting .258 with four home runs in 108 games.[9]

In 2010, Crawford opened the season in Double-A (now with the Richmond Flying Squirrels) and earned an Eastern League All-Star nod,[10] batting .241 in 79 games before suffering a broken hand in early July, which sidelined Crawford for nearly two months. When he recovered, he was assigned back to San Jose for the remainder of the season. He was ranked the sixth best prospect in the Giants' organization by Baseball America heading into 2011.[11]

San Francisco Giants[]

2011[]

Crawford in 2011

In 2011, Crawford was invited to spring training but was set back by a broken finger suffered in the final week, and started the season in San Jose while he recovered.[12] He was called up to the MLB for the first time on May 26, 2011, following injuries to Buster Posey, Mike Fontenot, and Darren Ford.[13]

Crawford made his MLB debut on May 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers. His first MLB hit came in his third at bat of the game, and was a grand slam off the Brewers' Shaun Marcum. He joined Bobby Bonds and Brian Dallimore as the only Giants whose first career MLB hit was a grand slam;[14] he also became the sixth player in MLB history and the second player in Giants history along with Bobby Bonds to hit a grand slam in his first game.[15]

On July 31, he was optioned to the Giants' Triple-A affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies, after the Giants acquired shortstop Orlando Cabrera.[16] The Giants were 23–18 with Crawford as a starter, but he was only hitting .190.[17] Crawford was recalled in September when MLB rosters expanded to 40 players.[18]

2012[]

In 2012, Crawford was named the team's opening day shortstop, in which he batted 8th in the lineup. He batted .248 with four home runs, 26 doubles, and 45 RBI in 143 games. On July 20, Crawford hit his second career grand slam and drove in 5 runs as the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7–2.[19] Crawford was praised for his defense during the 2012 postseason, which culminated in a 4–0 sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series.[20] Crawford ranked third among NL shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved at +12,[21] and was recognized with the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award at shortstop.

2013[]

Crawford was the Giants' starting shortstop for 2013, with Joaquín Árias as his backup. In 149 games on the year, he hit .248/.311/.363 with 9 home runs and 43 RBI.

2014[]

In 153 games, Crawford batted .246 and set career highs with ten home runs and 69 RBIs. On April 13, Crawford hit a tenth inning, walk-off home run against Rex Brothers of the Colorado Rockies.[22] In the 2014 postseason, Crawford led all Giants with 9 RBIs. In the 4th inning of the NL Wild Card Game between the Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates, Crawford hit a grand slam off of Edinson Vólquez, becoming the first shortstop to hit a grand slam in Major League Baseball postseason history.[23][24] Crawford batted .304 (7-for-23) with 4 RBIs in the 2014 World Series, en route to his second championship with the Giants. In Game 7, Crawford drove in the second run for the Giants with a sacrifice fly and, along with second baseman Joe Panik, turned a critical double-play in the third inning.[25]

2015[]

On January 27, 2015, the Giants and Crawford avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.175 million deal.[26] On May 16, Crawford hit his third career grand slam (fourth including the postseason) and drove in a career-high six runs against Mike Leake of the Cincinnati Reds.[27] In May, Crawford led the team in RBIs,[28] and on July 1, Crawford set a new career-high with his 11th home run of the season.[29] On July 6, Crawford was voted by his fellow Major League players as a reserve for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.[30] On August 14 at AT&T Park, in an 8–5 win over the Washington Nationals, Crawford hit his 100th career double. On September 24 at Petco Park, Crawford hit his twentieth home run of the season off of Ian Kennedy, making him the fourth Giants shortstop in franchise history to reach the milestone, after Rich Aurilia, Alvin Dark, and Travis Jackson.[31]

Crawford set career highs in several offensive categories, batting .256 with 21 home runs, 84 RBIs, 33 doubles, and 130 hits. Crawford was the first Giants' shortstop to lead the team in home runs since Bill Dahlen in 1905.[32] He won his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award[33] and Silver Slugger Award,[34] the first Giant to win both awards in the same year since Barry Bonds in 1997.[35]

2016[]

After the 2015 season, Crawford and the Giants agreed to a six-year, $75 million contract through the 2021 season.[35] The deal covered Crawford's final two years of salary arbitration and first four years of free agency.[36] The contract includes a no-trade clause, meaning that Crawford has to give consent if he were to be traded.

