After the 2010 season, Carl Crawford was the prize of the free agent class, inking a 7 year 142M contract with the Boston Red Sox. He had earned it after years of elite performance for the Tampa Bay Rays. A year and a half of disappointing play later, the star is set to have Tommy John Surgery tomorrow to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. Bad gets worse. Recovery time for position players is roughly 6-9 months, so it’s quite possible he’ll miss part of the 2013 season as well.
After multiple World Series titles in the last decade, Crawford was supposed to be the piece that got the Red Sox back to the promised land. For that reason, the boo birds have been out in force for the duration of his stay thus far. His attitude has remained constant and he realizes that the fans just want him to perform up to his potential. He wants to perform at that level too and by all accounts is a Great Guy with a great work ethic. He actually has come back strong, since being activated from the DL, but the pain keeps getting worse. At the close of play on Sunday he was leading the majors in extra base hits since August 1st.
Although the team has been under constant scrutiny the past year, for its never-ending drama, they have handled the Crawford situation quite well. Ben Cherington, specifically, has stood behind his player the entire time and clearly stated the team still believes that Crawford will be an integral part of the Red Sox’s future. The team’s only desire is that Crawford follow the advice of their medical staff along the way. However, it’s clear that Crawford is sick of playing with pain and doesn’t want to have to play at less than 100% indefinitely.
It’s a shame to see a great guy with immense ability struggle, let alone have to sit on the sidelines and watch, but such is life in baseball. We just witnessed one of baseball’s true ambassadors, Kerry Wood, have his career cut short by countless injuries. Also, we just witnessed one of baseball’s young stars, Stephen Strasburg, come back from Tommy John without any issues. Crawford’s career hangs in the balance, but we can only hope for the best.
*Photo by Keith Allison on Flickr*
