Brandon Crawford looked like an MVP candidate in the first half this season. The Giants shortstop was on pace for a career-year offensively and was named to his second All-Star Game.
The second-half version of Crawford has been the polar opposite. Crawford revealed Thursday why his hitting has taken such a steep tumble, citing a knee injury that occured right before the All-Star break.
"I figured we’d work on it and it’d go away in a few days like most aches and pains do. It didn’t. It’s not a big injury, and I’m still in the lineup, but it affects my hitting," Crawford wrote in a Giants blog.
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In the first half, Crawford hit .292 with an .825 OPS and 10 home runs in 93 games played. Since then, it's all gone down hill. Crawford is hitting .186 with a .425 OPS and only two home runs since the All-Star Game.
Crawford explained how the injury has affected him so brutally at the plate.
"I put so much weight on my back (left) leg so I can explode off it. This is the change I made in my batting approach that boosted my power and average the last few years," he wrote. "My knee takes all that weight while it’s also torqueing, a combination of motions that has taken its toll.
"When something begins to hurt, your body tries to protect it. So I find myself drifting forward as I load up on my swing to ease the weight on the leg, which I’m not as explosive and not hitting pitches hitting pitches I’d usually hit."
San Francisco Giants
As the Giants finish up September and say goodbye to another year missing the postseason, Crawford is doing everything he can to stay in the lineup. Crawford has missed four games this month, but he has played in four straight after sitting two in a row.
"I’ve been working every day in the training room, and the last few days the knee has felt better," Crawford wrote. "It’s been a frustrating couple of months, but you grind through it. Sometimes baseball is all about the grind."
Over 136 games this season, Crawford is hitting .258 with a .720 OPS and 12 home runs.