Crawford Announces MLB Retirement; Giants honor franchise icon

Crawford Announces MLB Retirement; Giants honor franchise icon originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Brandon Crawford spent 14 years pursuing his childhood dream. On Wednesday he announced that the trip was finally over.

In a post on his Instagram page, Crawford announced that he is retiring from professional baseball and “can’t wait for the new opportunities and experiences that come with it.” Crawford spent his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals, but his first 13 years were spent with the Giants, his hometown team.

The best shortstop in franchise history was as homegrown as it gets. Crawford was born in Mountain View and grew up in the East Bay to parents who had season tickets behind the plate at Candlestick Park. His first Halloween costume included a Giants promotional bat, and when he was in kindergarten he went to Scottsdale Stadium for spring training and went there every year after that.

The Giants took Crawford in the fourth round of a transformative 2008 MLB Draft, three rounds after selecting Buster Posey. Crawford ended up playing 1,654 games for his hometown team, a franchise record for a shortstop. He hit 147 career home runs and was worth nearly 30 Wins Above Replacement, won four Gold Glove Awards and made three All-Star teams. He was instrumental in the 2012 and 2014 World Series title runs.

In his post, Crawford said his years with the Giants “far exceeded any dreams I had as a child. I definitely acted like I was going to win a World Series in my backyard — but winning two? This was beyond my wildest dreams.”

Crawford’s final game was with the Cardinals on August 10, and although his final season on the field didn’t go as hoped, he said earlier this year that he appreciated the opportunity to let his children spend another summer in a ballpark . In his retirement office, Crawford thanked the Cardinals and noted that his youngest, Jazlyn, had the opportunity to watch him play.

The Crawfords have five children, so he’ll be busy in retirement, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s back in the orange and black. Posey is one of Crawford’s closest friends in the game and is now in charge, and the Giants have hoped that Crawford would return to the organization in some role after his playing days ended.

“It was an honor to get to know Brandon as a friend and teammate,” Posey said in a statement released by the Giants. “From the first day we were both drafted in 2008 to our final year together in 2021, it was an honor to play alongside him for 14 years. Whether it was the defining moments like the grand slam he hit in the 2014 Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh, the franchise-record seven-goal game he recorded in Miami, or the dazzling defensive plays and acrobatic throws he made over and over again, Brandon made an impact in a way that few athletes ever do.”

“I am extremely grateful for our friendship and wish him all the best for the next phase of his life.”

The Giants announced they will honor Crawford on April 26 at Oracle Park.

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