April 8, 2016, Crawford hit a tenth inning, walk-off home run off Joe Blanton of the Los Angeles Dodgers in a game in which the Giants had been no-hit through 71⁄3 innings and recorded only two hits.[37] On August 8 at Marlins Park, in an 8–7 win over the Miami Marlins that went into extra-innings, Crawford hit a career-high in base hits and singles with seven and five respectively. His seven hits tied the NL record for most total hits in a single game, and was the first time this feat had been done since Rennie Stennett in 1975. The seven hits were also a Giants all-time franchise record.[38] Two days later, Crawford met with Stennett at Marlins Park.[39]

For the 2016 season, Crawford increased his batting average to a career-best .275 in 155 games played. Along with teammate Javier López, Crawford won the Willie Mac Award, which honors the Giants' most inspirational player.[40] He was awarded his second consecutive Gold Glove Award after the season.[41]

2017[]

On April 29, 2017, Crawford was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a right groin strain.[42] In 2017, he batted .253/.305/.403 with 14 home runs and 77 RBI, and after the season he was awarded his third consecutive Gold Glove Award. He was the first shortstop to win three straight since Jimmy Rollins (2007–09), and the first Giant since J. T. Snow who won four in a row (1997–2000).[43]

2018[]

Crawford as a 2018 NL All Star

On June 27, 2018, Crawford hit a walk-off home run against the Colorado Rockies to win the game 1–0 for the Giants. Crawford became the first Giants player since Steve Decker in April 1991 to hit a walk-off solo homer to win a 1–0 game.[44] Batting .300 with ten home runs and 39 RBIs, Crawford was named the starting shortstop for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game.[45] Crawford hit .193 in the second half, battling injuries throughout the second half. A left-handed hitter, Crawford had a higher batting average against left-hand pitching than right-hand pitching at .274. His average against right-hand pitching was .243.

For the season, he hit a .254/.325/.394 batting line.[46] He had the slowest baserunning sprint speed of all major league shortstops, at 25.9 feet/second.[47]

In 2018, Crawford was the Giants team winner of the Heart & Hustle Award.[48] Crawford lost out on his 4th straight gold glove to Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed.

2019[]

Against the Rockies on July 15, 2019, he had five hits in six at bats including two home runs and a career-high eight runs batted in during the Giants' 19-2 victory. The eight RBIs tied the San Francisco team record held by Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda. Crawford became the first shortstop in history to record five hits and eight RBIs in one game, and the first Giant to have at least 2 home runs and 8 RBIs in a game since Willie Mays did it in 1961.

In 2019, he batted .228/.304/.350 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs.[49][50]

2020[]

In 2020 he batted .256/.326/.465 (the highest slugging percentage of his career) with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs.[46] He had the slowest sprint speed of all major league shortstops, at 25.7 feet per second.[51]

2021[]

On June 8, 2021, Crawford started in what was his 1,326th game playing shortstop for the Giants, passing Travis Jackson for the most games played at the position in franchise history.[1] On August 13, Crawford agreed to a 2-year extension worth $32 million through 2023.

In the 2021 regular season, Crawford batted .298(9th in the NL)/.373(10th)/.522 with 79 runs, 24 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 90 RBIs (all career highs).[46] In 138 games he had 549 at bats.[46] On defense, he had a .983 fielding percentage (3rd in the NL), and a 3.76 range factor/game (3rd).[46] At the end of the season he was 3rd of all active players in games played at shortstop, at 1,409.[46]

In Game 3 of the 2021 NLDS, Crawford made a leaping catch to preserve a crucial 1-0 lead for the Giants, which held to give the Giants a 2-1 series lead.

He won the 2021 National League Gold Glove Award at shortstop.[52][53] With four Gold Glove Awards he became tied with former first baseman J.T. Snow for third-most in Giants history.[52]

He was named a 2021 Silver Slugger Award finalist.[54] One November 18, he was announced to have placed 4th in National League MVP voting.

