Willie Murphy Crawford was born in Los Angeles on September 7, 1946. His family home was on 69th street. Long before he graduated from Fremont High School, college recruiters were beating a path to his front door. He was All-City as a running back and had gained attention that way. He also was clocked at 9.7 in the 100-yard dash in track. 2 days after he graduated from high school, Al Campanis signed him to a 100,000-dollar bonus. Being a bonus baby, he had to be kept on the 40-man roster for two years. Under the rules which had been revised, he could be sent to the minors. When Koufax signed his bonus, he had to stay on the major league roster. 

                                               The Dodgers wanted to team him with Willie Davis and give the team two homegrown kids to be the faces of the franchise. They also needed some sort of offensive boost for their pitching rich team. So, at the age of 17, Willie would get his first taste of major league baseball in 1964, and he would play in 10 games for the Dodgers, going 5-17 with a double. He played 65 games that year at Class-A Santa Barbara, hitting .326 with 6 homers and 26 runs batted in. He also played 33 games that winter in the Arizona Instructional League batting .244. 

                                               The Dodgers imagined Crawford as a centerpiece of their offense. Since he was 6’1″ 197 pounds, why not? But as history has shown us, size does not always translate to power at the plate. Crawford had been pursued by several other teams, including the Yankees. Since he was right in their backyard, the Dodgers really could not afford to let some other team filch the kid from their grasp. He was also being pursued by the A’s. Finley supposedly was offering a lot more money that the 100,000 $ LA gave him. One thing that turned the tables was the fact that Tommy Lasorda, who along with Kenny Myers, was a scout at that time, attended the funeral of Crawford’s grandfather. Willie appreciated that and signed with LA.

                                                 That first season he could and was sent to the minors for some seasoning, but he had to be brought up at some point and would have to spend the entire 65 season on the major league roster. On September 16th, 1964, the 18-year-old Crawford made his MLB debut wearing #43 as a pinch hitter against Vern Law of the Pirates and popped out to short. He was being groomed as the Dodgers next right fielder. On the 29th, he started his first MLB game playing RF and leading off. He would play the entire 3-game series with the Cubs. 

                                                 That first game he went 3-5 with a double and a stolen base. After the season he went to the Arizona Instructional League for the winter. In 1965, he would stay with LA for the entire year. He would get into 52 games, mostly as a defensive replacement. He started just 8 games in the outfield. He had just 27 at bats all year. Not exactly the way to get experience. The Dodgers were locked in a tight pennant race all year, eventually winning the pennant and the World Series. Crawford got 2 at bats in the series and went 1-2. He got a ring in his first season. He batted just .158 that year with 0 homers and 0 runs batted in.

                                                That winter he was back in the AIL. He played much better the second time around, batting .317 and hitting 3 homers and driving in 23. He also stole 16 bases without being caught. No longer hampered by the bonus rules, the Dodgers sent him to Albuquerque in 66, which was a AA Texas League team at the time. He played in 140 games that year, batting .265 with 15 homers and 65 driven in. He stole 15 bases but was caught 10 times. His biggest problem at AA was striking out. He struck out 186 times in 502 at bats. This in an era when striking out was frowned upon. He was called up in September getting into 6 games without an at bat. 

                                               1965 had been a tough season on many levels for Crawford. When the Watts riots started in August of 1965, Willies home was very close to the area where they were taking place. Teammates John Roseboro and Lou Johnson also had homes in the area. Walter Alston would later say that it was hard to get him much playing time, but he was one of the hardest workers on the team and actually improved in some areas. 

                                                1967 was a transition year for the Dodgers. Koufax retired, Tommy Davis was traded. LA felt he still needed some more seasoning, so he was sent to AA Albuquerque again. He played much better this time, batting .305 with 21 homers, 67 RBIs, 17 stolen bases. He cut his strikeouts down to 120, still a lot. He was called up in September and had 4 at bats getting 1 hit.

                                               In 1968, even though he had played parts of 3 seasons, Willie still had rookie status. He still began the year at AAA Spokane. He would appear in 87 games, batting .295. He had just 2 homers and drove in 25. He was 12-24 in stolen bases. He walked 49 times and struck out 74 in 322 at bats. He was called up and got into 61 games, homering 4 times, driving in 14. He batted .251 and struck out 70 times in 175 at bats. He would not return to the minors.  2 of his 4 homers were hit off of Bob Gibson, who was having the year of a lifetime in what was called the year of the pitcher. On September 11th, at Busch Stadium, he led off a game with a homer off of Gibson. His next one came on the 22nd of September, it helped LA win 3-2 and dropped Gibson to 21-9 as the Cardinals geared up for their World Series run. He changed his number to 27 after wearing 47 for the first few years.

