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). He 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 2022 season was 2nd of all active players in games played at shortstop.
Early life
Crawford is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. He was born in Mountain View, 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.
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.
College career
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, the first time in school history. Crawford was named the team's MVP in 2006 and 2007, and was named to the All-Pac-10 Conference team in 2007. In the summer of 2007, he played for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League. 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.
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, and he signed for a $375,000 signing bonus. 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. In May, Crawford was promoted to the Double-A Connecticut Defenders, where he spent the rest of the season, batting .258/.294/.365 with four home runs in 108 games.
In 2010, Crawford opened the season in Double-A (now with the Richmond Flying Squirrels) and earned an Eastern League mid-season All-Star nod, batting .241/.337/.375 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.
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. There he batted .322/.412/.593 in 59 at bats. Then in AAA he batted .234/.291/.327 in 107 at bats. In the AFL, he was named to the AFL All-Prospect Team.
San Francisco Giants (2011–present)
2011
He was called up to MLB for the first time on May 26, 2011, following injuries to Buster Posey, Mike Fontenot, and Darren Ford. 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; 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.
On July 31, he was optioned to the Giants' Triple-A affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies, after the Giants acquired shortstop Orlando Cabrera. The Giants were 23–18 with Crawford as a starter, but he was only hitting .190. Crawford was recalled in September when MLB rosters expanded to 40 players.