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Thread: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

  1. #1
    Maple SERP savafan's Avatar
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    Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...all/index.html

    Let it be known: I want to be the No. 1-ranked fantasy player out there.
    -- Carl Crawford, 2/19/06

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Carl Crawford is sitting at his spring training locker, and he has a quick story to tell. Last summer the preposterously talented Tampa Bay Devil Rays left fielder was standing in the on-deck circle at Yankee Stadium when a New York fan began yelling at him. It wasn't the typical obscenity-laced, Lewis Black-esque invective showered upon most players from opposing teams. It was a simple request. "Steal a base for my fantasy team, will ya?" the fan cried. Crawford smiled to himself and thought, I can do that.

    The 24-year-old rising star laughs at the story because it is all a little strange to him: how he can be worshipped as such a fantasy god by so many Americans and yet still live in relative anonymity.

    "Nobody recognizes me," says the speedster, who considers last year a disappointment despite posting career highs in batting average (.301), hits (194), home runs (15) and RBIs (81) while adding 46 stolen bases. "Ninety percent of the guys who picked me first in their drafts don't even know what I look like. But you know what? Putting up big fantasy numbers is part of what motivates me out there. That's another thing to play for."

    Crawford, who last year became the fifth player in history to amass 150 steals and 500 hits before turning 24, has plans for bigger numbers in '06. He says that last season was his "toughest season ever," after going through some personal issues he won't elaborate on and because of his soured relationship with ex-Rays hitting coach Lee Elia, whom Crawford did not talk to for the last five months of the season. "I basically did everything on my own," he says. "I learned how not to depend on anyone. Everything I did in the past I got advice about; I was constantly talking to people. But last year I didn't, and things turned out OK."

    A first-time All-Star last season, the Houston native reinvented himself as a hitter after his falling out with Elia. "For years people would say I'm a line-drive hitter who should hit the ball over the shortstop and just use my speed," he says. "But I'm a guy who can do much more than that. I can hit homers, I can drive the ball deep, and that's what I started to do last year. I want to be known as more than a guy with speed."

    Crawford, who is so athletic that out of high school he was offered scholarships to both Nebraska (to play quarterback on the Huskers) and UCLA (to play in the Bruins' frontcourt), is energized by the makeover the franchise underwent in the offseason, but he's just as motivated by putting up monster numbers -- the kind that make fantasy geeks drool. And he's ready to take off -- his bruised left wrist, the injury that caused him to pull out of the World Baseball Classic, "feels great" and won't keep him off the field on Opening Day. Says Crawford, "Not a lot of people would say this, but I will: I want to be the guy who people see at No. 1 in the fantasy rankings." What will it take? "Well, if I can get to 20 home runs and 50 stolen bases," he says, "who will be able to top that?"
    My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!


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  3. #2
    Basement-Dwelling Blogger JinAZ's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Heh, I saw this the other day and got a good chuckle. I guess he doesn't have much else to play for down in Tampa Bay...but I wouldn't be terribly happy to hear him say this if I was his manager. Call me old fashioned, but playing for numbers isn't supposed to be the focus. -jinaz

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    The Lineups stink. KronoRed's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    It's TB, do you think anyone will notice?
    Go Gators!

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    Potential Lunch Winner Dom Heffner's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Call me old fashioned, but playing for numbers isn't supposed to be the focus. -jinaz
    Yeah, those big numbers wreak havoc on a baseball team.

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    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Call me old fashioned, but playing for numbers isn't supposed to be the focus. -jinaz
    Yet both Pete Browning and Pete Rose could tell the 1st Baseman their Batting average when they got down there.

  7. #6
    "Let's Roll" TeamBoone's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Why in the world would any player care about where he's ranked in FANTASY baseball?
    "Enjoy this Reds fans, you are watching a legend grow up before your very eyes" ... DoogMinAmo on Adam Dunn

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    Maple SERP savafan's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Quote Originally Posted by TeamBoone
    Why in the world would any player care about where he's ranked in FANTASY baseball?
    When you play for the Devil Rays, what else do you have to care about?:
    My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!

  9. #8
    Member membengal's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Quote Originally Posted by TeamBoone
    Why in the world would any player care about where he's ranked in FANTASY baseball?
    He understands MY needs. Bless him. I am bumping him up two or three dollars on my list just because of his PHEnomenal attitude toward my obsession.

  10. #9
    Spirit of 1976
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    "When you play for the Devil Rays, what else do you have to care about?"

    You are absolutely right about this. If he played for just about anyone else, Carl Crawford would be a national celebrity. If this guy hits a ball over any outfielder's head, you can count on a triple. It's probably hard on a guy like Crawford to have such talent and so little recognition that he'll take whatever he can get.

  11. #10
    Little Reds BandWagon Reds Nd2's Avatar
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    Re: Carl Crawford wants to be top fantasy player in MLB

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou
    Yet both Pete Browning and Pete Rose could tell the 1st Baseman their Batting average when they got down there.
    Yea' but in 1887, Gladiator might be telling the 3rd baseman his average too.
    "...You just have a wider lens than one game."
    --Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, on why he didn't fly Josh Hamilton to Colorado for one game.

    "...its money well-spent. Don't screw around with your freedom."
    --Roy Tucker, on why you need to lawyer up when you find yourself swimming with sharks.


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