                                             In 1969, Crawford was the 4th outfielder. LA was set with Mota, Davis and Kosco as the starters. He must have felt like the oldest 22-year-old alive. He played all three outfield positions that year, most of his games came in left field. He appeared in 129 games, the same as Willie D, batted .245, with 11 homers and 41 driven in. He also had 17 doubles and 5 triples. The Dodgers were changing and getting younger. Their top draft choices were starting to get some playing time. Valentine, Joshua, Garvey, Buckner, Russell, Sizemore and Sudakis, all got some AB’s in the later part of the season. 

                                               The group had been nicknamed, The Mod Squad, after the TV show of the times. Crawford showed up at spring training sporting a huge afro. But it was just a wig and got a lot of laughs from his teammates. There was also an incident with pitcher, Mike Strahler. The back and forth joking got out of hand and Crawford punched him breaking his nose. The Dodgers publicity manager, Red Patterson, denied the incident was racially motivated and Crawford agreed to pay Strahler’s medical bills.

                                              In 1970, Willie spent most of the season platooning in right field with Manny Mota. He batted just .234 with 8 homers, 40 driven in and 88 Ks in 299 at bats. He was in the opening day lineup that year. Gary Nolan of the Reds gave up just 2 hits that game, Crawford had both of them. He played winter ball that year and his manager was Frank Robinson. He would later credit him for his improvement during the 71 campaign. 

                                             Willie played in 114 games in 71, improving his BA to .281. He had 9 homers and 40 driven in and cut his strikeouts in half. He batted .377 against LHP that year. In the winter of 1971, LA traded for Robinson, and Crawford was back to part-time duty. He slumped to .251 with 8 homers and 27 driven in while playing in 96 games. Robinson was sent to the Angels in a big trade that winter.

                                             In 1973, Crawford looked to have finally figured it out at age 26. He played in 145 games, batting .295 with 14 homers and 66 driven in. He also had 26 doubles and 2 triples, and he stole 12 bases, marking the first time he had double-digit steals.  On August 1st, Crawford was at the plate with the bases loaded against the Reds at Dodger Stadium. There was catcher’s interference called on a pitch, and the Dodgers had the first and so far, only walk-off win in MLB history coming on a catcher’s interference call.

                                           The Dodgers would win their first pennant since 1966 in 74. Bolstered by the trade for CF, Jimmy Wynn and the trade of Willie Davis for reliever Mike Marshall. The class of 68 made their mark that season also with the beginning of “The Infield”, consisting of Garvey, Lopes, Cey and Russell. Garvey would be the MVP and Marshall won the Cy Young. Willie did his part, batting .295 for the second straight year. His power was down a bit to 11 homers. He drove in 61 and had 23 doubles and 4 triples. He went 1-4 in the LCS against the Giants and only had 6 at bats in the World Series with the A’s, he had 2 hits, one of which was a homer.

                                         1975 would be his last season as a Dodger. He was the right-fielder with Buckner in left and Wynn in center, but once again he regressed enough that when the season was over, the Dodgers decided to go another direction. For the year, he batted .263 with 9 homers and 46 driven in playing 124 games. LA traded with the Braves, sending Wynn to Atlanta for Dusty Baker. On March 2nd, 1976, he was traded to the Cardinals for former Dodger, Ted Sizemore.

                                        At the time of the trade, LA columnist, Bill Murray, said that Crawford was the classic case of arrested athletic development. Bulit like Lou Gehrig, he needed to play every day for him to develop those skills to their peak. Willie himself felt typecast in a certain role by the Dodgers. This was typical of Walter Alston’s managerial style. Alston preferred to platoon young players with established veterans. You can look back at his entire history with the team and see many examples of this. 

                                     1976 would be Crawford’s best year as a major leaguer. He batted .304 with the Redbirds in 120 games. He was still being platooned. He knocked in 50 and had 9 homers. He had hit well enough in May, and the Cardinals traded Reggie Smith to LA in June to open up RF for him. He batted just .225 with RISP. St. Louis traded him in October to the Giants along with John Curtis, and Vic Harris, for John D’Acquisto, Mike Caldwell and Dave Rader.