Personal life[]

Crawford married former UCLA gymnast Jalynne Dantzscher in Kona, Hawaii, on November 26, 2011.[55] They have two daughters and two sons.[56][57][58] They reside in Scottsdale, Arizona.[59]

Crawford is the brother-in-law of Olympic gymnast Jamie Dantzscher. Crawford's sister Amy is married to pitcher Gerrit Cole.[60] His sister-in-law, Jennifer Pippin, died in 2017 due to an asthma attack.[61] During the MLB players weekend promotion, Crawford uses the nickname "DJ BC Raw" and sports it on his jersey. His nickname refers to his constant use of a speaker in the team clubhouse.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Crawford plays Giants-record 1,326th game at SS". ESPN.com. June 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Player Bio: Brandon Crawford – UCLA Official Athletic Site". UCLABruins.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
  3. ^ Killion, Ann (October 8, 2012). "Brandon Crawford: living the dream". San Francisco Chronicle.
  4. ^ Baggarly, Andrew (May 29, 2011). "Giants notebook: Buster Posey has a new favorite player -- rookie Brandon Crawford". San Jose Mercury News. p. C7. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011.
  5. ^ "UCLA's Brandon Crawford Promoted to San Francisco Giants". UCLABruins.com. May 26, 2011. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011.
  6. ^ "2007 Orleans Cardinals". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "UCLA Baseball's Brandon Crawford Earns Gold Medal with U.S. National Team". UCLABruins.com. August 16, 2006. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011.
  8. ^ "Brandon Crawford". The Baseball Cube. May 7, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "When They Were San Jose Giants: Brandon Crawford".
  10. ^ Zucosky, Griffin (June 29, 2010). "Eastern League reveals 2010 All-Stars". MiLB.com.
  11. ^ Baggarly, Andy (January 26, 2011). "San Francisco Giants Top 10 Prospects". Baseball America. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
  12. ^ Inman, Cam (May 24, 2011). "Giants prospect remains patient". San Jose Mercury News. p. D5. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
  13. ^ Berry, Adam (May 26, 2011). "Belt, Stewart, Crawford brought up to Giants". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011.
  14. ^ Baggarly, Andrew (May 27, 2011). "Brandon Crawford's grand slam in debut lifts San Francisco Giants". Bay Area News Group.
  15. ^ Schulman, Henry (June 26, 2011). "Brandon Crawford's slam in debut lifts Giants". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  16. ^ "Giants option Crawford to make room for Cabrera". Associated Press. July 31, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011. The San Francisco Giants optioned rookie shortstop Brandon Crawford to Triple-A Fresno on Sunday to make room on the roster for new shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
  17. ^ Baggarly, Andrew (August 31, 2011). "San Francisco Giants plan to keep Brandon Crawford busy this fall". San Jose Mercury News. p. D5. Retrieved September 2, 2011. Crawford hit .190 before he was optioned July 31, but the Giants were 23-18 during his two-month run as the everyday shortstop.
  18. ^ Reiss, Scott (September 2, 2011). "Giants recall Crawford, Burriss, Gillaspie, Joaquin". CSNBayArea.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2011. The Giants recalled Brandon Crawford, Emmanuel Burriss, Conor Gillaspie and Waldis Joaquin from Triple A Fresno with the expansion of the roster to 40.
  19. ^ Haft, Chris (July 20, 2012). "Crawford's slam backs solid start by Lincecum". MLB.com.
  20. ^ Perrotto, John (October 28, 2012). "Brandon Crawford, Giants one win from World Series title". USA Today.
  21. ^ Schoenfield, David (January 15, 2013). "Five underappreciated weapons for 2013". ESPN.com.
  22. ^ Pavlovic, Alex (April 13, 2014). "Brandon Crawford's walk-off homer leads Giants past Rockies". San Jose Mercury News.
  23. ^ Bink, Bill (October 1, 2014). "Shutout: Pirates unable to stop Giants' Bumgarner in 8-0 loss". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  24. ^ Steward, Carl (October 17, 2014). "Brandon Crawford a most indispensable Giant". San Jose Mercury News.
  25. ^ "Brandon Crawford Wins Second World Series Ring". UCLA Athletics. October 30, 2014. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015.
  26. ^ Schulman, Henry (January 27, 2015). "Crawford avoids arbitration, gets $3.175 million deal". San Francisco Chronicle.
