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27. Del Crandall

27. Del Crandall
  1. General
  2. Awards
  3. Career Stats
  • Born: March 5, 1930 in Ontario, CA USA
  • Weight: 180 lbs.
  • Height: 6'1"
  • Bats: R
  • Throws: R
  • Debut: June 17, 1949
  • Final Game: September 25, 1966
  • Gold Glove - 1958
  • TSN All-Star - 1958
  • Gold Glove - 1959
  • Gold Glove - 1960
  • TSN All-Star - 1960
  • Gold Glove - 1962
  • TSN All-Star - 1962
  • MVP - 1953
  • MVP - 1954
  • MVP - 1955
  • MVP - 1958
  • MVP - 1959
  • MVP - 1960
  • MVP - 1962
  • Rookie of the Year - 1949
 
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We have another member of the 1957 World Series Championship team with Del Crandall who would represent Milwaukee in eight All-Star Games.  Crandall lost a couple of years early due to serving his country during the Korean War but upon his return stateside he established himself as one of the best defensive Catchers in baseball and an elite pitch caller who Pitchers trusted implicitly.  Crandall won four of the first Gold Gloves issued to Catchers in the National League (the first was win was issued to one person regardless of the league) and had that piece of hardware been issued before 1957, he would have probably won another four.  Crandall would lead all National League Catchers in Total Zone Runs six times and Fielding Percentage four times.

Crandall was not the best hitter but to his defense not a lot of Catchers were when he played.  He would accumulate 1,176 Hits and 170 Home Runs as a Brave and he would have seven seasons where he received MVP votes, his highest being a tenth place finish in 1958.

In 2003, Crandall was the lone inductee to the Braves Hall of Fame.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Catcher
  • Acquired: Signed as an Amateur Free Agent prior to the 1948 Season.
  • Departed: Traded to the San Francisco Giants with Bob Hendley and Bob Shaw for Felipe Alou, Ed Bailey, Billy Hoeft and a Player to be Named Later (which would be Ernie Bowman) 12/3/63.
  • Games Played: 1394
  • Notable Statistics: 552 Runs Scored
    1,176 Hits
    167 Doubles
    17 Triples
    170 Home Runs
    628 Runs Batted In
    25 Stolen Bases
    .257/.313/.412 Slash Line
    27.0 bWAR

    13 Playoff Games
    5 Runs Scored
    10 Hits
    0 Doubles
    0 Triples
    2 Home Runs
    4 Runs Batted In
    0 Stolen Bases
    .227/.286/.364 Slash Line
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    World Series Champion (1957)
    All-Star (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959x2, 1960x2 & 1962x2)
    Gold Glove (1958, 1959, 1960 & 1962)
    Most Sacrifice Flies (1960)
    Most Putouts by a Catcher (1954, 1958 & 1960)
    Most Assists by a Catcher (1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959 & 1960)
    Most Double Plays Turned by a Catcher (1953 & 1959)
    Most Runners Caught Stealing (1953, 1954, 1955, 1958 & 1959)Most Total Zone Runs by a Catcher (1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959 & 1962)
    Highest Fielding Percentage by a Catcher (1956, 1958, 1959 & 1962)

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