Apr 26, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Former San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford smiles following a ceremony to honor his legacy with the team before a game against the Texas Rangers at Oracle Park. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

San Francisco Giants Honor Retired Franchise Legend with Pre-Game Ceremony

Originally posted on San Francisco Giants on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated Apr 26, 2025 10:00 PM ET

On Saturday the San Francisco Giants took their opportunity to honor franchise legend Brandon Crawford on his prolific 14-year career in the Major Leagues.

Crawford announced his retirement in the offseason. He played 13 of his 14 seasons with the Giants. After the announcement, the Giants revealed that they would honor Crawford for his time with the franchise on Saturday.

The selection of the date was intentional. The opponent on Saturday was the Texas Rangers, which is led by former Giants manager Bruce Bochy. He was Crawford's manager for most of his career in San Francisco and the Giants wanted to ensure that his longtime skipper was able to honor him along with a huge crowd at Oracle Park.

Before the ceremony began, Crawford walked with his family onto the field and received a loud standing ovation from Giants fans.

The celebration featured comments from two of his former teammates, Hunter Pence and current president of baseball operations Buster Posey. Crawford then got his opportunity to address the crowd and express his appreciation for his time in San Francisco.

He then threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former teammate, Posey, who played catcher for the Giants his entire career.

Brandon Crawford throws out the first pitch to Buster Posey

(: @MLB) pic.twitter.com/iWGYxRF9s8
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 26, 2025

Crawford played for two World Series championship teams in 2012 and 2014.

The 37-year-old California native was a three-time All-Star selection, won four Gold Gloves and was the Silver Slugger at his position in 2015. He also played for the U.S. in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, where the U.S, won the gold medal.

Last season, Bochy said that his favorite Crawford moment was in 2014 when the Giants were playing in the NL Wild Card game.

That Wild Card game, back in 2014, saw the Giants beat the Pirates on the back of Crawford’s home run. That grand slam was the first by a shortstop in Major League history. The Giants went on to win the World Series.

The Mountain View, Calif., product finished his career with a slash line of .249/.318/.395/.713 with 147 home runs and 748 RBI. His best single season was in 2021, when he slashed .298/.373/.522/.895 with 24 home runs and 90 RBI. He was selected an All-Star for the last time, won his last Gold Glove and finished fourth in National League MVP voting.

This article first appeared on San Francisco Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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