  27. ^ Call, Andy (May 16, 2015). "'Underrated' Crawford racks up six RBIs". MLB.com.
  28. ^ Shea, John (May 18, 2014). "Look who leads Giants in RBIs: Brandon Crawford". San Francisco Chronicle.
  29. ^ Schulman, Henry (July 1, 2015). "Giants lose at Miami on Justin Bour's 3-run HR in 9th". San Francisco Chronicle.
  30. ^ Brown, Daniel (July 6, 2015). "Giants' Bumgarner, Crawford, Panik join All-Star squad". San Jose Mercury News.
  31. ^ Baggarly, Andrew (September 24, 2015). "UPDATED: As the Giants disintegrated this summer, Madison Bumgarner stood as strong as ever — even as bullpen blows his 19th victory". San Jose Mercury News.
  32. ^ @SFGiants (October 5, 2015). "Brandon Crawford finished the season with a team-leading 21 HRs, the 1st SS to lead the #SFGiants in HRs since 1905" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Miller, Doug (November 10, 2015). "Defensive standouts nab Gold Glove Awards". MLB.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  34. ^ Kawahara, Matt (November 12, 2015). "Three Giants players take home Silver Slugger Awards". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  35. ^ a b Haft, Chris (November 17, 2015). "Giants sign Crawford to six-year deal". MLB.com.
  36. ^ "Giants sign infielder Brandon Crawford to a six-year contract". SFGiants.com (Press release). November 17, 2015.
  37. ^ Shea, John (April 8, 2016). "Giants beat Dodgers on Brandon Crawford's homer". San Francisco Chronicle.
  38. ^ Baggarly, Andrew (August 8, 2016). "Brandon Crawford makes history with 7-hit game, Giants win street fight in 14th over Marlins". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  39. ^ "7th Heaven: Brandon Crawford, Rennie Stennett meet in Miami after 7-hit game". USA Today. AP. August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  40. ^ Schulman, Henry (September 30, 2016). "Giants' Crawford, Lopez share Willie Mac Award". San Francisco Chronicle.
  41. ^ Schulman, Henry (November 8, 2016). "3 Giants — Posey, Panik, Crawford — win Gold Glove awards". San Francisco Chronicle.
  42. ^ Kramer, Daniel. "Brandon Crawford heads to DL with right groin strain". MLB. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  43. ^ Haft, Chris (November 8, 2017). "Crawford wins 3rd straight Gold Glove Award". MLB.com.
  44. ^ "Team Batting Game Finder: From 1908 to 2018, Playing for SFG, Team Won, Game ended in a walk-off win, (100 percent complete s. 1974), (requiring R=1 and HR=1), sorted by most recent date". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  45. ^ "Brandon Crawford earns first career All-Star starting nod". July 8, 2018.
  46. ^ a b c d e f "Brandon Crawford Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  47. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com.
  48. ^ MLBPAA (July 24, 2018). "MLBPAA announces team winners of 14th annual Heart & Hustle Award". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  49. ^ "Brandon Crawford Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  50. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs.com. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  51. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com.
  52. ^ a b "Crawford snags 4th Gold Glove Award". MLB.com.
  53. ^ "2 SF Giants named finalists for Gold Glove award". www.knbr.com.
  54. ^ "Silver Slugger Award finalists announced". MLB.com.
  55. ^ "Two more Giant weddings". Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. December 9, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  56. ^ White, Paul. "Clubhouse confidential: Giants staff ready to return to form". USA Today. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  57. ^ @SFGiants (January 16, 2016). "Congrats @bcraw35 and @JalynneC35! Welcome to the #SFGiants family, baby Braxton" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  58. ^ Graff, Amy (June 19, 2018). "Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford announces birth of fourth child in cute tweet". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  59. ^ Shea, John (April 5, 2020). "Day in the life with Giants' Brandon Crawford: Sheltering in a busy place". San Francisco Chronicle.
  60. ^ Landers, Chris (August 23, 2015). "Family feud: Amy Crawford watched her brother Brandon face off against fiance Gerrit Cole". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  61. ^ "Crawford hits emotional home run after sister-in-law's sudden death". ESPN.com. April 15, 2017.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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