SAN FRANCISCO -- Brandon Crawford spent 14 years living out his childhood dream. On Wednesday, he announced the journey finally is 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 different experiences that it will create." 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, the son of parents who had season tickets behind the plate at Candlestick Park. His first Halloween costume included a Giants giveaway bat, and he visited Scottsdale Stadium for spring training when he was in kindergarten and went every year after that.
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The Giants took Crawford in the fourth round of a transformative 2008 MLB Draft, three rounds after they selected Buster Posey. Crawford ended up playing 1,654 games for his hometown team, a franchise record for a shortstop. He hit 147 career homers and was worth nearly 30 Wins Above Replacement, winning four Gold Glove Awards and making three All-Star teams. He was a key part of the 2012 and 2014 World Series title runs.
In his post, Crawford said his years with the Giants "far surpassed any dream I had as a kid. I definitely pretended to win a World Series in my backyard -- but winning two? That was beyond my wildest dreams."
Brandon Crawford announced his retirement on his Instagram page. He grew up dreaming of being the Giants shortstop and ended up doing it for 13 seasons. A pretty incredible career: pic.twitter.com/VJRKMnql5I
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) November 27, 2024
Crawford's final game was on Aug. 10 with the Cardinals, and while his last season didn't go as hoped on the field, he said earlier this year that he appreciated the opportunity to have his kids spend one more summer at a ballpark. In his retirement post, Crawford thanked the Cardinals and noted that his youngest, Jazlyn, had a chance to watch him play.
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The Crawfords have five children, so he'll be busy in retirement, but it shouldn't be long before he's back in orange and black. Posey is one of Crawford's closest friends in the game and now is in charge, and the Giants have been hopeful that Crawford would return to the organization in some role after his playing days were over.
“It was an honor to get to know Brandon as a friend and as a teammate,” Posey said in a statement released by the Giants. "From the first day we were both drafted in 2008 to our final year playing together in 2021, it was an honor to play alongside him for 14 years. Whether it was the clutch moments like the grand slam he hit in the 2014 Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh, the franchise-record, seven-hit game he recorded in Miami, or the dazzling defensive plays and acrobatic throws he made over and over again, Brandon made his mark in a way few athletes ever do.”
“I’m beyond grateful for our friendship and wish him all the best in this next chapter of life.”
The Giants announced that they will honor Crawford at Oracle Park on April 26.