Crawford, who was named the MVP of the All-Star game, says his catch was a first.

Said Crawford: “He hit it pretty good off the bat and I didn’t think it was going to carry that far. I don’t think I’ve ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight.”

Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox was on the mound when Hawpe smashed the would-be home run. Papelbon agreed with Crawford being honored.

“Obviously, it was a game-changing play,” said Papelbon. “He won MVP because of that play and deservedly so.”

On the season, Crawford is hitting .309 with eight homers, 39 RBIs and 58 runs. Most impressively, Crawford is leading all of baseball with his 44 stolen bases.

Even Crawford’s own manager was impressed with the catch.

“I’ve never seen him do that,” said Joe Maddon, who was the coach of the American League All-Star. “The way he got to the position on the ball was great. And the catch, obviously, was fantastic.”

Here is a video of Carl Crawford’s catch in the All-Star game:

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Crawford, who now has 17 steals on the season, finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs, one RBI and one walk as the Rays beat the Red Sox by a final score of 5-3. The other hitting star for the Rays was Jason Bartlett, who was 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

James Shields went 7.1 innings while allowing two earned runs to pick up his third win of the season. Troy Percival picked up a save by pitching a perfect inning in the ninth.

For the Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis hit his sixth homer of the season and finished 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI. On the mound, Brad Penny got the loss despite pitching a decent game. He had eight strikeouts while allowing three earned runs on six hits in six innings.

The win lifted the Rays to 11-15 on the season and the loss lowered the Red Sox to 15-10.

Here’s the video of Carl Crawford’s six stolen bases:

Post from: Knuckle Curve