Brandon Michael Crawford (born January 21, 1987) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He spent 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), playing all but his last season for the San Francisco Giants. 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, and played his final season in 2024 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Internationally, Crawford represents the United States. In the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC), he helped win Team USA's first gold medal in a WBC tournament.
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.
After 13 seasons with the Giants, Crawford signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024, where he spent one season before announcing his retirement on November 27, 2024.
Brandon Michael Crawford was born on January 21, 1987, in Mountain View, California. His family lived in Menlo Park before they moved to Pleasanton when he was in elementary school. 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: football, basketball, and baseball. He was the starting quarterback for the Foothill Falcons and graduated in the class of 2005.
Crawford attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a physiological sciences major. He played summer ball in the Northwoods League for the Mankato MoonDogs in 2005 before he attended UCLA. 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 helped lead the United States national team to the title in the 2006 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Championship.
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 High–A San Jose Giants in 2009. In 25 games, he hit .371 with six home runs and 17 RBI, 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. With the Triple–A Fresno Grizzlies, Crawford batted .234/.291/.327 in 107 at-bats. In the AFL, he was named to the AFL All-Prospect Team.
San Francisco Giants (2011–2023)
The Giants promoted Crawford to the major leagues 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, the Giants optioned Crawford to their 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 hitting only .190. Crawford was recalled in September when MLB rosters expanded to 40 players.
In 2012, Crawford was named the team's opening day shortstop, in which he batted 8th in the lineup. He batted .248 with four home runs, 26 doubles, and 45 RBI in 143 games. On July 20, Crawford hit his second career grand slam and drove in 5 runs as the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7–2. Crawford was praised for his defense during the 2012 postseason, which culminated in a 4–0 sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series. Crawford ranked third among NL shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved at +12, and was recognized with the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award at shortstop.
Crawford was the Giants' starting shortstop for 2013, with Joaquín Árias as his backup. In 149 games on the year, he hit .248/.311/.363 with nine home runs and 43 RBI.
In 153 games, Crawford batted .246 and set career highs with ten home runs and 69 RBIs. On April 13, Crawford hit a tenth inning, walk-off home run against Rex Brothers of the Colorado Rockies. In the 2014 postseason, Crawford led all Giants with 9 RBIs. In the fourth inning of the NL Wild Card Game between the Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates, Crawford hit a grand slam off of Edinson Vólquez, becoming the first shortstop to hit a grand slam in Major League Baseball postseason history. Crawford batted .304 (7-for-23) with 4 RBIs in the 2014 World Series, en route to his second championship with the Giants. In Game 7, Crawford drove in the second run for the Giants with a sacrifice fly and, along with second baseman Joe Panik, turned a critical double-play in the third inning.
On January 27, 2015, the Giants and Crawford avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.175 million deal. On May 16, Crawford hit his third career grand slam (fourth including the postseason) and drove in a career-high six runs against Mike Leake of the Cincinnati Reds. In May, Crawford led the team in RBIs, and on July 1, Crawford set a new career-high with his 11th home run of the season. On July 6, Crawford was voted by his fellow Major League players as a reserve for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game. On August 14 at AT&T Park, in an 8–5 win over the Washington Nationals, Crawford hit his 100th career double. On September 24 at Petco Park, Crawford hit his twentieth home run of the season off of Ian Kennedy, making him the fourth Giants shortstop in franchise history to reach the milestone, after Rich Aurilia, Alvin Dark, and Travis Jackson.
Crawford set career highs in several offensive categories, batting .256 with 21 home runs, 84 RBIs, 33 doubles, and 130 hits. Crawford was the first Giants' shortstop to lead the team in home runs since Bill Dahlen in 1905. He won his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award, the first Giant to win both awards in the same year since Barry Bonds in 1997.