The 2021 crop of shortstops who are pending MLB free agents is stacked with star power. Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, however, would like to remind MLB Network he's part of that group.
On Tuesday, MLB Network's Instagram account showed six shortstops who are set to be free agents after this upcoming season: Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Trevor Story and Marcus Semien. Crawford wasn't a fan of the omission.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
To MLB Network's credit, Crawford is four years older than Semien, who is the oldest of the bunch who were highlighted. Semien also isn't viewed as big of a star as the other five players mentioned, but he did finish third in 2019 AL MVP voting. He also is slated to play second base this season for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Now back to Crawford. No, he isn't Correa, Seager, Lindor, Baez or Story at this stage of his career. He also shouldn't be an afterthought.
After making swing adjustments before last season, Crawford hit .256 in 2020, his best clip since 2016. His .326 on-base percentage also was his best since that season and his .465 slugging percentage and .792 OPS both were career-highs. He also hit eight home runs, which averages out to 24 in a 162-game season.
Crawford did all this while still playing great defense at a premium position.
San Francisco Giants
RELATED: Kapler impressed by strength Luciano added over offseason
Shortstop no doubt is one of the most star-studded positions in baseball right now. It's full of young, exciting talent. It's understandable why those six players would be mentioned ahead of Crawford, but he shouldn't be forgotten. Far from it.
This could be Crawford's last season in San Francisco, and he's out to prove he still is one of the giants in baseball at his position.