The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have the deep pockets of the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox. But when faced with a $10 million option on Carl Crawford, the Rays exercised the option to keep the speedy outfielder.
As it turns out, it wasn’t too difficult of a decision for the Rays. Last year, the 28-year-old left fielder had arguably his best season. He finished with a .305 batting average to go along with 15 homers, 68 RBIs, 96 runs and 60 steals. The 60 steals were a new career-high and he also posted a career-high on-base percentage of …read more

Carl Crawford made one of the best catches in the history of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In the seventh inning, Crawford raced to the wall and robbed Brad Hawpe of a homer that would have given the National League the lead. Instead, the American League was able to win by a final score of 4-3.
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 …read more

Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays went into the record books on Sunday. The 27-year-old native of Texas stole six bases in the game against the Boston Red Sox. His six stolen bases in one game tied the modern record previous set by Eric Young (Rockies in 1996), Otis Nixon (Braves in 1991) and Eddie Collins (Athletics in 2012).
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 …read more

Ryan Howard showed in Game 4 why he is such a feared hitter.
The Philadelphia Phillies, after their 10-2 win, are now one win away from winning the 2008 World Series and being declared the 2008 baseball champions. Leading in the series 2-1 coming into Game 4, the Phillies dominated in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the best out of seven series.
The big star on Sunday night was none other than Ryan Howard, the slugging first baseman for the Phillies. Howard hit two home runs and finished the game 3-4 with walk and five RBIs.
Howard wasn’t the …read more

Philadelphia Phillies take the lead in the 2008 World Series.
The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays on an infield hit in the bottom on the ninth inning to win Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. With the win, the Phillies lead the Rays two games to one in the best of seven series.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Ruiz hit a slow roller to third base and the throw home was not in time. The run made it 5-4 and gave the Phillies the win.
Earlier in the game, Ruiz hit …read more