Brandon Crawford Announces Retirement – ​​MLB Trade Rumors

Giants legend and long-time shortstop Brandon Crawford announced his retirement today in a post on his personal Instagram account. The Giants announced (X-Link from Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News) that Crawford will be celebrated at the club’s upcoming game on April 26 when they host the Rangers, led by Crawford’s former captain Bruce Bochy.

“I grew up in the Bay Area and went to games at Candlestick,” Crawford says. “I always dreamed of playing for the San Francisco Giants. Being drafted by my hometown team and spending most of my career with them far exceeded any dream I had as a child. I definitely acted like I was going to win a World Series in my backyard — but winning two? This has exceeded my wildest dreams.” He then goes on to thank this organization, as well as the Cardinals, his family members, coaches, teammates, fans and many others he has met.

As Crawford himself mentioned, he couldn’t have asked for more from the platonic baseball dream of his childhood. In 2008, he was drafted by the team he rooted for as a kid, and the Giants selected him in the fourth round out of UCLA. In 2010, the Giants won the World Series, their first title since the club moved from New York to San Francisco. However, Crawford was still a minor player at this point.

At the end of May 2011 he was able to make his major league debut and did so in an unforgettable way. In his first game on the show, he hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, his first major league hit (MLB’s YouTube link). This gave the club a 5-3 lead over the Brewers and they won 5-4. Despite this remarkable start, the first season wasn’t great overall. He hit just .204/.288/.296 and only made it to 66 games. The Giants finished 86-76 and missed the playoffs.

In 2012, Crawford more firmly captured the shortstop job in San Francisco, playing in 143 games. Its offense still wasn’t particularly impressive, but it was better than the year before and its defense was highly regarded. The club achieved a 94-68 record, won the National West and advanced to the postseason. Crawford hit just .217/.321/.283 in the playoffs, but the Giants defeated the Reds, Cardinals and Tigers to win their second title in three years.

The following year, Crawford’s performance remained fairly stable. Its offense was again slightly below league average, but featured a strong shortstop defense. However, the Giants slipped to 76-86, well out of contention. In 2014, they returned with an 88-74 record, enough to secure a Wild Card spot. At the time there were only two such places per league and these clubs competed in a one-game match against the winner. The Giants survived that game with an 8-0 victory, then defeated the Nationals, Cardinals and Royals to secure another title. The Giants won three trophies in five years and Crawford had two rings with his hometown club before his 28th birthday.

Crawford had his best offensive season to date in 2015, when he hit 21 home runs with a .256/.321/.462 slash line. He made his first All-Star Game and received both a Silver Slugger and his first Gold Glove Award. While the team’s performance waned, Crawford emerged as a legitimate star. The Giants recognized this and signed him to a six-year extension worth $75 million.

In 2016 it was more similar. Crawford hit .275/.342/.430 while continuing to play elite shortstop defense. He won his second consecutive Gold Glove and found his name on MVP ballots for the first time. Crawford’s offense declined over the next few years, but he continued to play excellent defense. He won his third consecutive Gold Glove in ’17 and another All-Star appearance in ’18.

While Crawford appeared to be in the downturn of his career towards the end of the 2010s, he hit surprisingly well in the shortened 2020 season. This could easily have been dismissed as a minor blip if Crawford hadn’t followed it up with a monster year. At age 34, Crawford set career highs with 24 home runs and hit .298/.373/.522 in 138 games. He earned another Gold Glove and an All-Star award and finished fourth in the NL MVP voting as the Giants rolled to 107 wins and secured their first division title in a decade.

San Francisco, following this resurgent success, re-signed its longtime shortstop to a two-year, $32 million extension. However, neither Crawford nor the team managed to maintain their ’21 form and this deal did not work out as the club had hoped. San Francisco let Crawford walk when he hit free agency last winter. He signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals, but was limited to 29 games as the rookie’s veteran backup Masyn Winn in St. Louis.

Crawford finished his career with more than 1,400 hits and a batting line of .249/.318/.395 in more than 6,300 plate appearances. He hit 147 home runs and drove in 748 runs. Even more impressive was Crawford’s performance on the other side of the ball. He was one of the outstanding defensive shortstops of his era and received four Gold Glove nods. Crawford made three All-Star teams, appeared on the MVP ballot twice, and won the aforementioned two titles with his hometown team. Baseball Reference rated his career at around 29 wins above replacement in parts of 14 seasons. B-Ref put his career earnings at around $114 million. MLBTR congratulates Crawford on his outstanding career and sends him our best wishes for his time after the game.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.