Farewell, sweet prince.
We knew there was a chance that it would happen. And now it has, indeed, happened. The greatest shortstop in San Francisco Giants history — a man who had a nearly perfectly-written script — will play baseball for a team not affiliated with the Giants for the first time since suiting up for UCLA in 2008. Yes, Brandon Crawford is moving on, as he’s signing a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser first reported that the two sides were near a deal, with The Athletic’s Katie Woo breaking news that a contract had been agreed to. According to Woo, it’s a Major League deal for Crawford, not just a camp deal. Unless Crawford plays poorly enough to get cut, he’ll suit up in MLB games for another team. A team he beat twice en route to world championships.
It’s going to be very hard and very weird to see, but I want to make it clear that we should all be happy. If you need to cry, cry. If you need to barf, barf. If you need a beer, grab a beer.
But while it slightly damages our happily ever after, it’s the continuation of Crawford’s. He wanted to keep playing. It wasn’t going to happen on the Giants. Now he gets to do so. We should all be very happy for him, even if deep down you wish that what he wanted was to retire and go enjoy rural Arizona with his great playlists and adorable kids.
It’s ironic and perhaps extra painful that the news dropped on Monday, at virtually the same time that it was reported the Giants were signing Nick Ahmed to a Minor League deal. Ahmed is best described as a significantly worse Crawford. He’s a glove over bat shortstop like Crawford, with a worse glove than Crawford and a worse bat than Crawford. He’s a one-team NL West lifer, from a worse team than Crawford. And he hits right-handed unlike Crawford, for a team with right-handers starting at second, third, and shortstop.
But of course it’s not that simple. The Giants plan for Ahmed is that he’ll mentor Marco Luciano while competing with Tyler Fitzgerald, Otto López, Casey Schmitt, and Brett Wisely. The Giants hope for Ahmed is that he’ll lose that battle and be waived.
The Giants can waive Ahmed to play an unproven prospect who might fail. The Cardinals can DFA Crawford when Tommy Edman returns from injury. The Giants could not waive or DFA Crawford in mid-March to play an unproven prospect who might fail. That’s just not how it works.
And so we all move on in different ways. I’m very happy for Crawford. He wanted to keep playing, perhaps because of competitiveness, perhaps because he loves the game in ways that Anthony Rendon cannot relate to, or perhaps because he, like so many athletes (hello, Panda!) wants his children to have memories of him playing. Whatever the reason, he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation; the Giants didn’t come calling and the Cardinals did. He answered. We should all be happy.
Hopefully he’ll forgive me for watching with a hand over my eyes.
Now, in less bittersweet news, there’s more baseball today! Though sadly it’s not televised. The Giants play the Mariners today at 1:05 p.m. PT. It’s the scheduled debut of Jung Hoo Lee and Jordan Hicks! Here’s the lineup as of Monday:
- Jung Hoo Lee — CF
- Thairo Estrada — 2B
- LaMonte Wade Jr. — 1B
- Jorge Soler — DH
- Wilmer Flores — 3B
- Patrick Bailey — C
- Casey Schmitt — SS
- Heliot Ramos — RF
- Luis Matos — LF
Jordan Hicks — RHP
What a joy.
How many days until Opening Day?
30! Only 30!