Brandon Crawford is relishing playing for the club he grew up watching.
Speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt on the latest episode of "BP With Britt," the Giants legend shared he doesn't really think about the fact that he's spent his entire career with San Francisco, unless something out of the ordinary occurs.
"Yeah, it's typically not throughout the course of the season but sometimes after the season's over or maybe like a milestone moment or something like that, like in 2021 when I broke the record for most games played as a shortstop in the history of the franchise," Crawford said. "It's stuff like that, you think about it just like how crazy it is growing up a Giants fan and then something like that happening."
At age 36 and having been in MLB since 2011, Crawford has been around many iterations of Giants teams, from World Series champions to rebuilding squads.
However, he never has been able to pitch and finally got to do so during the Giants' 13-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on June 11. Though pitching was something he'd always thought about, Crawford isn't in a rush to do it again.
"I'm not necessarily pushing it because it took a few days for the arm to recover and really the whole body to recover," Crawford told Britt. "Getting up on the mound is a little different, especially after 15 years of not doing that, so not pushing it, but at the same time, if the opportunity comes about, I think I could be ready again."
Staying ready always is important as a professional athlete and Crawford knows that. Even if it's for something as innocuous as a position player pitching or getting ready for game days, Crawford perhaps is one of the best people to learn from in the Giants clubhouse, especially for rookies like Casey Schmitt.
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Schmitt, the 24-year-old rookie, potentially could be the Giants' shortstop of the future and Crawford says that he and the rest of San Francisco's rookies are uniquely talented.
"I mean they're all different for sure but all special in their own ways too," Crawford said. "Like Casey came up and was on fire and can play anywhere on the infield."
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Crawford also compared rookie catcher Patrick Bailey to one of his former teammates and arguably one of the best catchers of the last decade.
"Patty, with how calm he came up, kind of like Buster [Posey] in ways just with how calm he is behind the plate and calling a game, has shown an ability to throw out runners, he blocks really well," Crawford added. "And then all the pitchers that have come up, despite kind of going up and down between Sacramento and up here, have pitched really well every time.
"So all different but have helped us out a lot."
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As Crawford continues through the later stages of his career, he knows that his time with the club he grew up watching and playing for is running out.
Still, he's enjoying and cherishing every moment of all the wins and losses and any potential championships the Giants might win in the future.
