BIOGRAPHY
Brandon Michael Crawford was born on January 21, 1987, in Mountain View, California. He is a shortstop in the MLB.
He was the sixth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his first Major League game, and is also the first shortstop to hit a grand slam in a Major Baseball League postseason game. Crawford played college baseball for UCLA, where he was twice named the team's MVP.
Crawford is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, and grew up in Pleasanton. He was born in Mountain View, and his family lived in Menlo Park before they moved to Pleasanton when he was in elementary school. He grew up a 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.
Crawford attended UCLA, where he was a physiological sciences major. He played baseball for the UCLA Bruins from 2006 to 2008, where he 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 he was named to the All-Pac-10 conference team in 2007. In the summer of 2007, Crawford played for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod LeagueBaseball . He also helped lead the United States national team to the title in the 2006 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Championship.
On June 8, 2021, Crawford started in what was his 1,326th game playing shortstop for the Giants, passing Travis Jackson for the most games played at the position in franchise history. On August 13, Crawford agreed to a 2-year extension worth $32 million through 2023.
In the 2021 regular season, Crawford batted .298(9th in the NL)/.373(10th)/.522 with 79 runs, 24 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 90 RBIs (all career highs). In 138 games he had 549 at-bats. On defense, he had a .983 fielding percentage (3rd in the NL), and a 3.76 range factor/game (3rd). At the end of the season, he was 3rd of all active players in games played at shortstop, at 1,409.
In Game 3 of the 2021 NLDS, Crawford made a leaping catch to preserve a crucial 1-0 lead for the Giants, which held to give the Giants a 2-1 series lead.
He won the 2021 National League Gold Glove Award at shortstop. With four Gold Glove Awards, he became tied with former first baseman J.T. Snow for third-most in Giants history.
He was named a 2021 Silver Slugger Award finalist. On November 18th, he was announced to have placed 4th in National League MVP voting.
In 2022 with the Giants he batted .231/.308/.344 in 407 at bats, with 9 home runs and 52 RBIs, as on defense he led the NL in range factor per game at shortstop (3.88). He was second of all active players in career games at shortstop (1,525).
Following the offseason departure of fellow infielder Brandon Belt, Crawford became the longest tenured member of the Giants.
