San Francisco Giants & the Week That Was: Week Two a Bit Worse

Play of the Week: Brandon Crawford Remembers His Football Days

Giants’ shortstop Brandon Crawford isn’t shy about talking about his days as a football player at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, and on Saturday, he channeled his inner football player. Though he was a quarterback for the Foothill Falcons, he showed he can track a ball like a wide receiver chasing a deep pass.

On Saturday, Cueto was cruising for the Giants, having retired the first seven batters of the game before Trayce Thompson stepped to the plate. On a 2-0 pitch, Thompson lifted a flyball into shallow left field that, off the bat, looked like it would fall for a surefire bloop hit before either left fielder Angel Pagan or center fielder Denard Span could race in and get a glove on it.

From his shortstop position, Crawford turned and broke into a sprint, running straight out into left-center field in pursuit of this fast-sinking ball. Tracking the ball the entire way over his shoulder, Crawford got himself into the perfect spot for a beautiful basket catch to retire Thompson. A ball that would normally land in that “Bermuda’s Triangle” between the shortstop, left fielder, and center fielder, instead came to rest in Crawford’s glove as a routine out on a scoresheet.

Cueto would go on to retire another five hitters in order before allowing his first baserunner of the evening, which came on a one-out double off the bat of Yasmani Grandal in the fifth inning.

The defense wasn’t particularly sharp this past week, but Crawford’s tremendous effort stood out among the slate of games. The defending National League’s Gold Glove shortstop is making a strong case early to become a repeat winner.

Next: Giant Killer of the Week