Crawford announces retirement from MLB; Giants to pay tribute to franchise icon

Crawford announces retirement from MLB; Giants to pay tribute to franchise icon originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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

In a post on his Instagram page, Crawford announced that he was retiring from professional baseball and “looking forward to the new opportunities and different experiences this would 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 local as it gets. Crawford was born in Mountain View and raised in the East Bay, the son of parents who had season tickets behind the plate at Candlestick Park. His first Halloween costume included a gift bat from the Giants, and he visited Scottsdale Stadium for spring training when he was in kindergarten and went 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 nearly 30 wins above replacement, winning four Gold Glove Awards and making three All-Star teams. He played a key role 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 kid. I really pretended to win a World Series in my backyard – but winning two? It was beyond my wildest dreams.”

Crawford’s final game was Aug. 10 with the Cardinals, and while his final season didn’t go as hoped on the field, he said earlier this year that he appreciated the opportunity to allow his children to spend one more summer in a baseball stadium. At his retirement post, Crawford thanked the Cardinals and noted that his youngest, Jazlyn, had the chance 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 orange and black. Posey is one of Crawford’s closest friends in the game and is now the manager, and the Giants were hoping Crawford would return to the organization in a 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 drafted in 2008 to our final year playing together in 2021, it has been an honor to play alongside him for 14 years. From milestone moments like the grand slam that he hit in the 2014 Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh, the franchise-record seven hits he recorded in Miami, or the dazzling defensive plays and acrobatic throws that he performed again and again, Brandon left his mark in a way that few athletes have ever done.

“I am beyond grateful for our friendship and wish him all the best in this next chapter of life.”

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

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