10 best moments from Crawford's magical Giants career

SAN FRANCISCO -- Nobody epitomizes a storybook career more than Brandon Crawford.

A Bay Area native who grew up rooting for the Giants, Crawford got to live out his childhood dream by starring for his hometown team for 13 seasons, a magical run that included two World Series titles, three All-Star nods and four Gold Glove Awards.

Ahead of Brandon Crawford Celebration Day at Oracle Park on Saturday afternoon, here’s a look back at 10 of the best moments from the beloved shortstop’s tenure in San Francisco.

May 27, 2011: A grand entrance
Crawford’s slick fielding accelerated his path to the Majors, but he immediately showed his bat could play by becoming the sixth player to hit a grand slam in his MLB debut. His first career hit lifted the Giants to a 5-4 win at Milwaukee and was the first of 147 career homers for the 2015 Silver Slugger winner.

Oct. 1, 2014: The postseason slam
Crawford made more history during the 2014 National League Wild Card Game at Pittsburgh, where he became the first shortstop to hit a postseason grand slam. Crawford’s epic shot off Edinson Vólquez immediately silenced the PNC Park crowd and provided more than enough run support for Madison Bumgarner, who tossed a four-hit shutout to finish off an 8-0 win for the Giants.

Oct. 29, 2014: The World Series double play
Crawford and second baseman Joe Panik teamed up to turn a spectacular double play in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series at Kansas City, helping the Giants win their third title in five seasons.

Panik dove to make a superb stop on Eric Hosmer’s grounder and then made an unreal glove flip to Crawford, who took the high throw and quickly fired to first baseman Brandon Belt to complete the play, which was confirmed following a replay review.

“The one that always will stand out is the double play in the World Series, with what was at stake,” former Giants manager Bruce Bochy said when asked to name his favorite Crawford moment. "He and Panik, what a beautiful chemistry those two had and how well that play worked.”

Aug. 8, 2016: Seven-hit wonder
Crawford tied the NL record with seven hits in the Giants’ 8-7 win over the Marlins in 14 innings, going 7-for-8 with five singles, a double and a triple.

Aug. 28, 2012: The circus catch
Crawford didn’t win his first Gold Glove until 2015, but his defensive wizardry was on display even before then, as evidenced by this wild play he made to nab a pop fly that was bobbled by third baseman Pablo Sandoval in foul territory at Houston.

April 14, 2014: The walk-off splash hit
Crawford ended his career with four splash hits, including a walk-off shot against left-hander Rex Brothers that powered the Giants to a dramatic 5-4 win over the Rockies in 10 innings.

July 3, 2016: The barehanded chopper
Crawford made one of his more iconic defensive plays at Arizona, where he came charging in to barehand a high chopper off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt -- his future Cardinals teammate -- before firing to Buster Posey at first base to complete the play.

June 8, 2021: Franchise shortstop
With his 1,326th career appearance at shortstop, Crawford surpassed Hall of Famer Travis Jackson as the Giants’ all-time leader in games played at the position. He made the night even more memorable by cranking two home runs to lead the Giants to a 9-4 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

June 11, 2023: The long-awaited pitching debut
Crawford played exclusively shortstop for his first 1,601 career games before deciding to add another position to his list: pitcher. The veteran infielder crossed off one of his bucket list items when he took the mound and worked a scoreless ninth inning in the Giants’ 13-3 rout of the Cubs at Oracle Park.

Sept. 22, 2022: Vintage Crawford
This play probably wouldn’t be the most obvious one to include on Crawford’s highlight reel, but he’s repeatedly cited it as one of his personal favorites. Crawford -- at 35, no less -- dove to his right to snag Yonathan Daza’s grounder in the hole and then fired off a throw from his knee to get the force out at second base.

“He was so creative, how he could come up with plays,” Bochy said. “There wasn’t a play you didn’t think he could make. That’s what you loved about him.”