Del Crandall

Delmar Wesley Crandall (born March 5, 1930) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He was born in Ontario, California.[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball and played most of his career with the Boston & Milwaukee Braves.[1][2] He led the league in assists a record-tying six times, in fielding percentage four times and in putouts three times.[1][3][4] Crandall is the last living player to have played for the Boston Braves.[5]

Del Crandall
Crandall in 1955.
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1930-03-05) March 5, 1930
Ontario, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 17, 1949, for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
September 14, 1966, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average.254
Home runs179
Runs batted in657
Managerial record364–469
Winning %.437
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Playing career (1949–1966)

Crandall was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves in 1948.[6] He was 19 when he first played in a major league game with the 1949 Boston Braves.[1] He appeared in 146 games for Boston in 1949-1950 before entering military service during the Korean War. When his two-year hitch was over in March 1953, the Braves departed Boston for Milwaukee, where – benefiting from an offense featuring Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Joe Adcock. Crandall seized the regular catcher's job from Walker Cooper in 1953 and held it for eight years, handling Braves pitchers such as left-hander Warren Spahn and right-handers Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl.[1][7] Between 1953 and 1959, the Braves' pitching staff finished either first or second in the National League in team earned run average every year except 1955. Burdette credited Crandall for some of his success saying, "I never- well hardly ever- have to shake him off. He knows the job like no one else, and you can have faith in his judgment".[8] On September 11, 1955, with the Braves trailing the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 with two outs and a 3-2 count in the ninth inning, Crandall hit a grand slam home run to win the game.[9] The Braves won National League pennants in 1957 and 1958,[10][11] also finishing in second place five times between 1953 and 1960, and captured the 1957 World Series championship – the franchise's first title since 1914.[12] Although he batted .211 in the 1957 Series against the New York Yankees, Crandall had a solo home run for the Braves' last tally in a 5-0 win in the deciding Game 7.[13][14]

Though rarely among the league leaders in offensive categories, he finished 10th in the 1958 Most Valuable Player Award voting after hitting .272, tying his best mark to that point, with career highs in doubles and walks;[15] he also led the league in putouts, assists and fielding average, and won his first Gold Glove. In the 1958 World Series, again against the Yankees, he hit .240; he slugged another Game 7 solo home run, tying the score 2-2 in the 6th inning, though the Yankees went on to score four more runs to win the game and the Series.[13][16]

Crandall averaged 125 games caught during the peak of his career, but missed most of the 1961 season due to shoulder trouble,[17] which gave Joe Torre his opportunity to break in. While Crandall did come back to catch 90 games in 1962 – hitting a career-high .297, making his final National League All-Star squad and winning his last Gold Glove – he was soon replaced by Torre as the Braves' regular catcher. In 1962 he also moved ahead of Roy Campanella, setting the National League record for career fielding percentage; however, Johnny Roseboro would edge ahead of him before his career ended. After 1963, he was traded by the Braves to the San Francisco Giants in a seven-player deal;[6] he played a backup role in his final three major league seasons with the Giants (1964), Pittsburgh Pirates (1965), and Cleveland Indians (1966).

Career statistics

In 1,573 games over 16 seasons, he finished with a batting average of .254 with 179 home runs; his 175 HRs in the National League trailed only Campanella (242), Gabby Hartnett (236) and Ernie Lombardi (190) among the league's catchers. His 1,430 games caught in the National League trailed only Al López, Hartnett and Lombardi. He won four of the first five Gold Glove Awards given to a National League catcher, and tied another record by catching three no-hitters.[18][19] He retired with the fourth most home runs by a National League catcher, and his career .404 slugging average also placed him among the league's top ten receivers. He ended his career among the major league career leaders in putouts (4th, 7352), total chances (8th, 8200) and fielding percentage (5th, .989) behind the plate, and ranked fourth in National League history in games caught. Crandall was a superb defensive player with a strong arm; he threw out 45.44% of the base runners who tried to steal a base on him, ranking him 8th on the all-time list.[20] He was selected as an All-Star eight times during his career: 1953–1956, 1958–1960, 1962.[1] A powerful right-handed hitter, he topped the 20 home run mark three times.[1] After having caught Jim Wilson's no-hitter on June 12, 1954, he added another pair in 1960 – by Burdette on August 18, and by Spahn a month later on September 16;[21][22][23] all three were against the Philadelphia Phillies. Richard Kendall of the Society for American Baseball Research devised an unscientific study that ranked Crandall as the fourth most dominating fielding catcher in major league history.[24]

Managing and broadcasting career (1972–1997)

Crandall eventually turned to managing, and piloted two American League clubs, the Milwaukee Brewers (1972–75) and the Seattle Mariners (1983–84).[25] In each case he was hired to try to right a losing team in mid-season, but he never enjoyed a winning campaign with either team and finished with a managing record of 364-469 (.437). In between those American League stints, he was a highly successful manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers' top farm club, the Albuquerque Dukes of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, and also managed the Class A San Bernardino Stampede from 1995 to 1997.[26] He remained in the Dodger organization as a special catching instructor well into his 60s. He also worked as a sports announcer with the Chicago White Sox radio team from 1985 through 1988 and with the Brewers from 1992-94.[17] Since August 2020, Crandall has been the last living Boston Brave, following the death of Bert Thiel on July 31.[27]

References
  1. Del Crandall at Baseball Reference
  2. Del Crandall at Baseball Almanac
  3. Fielding Leaders, Baseball Digest, July 2001, Vol. 60, No. 7, ISSN 0005-609X
  4. Del Crandal in Baseball Digest, August 1999, Vol. 58, No. 8, ISSN 0005-609X
  5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickdiunte/2020/08/02/bert-thiel-one-of-two-remaining-boston-braves-dies-at-94/#657c96ce3268
  6. Del Crandall Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
  7. Orange-Topped Catcher, by Charles Dexter, Baseball Digest, August 1953, Vol. 12, No. 8, ISSN 0005-609X
  8. The Nitro-glistenin' Kid by Al Jonas, Baseball Digest, pp 9, May 1954, Vol. 13, No. 4, ISSN 0005-609X
  9. September 11, 1955 Phillies-Braves box score at Retrosheet
  10. 1957 National League Team Statistics and Standings at Baseball Reference
  11. 1958 National League Team Statistics and Standings at Baseball Reference
  12. 1957 World Series at Baseball Reference
  13. Del Crandall post-season statistics at Baseball Reference
  14. 1957 World Series Game 7 box score at Baseball Reference
  15. 1958 Most Valuable Player Award voting results at Baseball Reference
  16. 1958 World Series Game 7 box score at Baseball Reference
  17. Del Crandall at The Baseball Library Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  18. National League Gold Glove Award winners at Baseball Reference
  19. No-hitters caught at The Encyclopedia of Catchers
  20. 100 Best Catcher CS% Totals at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
  21. June 12, 1954 Phillies-Braves box score at Baseball Reference
  22. August 18, 1960 Phillies-Braves box score at Baseball Reference
  23. September 16, 1960 Phillies-Braves box score at Baseball Reference
  24. Dominating Fielding Catchers at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
  25. Del Crandall Major League manager statistics at Baseball Reference
  26. Del Crandall Minor league manager statistics at Baseball Reference
  27. Bert Thiel - Swedburg Funeral Home
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