Much was made of Carl Crawford’s first appearance at the Trop as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Some disgruntled fans still consider him a traitor of sorts, but most see him as the nice guy, excellent Rays’ player who was entitled to hit the free agency jackpot in Boston.
Here’s another take. By all accounts, Crawford is no less nice and talented than when he was here. A good guy who is still a good guy bettered himself. Is that somehow blameworthy?
And yet.
Unlike, say, John Lynch and Tony Dungy with the Bucs or Brad Richards and John Tortorella with the Bolts, Crawford wasn’t pushed out. Although he was popular with fans and already wealthy, he was looking at doubling his income. The Rays couldn’t come close. We get that. Although he practically grew up a Devil/Ray, it was a given that Crawford would be leaving the small-market, payroll-challenged Rays. That’s the nature of the sports–especially baseball–business.
For Crawford, free agency was whittled down to two choices: both involving lots and lots of zeros. He could become outrageously wealthy by signing with the Los Angeles Angels–and be with his good friend Torii Hunter. Or he could become obscenely wealthy by signing with the Boston Red Sox–and be in the same American League division as the Rays, where his friends and fans were.
The implications were obvious. Not unlike the uber rich New York Yankees, the locally reviled Sox get to play by different (economic reality-driven) rules than the Rays. They can buy what the Rays must nurture and develop. Players such as Crawford. Although he got off to a very slow start, Crawford arguably has made the Sox better–and his departure has left the Rays worse off.
No, Crawford didn’t need, as it were, more money, and, yes, the Sox overpaid, but Crawford did apparently need the validation that he could command even more than Los Angeles offered. Nice guys have egos too.
That’s the reality. No hard feelings. But, yes, Crawford should have signed with the Angels. He would still be outrageously rich, but he would not have added so measurably to the inherent challenges his ex-teammate buddies and manager have to confront each season.