After 1,600 career games at exclusively at shortstop, Brandon Crawford fulfilled a long-held dream Sunday against the Cubs.
SAN FRANCISCO — One of the accolades Brandon Crawford valued most from his 13-year career was the fact that every one of his 1,600 games, all of his 13,178⅔ innings, had come at shortstop while wearing a Giants uniform. In Game No. 1,601, we learned there was something that meant even more to Crawford.
Crawford will be the first to admit that appearing on the mound in a big-league game has long been a dream of his. In one of the most decorated careers in recent Giants history — two World Series championships, three All-Star appearances and four Gold Gloves — there was one box left unchecked on the 36-year-old’s bucket list.
In the twilight of his career, in a blowout win, in front of the home fans, the time was finally right Sunday. When the announcement was made over the loudspeakers between innings — “now pitching for the Giants, No. 35, Brandon Crawford” — the cheers mimicked those from the Giants’ four home runs. In the third-base dugout, the Giants’ entire roster was on the top step, watching from the railing.
Fittingly, it was a former teammate, Mike Tauchman, who stepped to the plate first. Crawford’s first pitch sailed outside at 85.4 mph. He missed the zone with the next three, too, putting his first batter on base on four pitches. Crawford got the next batter, Chrisopher Morel, to roll over for the first out of the inning. He even broke out a bender, coaxing a swing from Morel on a 74-mph curveball. The next two batters went down without drama, as well: Ian Happ first-pitch swinging for the second out and Trey Mancini, who popped out to first baseman Wilmer Flores for the final out. The ball from the final out was sitting at his locker as a keepsake.
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