Cardinals Newcomer 'Was Not Wanted Back' By Former Club Despite Being Fan Favorite

The St. Louis Cardinals latest acquisition has plenty to prove this season, and not just with his new club.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak spent the vast majority of the offseason focused on revamping the pitching staff but recently made one intriguing addition to the team's position player depth -- a middle infielder with a lot to prove.

Newly acquired shortstop Brandon Crawford is a two-time World Series Champion, three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove Award winner and even has a Silver Slugger in his trophy case -- all with the San Francisco Giants. Despite this, Crawford was not welcomed back.

“The bottom line is I was not wanted back by the one person whose (opinion) matters,” Crawford told The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly, referring to Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. “So I went with a team that gave me a major-league contract. The Cardinals have a long history and tradition. I’ve admired and respected the way the Cardinals have played throughout my career and the way the organization has been run."

The 13-year veteran hit .194 with 19 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 38 RBIs and a .587 OPS in 93 games last season. It was far from his typical production and San Francisco seemingly saw enough.

That said, he also was battling through multiple injuries throughout the season in an attempt to do everything he could to help the Giants' organization. He also continued to play stellar defense at a premium position throughout his offensive struggles.

Now Crawford will do everything he can to prove Zaidi wrong, and he'll do so in Cardinals red.

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Published Mar 1, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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