                                      He did not stay a Giant very long. In March of 77 at the end of spring training, he was traded to the Astros along with Rob Sperring for Rob Andrews and cash. He played in 42 games for the Astros, with just 2 homers and 18 driven in. He was traded in June to the A’s for Denny Wailing and cash. He hit under the Mendoza line for the Stros with just 1 homer and 16 driven in. He was granted free agency after the season. He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent, but according to reports, he was way overweight when he reported. He was released in March. 

                                       Tommy Lasorda, who had seen Willie’s entire career from high school to the majors, and who had nurtured him as his manager in the minors, said that his story was loaded with frustration at every turn. Tommy preached “The Fruits of Victory”, but Willie never saw those. He never reached the heights the team expected when they signed him to his 100,000$ bonus, but it would be wrong to consider him a failure. You do not stay in the majors for 14 years without being able to do the job. 

                                    He played in the Mexican league for 2 seasons, then finally retired at the age of 32. Willie struggled with alcoholism after he retired. At one point he reached out to Al Campanis and asked for help. He was hooked up with Don Newcombe and Lou Johnson, both of whom had the same struggles. He eventually checked himself into “The Meadows”, there he found out the reason behind his drinking. He had been suppressing anger. He was angry because he never felt the Dodgers gave him a chance to play every day. He felt he had to prove himself and fight for respect.

                                   He found peace after that, and then another problem would develop. He contracted kidney disease, and it would eventually debilitate him. After several years of struggling with the disease, he passed away in August of 2004. He was 57 years old. By all accounts, he was a popular teammate and a hard worker. But one just must wonder what might have been had he been used as a player a different way. 

MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS

OKC Comets 7 – Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 5

Steward Berroa hit his first home run of the season and Kody Hoese connected on what would become the game-winning home run in the eighth inning of the Oklahoma City Comets’ 7-5 win against the Albuquerque Isotopes.

The Isotopes scored a run in the first inning before a solo home run by Berroa in the second inning tied the score at 1-1. The Comets went in front in the third inning on a RBI double by Alex Freeland. Michael Chavis followed with a RBI single and Berroa tacked on a two-run double in the inning for a 5-1 OKC advantage.

The Isotopes answered with a run in the third inning and two more in the sixth inning to trim OKC’s lead to one run. Then in the eighth inning, Hoese belted a two-run home run out to left-center field for a 7-4 Comets advantage. Albuquerque scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning and brought the tying run to the plate twice in the ninth inning, before Sam Carlson secured his second save of the season.

Since both second-place Oklahoma City and first-place Las Vegas won their games Sunday, the Comets remain 3.5 games behind the league-leading Aviators. The Aviators’ magic number sits at four with six games remaining in the first half of the PCL season.

Alex Freeland has hit safely in four straight games, going 7-for-14.

Esteury Ruiz drew a walk and scored a run as he extended his on-base streak to 21 games for the longest on-base streak by a Comets player this season and the third-longest active on-base streak in the league.

Edgardo Henriquez continued his Major League Rehab Assignment and pitched a season-high 2.0 innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk and three strikeouts. Sunday was his seventh appearance with OKC since late May.

• Alex Freeland – 3-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
• Steward Berroa – 3-4, 1 run, 3 RBI, double (7), HR (1)
• Kody Hoese – 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (2)

Box Score

Springfield Cardinals 6 – Tulsa Drillers 4 

This was a completion of the June 14 game.  This game went back and forth.  When play returned on Sunday, the score was tied 1-1.  The Drillers scored a run in the 4^th.  Both Noah Miller and John Rhodes singled with Miller moving to 3^rd.  A WP brought home Miller and the 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the 4^th, 2 singles and a BB loaded the bases.  The Cardinals got one on a sac fly, and a second run on a single, taking a 3-2 lead.

In the 7^th, Rhodes and Kole Myers both singled, and Sean McLain drew a BB to load the bases.  A sac fly and Ezequiel Pagan single scored 2, and gave the Drillers a 4-3 lead. 

Jerming Rosario entered the 8^th, and gave up 3 runs and the lead.

• Ezequiel Pagan – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
• John Rhodes – 2-4, 1 run
• José Ramos – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI

No XBH.

