Brandon Crawford calls it a career.
The longtime San Francisco Giants shortstop announced on social media Wednesday night that he has officially retired.
“I’m incredibly grateful for all the years I’ve spent playing the game I love, but now it’s time to spend them with the people I’m most grateful for,” Crawford wrote in part. “Thank you to all of you who have [been] it has been there for me for years. It’s been an incredible ride… It’s time for the next chapter and I can’t wait for the new opportunities and different experiences it will create.”
Crawford spent most of his 14-year Major League Baseball career with the Giants, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of UCLA. He debuted with the franchise in 2011 and helped lead them to a pair of World Series titles over the next 13 seasons — first in 2012 when they beat the Detroit Tigers and again in 2014 when they beat the Kansas City Royals. in seven games. Crawford, a three-time All-Star, won four Gold Glove awards during his career and was awarded the Silver Slugger in 2015.
Crawford spent the past season in St. Louis Cardinals, although he appeared in only 28 games for the team before being fired. Overall, he held a .249 batting average with 1,404 hits and 147 home runs in 1,682 league games.
The Giants will officially honor Crawford, who grew up in the Bay Area, next season on April 26.
“It was an honor to know Brandon as a friend and teammate,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said in a statement. “From the day we were both drafted in 2008 to the last year we played together in 2021, it was an honor to play alongside him for 14 years. Whether it was clutch moments like the grand slam he hit in the 2014 wild-card game at Pittsburgh, the franchise-record seven hits he had at Miami, or the dazzling defensive plays and acrobatic throws he made time and time again, Brandon made his mark in a way few athletes do.
“I am extremely grateful for our friendship and wish him all the best in this next chapter of his life.”