OAKLAND — Curious about seeing Brandon Crawford in a uniform other than the Giants?
The best chance will be Monday through Wednesday at the Coliseum when Crawford comes back to the Bay Area as a reserve shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, who play a three-game series against the Athletics.
“It will be a strange for sure,” said A’s pitcher Alex Wood, a former teammate. “In this day and age not many guys play the length of time he played with an organization. He’s an icon in the Bay. It will be strange but it will be nice to catch up with him and see how things are going in St. Louis.”
A return to Oracle Park and the scene of some of Crawford’s greatest triumphs wont happen until the season is almost over. The Cardinals don’t visit San Francisco until the final series of the regular season, Sept. 27 -29.
Plenty of time to get that statue ready.
Although Crawford grew up in Pleasanton and starred at Foothill High, his heart as a young fan was across the bay with the Giants. It was the place he spent the first 13 years of his major league career, winning a pair of World Series rings and four Gold Gloves before the Giants said farewell after hitting .194 in 93 games in 2023.
Whether it’s Oakland or San Francisco, former teammate Kevin Frandsen thinks it will be a startling sight.
LIke Crawford, Frandsen was a Bay Area product (Los Gatos, San Jose State) who came to the Giants. He befriended Crawford on that basis.
“He was drafted (by the Giants) when I was there. I remember having a conversation with him about being a Bay Area guy, coming up through the system, and the expectations that are put upon you,” said Frandsen, who was in town with the Washington Nationals as part of the broadcast team. “It’s hard to make everything seem right and at ease.”
Whether Crawford actually gets into a game is an open question. He is hitting .091 (1-for-13) in four games backing up Masyn Wynn, who is hitting .349 in 14 games. Crawford started Sunday in a 5-1 loss to Arizona, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
While playing in Oakland isn’t as significant as playing in San Francisco, Frandsen contends “it’s still going to matter. He’s still a huge part of the Bay Area. He came to the Coliseum and played, and whether you’re an A’s fan or a Giants fan, if you live here you know each team.”
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Frandsen, who played with the Angels, Phillies and Nationals before coming back to the Giants in 2015, said not much changed about Crawford while Frandsen was with other teams.
“He was the same,” Frandsen said. “First spring training he was with us, his locker was next to mine. I love him. All the mistakes I made as a rookie I didn’t want him to make because I really care about Bay Area guys. He’s a phenomenal human. Doesn’t matter the millions he’s made, the World Series rings he has, the Gold Gloves. He’s the same guy.”