Ex-Pirates 1B Will Craig ready for fresh start in KBO

Former Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Will Craig (38) looks on before the game against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. Mark Alberti-USA TODAY Sports

Former Pirates first baseman Will Craig ready for fresh start in KBO

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 7/13/21

We all need a fresh start every now and then. And for first baseman Will Craig, that time to "start over" is now, per ESPN.

The former Pittsburgh Pirate is headed to play for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, a couple of months after the Bucs demoted him to the minors in light of a widely seen infield gaffe against the Chicago Cubs. As Craig told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the embarrassing play involving Chicago's Javier Baez shaped his decision to play overseas.

“I feel like that play kind of defined me,” Craig told the Post-Gazette in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I didn’t want that to be the case. That’s another thing that went into my decision to go over there. I need to almost start over in a way.”

The decision to move was in part due to the Pirates passing over him twice when they needed to recall a first baseman to fill in for the perpetually-injured Colin Moran. But a nice rebound stint with Triple-A Indianapolis likely inspired the need for change as well. Through 18 games at the big-league level this season, Craig was slashing .217/.277/.300 with just 13 hits, three RBI and 22 strikeouts. That improved to .287/.367/.549 with 35 hits and 23 RBI in Indy.

Putting even more space between himself and the blooper reel-worthy infield play seemed like the logical next step.

"It will hang over my head for the rest of my career. But I want to give myself an opportunity to break away from it for a little bit," Craig continued."I feel like most players always have a play or some type of event that happens in their career. Mine just happens to be a little bit bigger than others."

The plan now is to finish out the season in the KBO with the chance to return to the MLB on a new team -- and more opportunities to get away from the Baez play.

“I’ll still be a free agent in October or whenever,” Craig said of a potential return. “This kind of helps me get my feet wet with something a little bit different.”

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