Box Score

Springfield Cardinals 7 – Tulsa Drillers 1 (7 innings)

This game was all about Jackson Ferris.  For the 1^st three innings, he was excellent.  He allowed 2 singles and 4 K.  Then came the 4^th.  The first seven batters reached and scored.

• Single
• Single
• Double
• Single
• HBP
• BB
• Grand Slam

He did get the 8^th batter of the inning to fly out.  But as Vinny would say, the damage was done.

The Drillers got a Sean McLain double (5), Taylor Young single, and a 2-out Noah Miller single to get the Drillers lone run.

No Drillers hitter had a multi-hit game, and McLain’s double was the only XBH.

The Drillers went 0-6 against the Cardinals in the Series, and have now lost 9 in a row.

Box Score

 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee) 10 – Great Lakes Loons 4

After three poor starts at Arizona Complex League, Maddux Bruns made his Great Lakes Loons debut.  I am not going to draw any conclusions after one A+ start, but he was not very sharp. 

In his three ACL starts, Bruns completed 6.1 IP, 14 runs (13 earned), 16 hits, 6 BB, 9 K.  He had 18.47 ERA and 3.47 WHIP.

In his Great Loons start, Bruns completed 2.1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 3 BB, 2 K, and 2 WP.  He threw 49 pitches.  One of those WP led to the run.  Bruns is back to a BB per IP. 

Brooks Auger entered in the 3^rd, and pitched a clean 3^rd and 4^th innings.  But two singles and 2 doubles in the 6^th gave Wisconsin a 3-1 lead.  Auger walked the first batter in the 7^th and the 2^nd batter reached on a single.  On a one out fly out, both runners moved up to 2^nd and 3^rd.  Auger was replaced by Christian Ruebeck who gave up a 2-run single and a 5-1 lead.

Alex Makarewich entered in the 8^th.  Alex struck out the 1^st batter he faced, but then allowed a double and 3 walks for one run.  He exited with the bases loaded and Jorge Gonzalez coming in for relief.  All three baserunners scored with a BB and a 2-run single and a 9-2 lead. 

Reynaldo Yean entered in the 9^th, and he allowed a single, 2 BB, and a HBP to score the 10^th run.

Doubles by Jake Gelof and Jordan Thompson tied the score at 1-1 in the 2^nd.  Jordan Thompson homered in the 7^th for the Loons 2^nd run.

• Jordan Thompson – 2-3, HBP, 1 run, 2 RBI, Double (12), HR (6)
• Zyhir Hope – 2-5
• Mike Sirota – 1-1, 4 BB, 1 RBI
• Kendall George – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 run, double (3)
• Jake Gelof – Double 5

One play I did take special notice was Kendall George doing his best impression of Brett Butler.  He slapped at an outside pitch into LF and legged it into a double.  This needs to be his game.

Box Score

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4 – Inland Empire 66ers (LAA) 2

Jakob Wright started for the Quakes and pitched a quality 3.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed 2 hits, 1 BB, and recorded 3 K.

Jholbran Herder relieved Wright in the 4^th, loaded the bases and got out of the jam.  But in the 5^th, he allowed a single and BB and was pulled for Michael Vilchez.  The 66ers pulled off a double steal.  A sac fly and throwing error scored both runs, giving Inland Empire a 2-0 lead. 

In the 6^th, Eduardo Guerrero drew a BB, Jaron Elkins was HBP, and Elijah Hainline singled to load the bases.  Guerrero scored on a fielder’s choice ground out, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Trailing 2-1 in the ninth, IE reliever, Andre Sanchez, hit Roger Lasso with a pitch to put the tying run on base.  After a strikeout of Jackson Nicklaus for the second out, Victor Rodrigues fought off a Sanchez pitch to right field for a base hit.  With two outs and two aboard, Guerrero delivered a game-tying double, plating Lasso to make it 2-2.

Sadiel Baro entered the game for Sanchez and couldn’t hold the tie score, as Elkins ripped his first pitch to left field, scoring Rodrigues to give Rancho a 3-2 lead.  Baro later unloaded a wild pitch, scoring Guerrero to give Rancho some insurance at 4-2.

Connor Godwin, who retired all three batters he faced in the eighth, did the same in the ninth, as he picked up his first career-win by sitting down all six hitters over two perfect innings.

• Jaron Elkins – 2-4, HBP, 1 RBI, Double (12)
• Elijah Hainline – 2-4, 1 BB
• Eduardo Guerrero – 2-3, 1 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, Double (6)

Box Score