Keizertimes., December 25, 2020, Page 10, Image 10

PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 25, 2020
KEIZERTIMES.COM
#5 Brandon Crawford
TOP 20
20
Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
San Francisco shortstop Brandon Crawford has won three Gold Gloves over his 10-year MLB
career.
Crawford opened the
2010 season in Double-A
with the Richmond Fly-
ing Squirrels and was able
to earn an Eastern League
all-star selection. But after
missing two months with a
broken hand, Crawford was
sent back down to San Jose
to rehab.
After spending spring
training with the Giants in
2011, Crawford was sent
back down to San Jose to
start the season. But after
injuries to three key Giants
players, San Francisco called
up Crawford on May 26,
2011.
The following day Craw-
ford made a historic debut.
In his third at-bat of the
game, Crawford launched a
grand slam off of Milwaukee
Brewers pitcher Shaun Mar-
cum and became just the
sixth player in MLB history
to hit a grand slam in his fi rst
game.
Crawford was optioned
back to Triple-A on July 31
but was recalled in Septem-
ber when the roster expand-
ed. He fi nished the season
with the Giants batting .204
with three homers and 21
RBIs. in 196 at-bats.
In 2012, Crawford earned
a role as the Giants starting
shortstop. In 143 games, he
batted .248 with four hom-
ers, 26 doubles, and 45 RBIs.
Crawford had a career day
on July 20, 2012 when he hit
the second grand slam of his
career and drove in fi ve runs
on the night as the Giants
defeated the Philadelphia
Phillies 7-2.
While he was still devel-
oping as a hitter, Crawford
proved to be one of the best
fi elding shortstops in the
league early in his career. In
his fi rst full season in the big
leagues, Crawford was third
in the National League (NL)
among shortstops in defen-
sive runs saved (12) and was
named the Wilson Defensive
Player of the year at short-
stop in 2012.
In the 2012 NL Cham-
pionship Series against the
St. Louis Cardinals, Craw-
ford knocked in fi ve runs
and scored two, helping the
Giants advance to the World
Series. Crawford went 3-for-
12 in the World Series as the
Giants made quick work of
the Detroit Tigers, winning
the series in four games,
granting Crawford his fi rst
championship ring.
Crawford remained the
team’s starting shortstop in
2013, batting .248 with nine
homers and 43 RBIs — the
Giants, however, wound up
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH ®
T 684 504
T 642 033
L 106 363
L 129 284
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Brandon Crawford comes
in at #5 on the Keizertimes
list of the 20 greatest Volca-
noes players of all-time. The
Gold Glove Award winning
shortstop has spent all 10
years of his Major League
Baseball (MLB) career with
the San Francisco Giants.
Crawford grew up in the
Bay Area and had been a Gi-
ants fan his whole life. He
was a three-sport athlete at
Foothill High School before
heading to UCLA in 2006.
Crawford
played
for
UCLA from 2006-08 and
led the Bruins to the NCAA
Tournament in three con-
secutive seasons — it was
the fi rst time in school his-
tory UCLA qualifi ed for
the postseason three straight
years. Crawford was named
the team MVP in 2006 and
2007. He was also named
fi rst-team all Pac-10 Confer-
ence in 2007.
Crawford was a fourth
round draft pick of the Gi-
ants in 2008, but only played
four games in the Arizo-
na Rookie League and one
game for the Volcanoes in his
fi rst season as a professional.
In 2009, Crawford played
25 games in advanced A-ball
with the San Jose Giants and
hit .371 with six home runs
and 17 RBIs while slugging
.600. Crawford spent the
remainder of the season in
Double-A with the Con-
necticut Defenders and bat-
ted .258 in 108 games.
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missing the playoffs.
In 2014, Crawford pro-
vided more production for
the Giants offensively, bat-
ting .246 with 10 homers
and 69 RBIs. He also had
20 doubles and 10 triples
on the season. On April 13,
2014, Crawford hit his fi rst
walk-off homer off Colo-
rado Rockies pitcher Rex
Brothers.
In the 2014 NL Wild Card
game against the Pittsburgh
Pirates, Crawford made his-
tory once again, blasting a
grand slam in the fourth
inning off Edinson Vólquez,
helping the Giants to a 8-0
win. It was the fi rst time
that a shortstop hit a grand
slam in a postseason game in
MLB history.
Volcanoes
players
of all time
Crawford led the Giants
with nine RBIs in the 2014
postseason and batted .304
(7-of-23) with four RBIs in
the World Series. In game
seven of the World Series,
Crawford hit a sacrifi ce fl y
in the second inning to give
the Giants a 1-0 lead. Craw-
ford then turned a key dou-
ble play, along with former
Volcano Joe Panik, in the
following inning to get San
Francisco out of a jam. The
Giants clinched the series
by winning game seven by
a score of 3-2 and Crawford
earned his second World Se-
ries ring.
Crawford arguably had
the best season of his career
in 2015, winning a Silver
Slugger Award after post-
ing career-highs in homers
(21) and RBIs (84) — both
marks led the team. Craw-
ford was the fourth shortstop
in Giants history to reach the
20-homer mark. He was also
named to his fi rst All-Star
Game and won his fi rst Gold
Glove in 2015.
On May 16, 2015, Craw-
ford hit his fourth career
grand slam off of Mike Leake
and knocked in a career-high
of six runs in the Giants 11-2
win over the Cincinnati
Reds. Crawford also hit his
100th career double in 2015
in an 8-5 win over the Wash-
ington Nationals on Aug. 14.
Before the 2016 season,
Crawford signed a six-year,
Please see #5, Page A8