Why Cardinals Fans Shouldn't Give Up on Jimmy Crooks Just Yet

Jimmy Crooks has struggled at the plate, but fans shouldn't quit on him yet.

Sep 6, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Jimmy Crooks (8) signals to the pitcher in a game against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals are starting to fall back down to earth a little bit after losing four out of five games to the Milwaukee Brewers, but they got back into the win column on Friday night.

They waited out a rain delay that lasted nearly three hours, and after falling behind, Jordan Walker tied the game in the sixth. But it wasn't a household name that hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth. Rather, it was Jimmy Crooks, going deep in a lefty-versus-lefty situation and defying the odds to lead to a big win for the Cardinals.

Why Cardinals fans shouldn't quit on Jimmy Crooks yet

Crooks has struggled at the plate, hitting just .172/.273/.310 with two home runs and a .583 OPS. However, that second home run was huge. He is still one of the top prospects within the Cardinals system, and they still need to figure out which catchers are going to be a part of their future.

But while Crooks has struggled, he showed his ability to come through in the clutch for St. Louis, and he did just that, off the bench, much less. He has been able to hit at the minor league level, so it may only be a matter of time before he starts hitting in the big leagues.

Sometimes, it takes a little while for a younger player to find his footing in the major leagues, but if there was ever a time for Crooks to find his groove, Friday night was the perfect starting point.

Fans had waited several hours through the rain delay, and more rain was set to come later, which threatened the game if it were to have gone into extra innings. Fortunately for St. Louis, Crooks did not allow that to happen.

But a clutch home run like that against a team like the Braves can only be a confidence builder for Crooks, and receiving a cooler shower at the end of the game also can't hurt either.

The Cardinals will hope that this is the start of something special for Crooks. If he can use it as a launchpad to more success, then the Cardinals should be okay as they look towards the future and try to assess which catchers are going to be a part of that future.

Crooks made his case on Friday night as he delievered the big blow.

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