Highlighted Year: Del Crandall, 1953

Catcher, Milwaukee Braves

Age:  23

3^rd season with Braves

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 180 

Prior to 1953:

A California native, Crandall began playing sandlot baseball in his youth. Pudgy and enthusiastic, he became a catcher early on, mentored by ex-minor league catcher Pep Lemon, who managed the local semipro baseball team. He became a standout at Fullerton High School and also played American Legion ball. Since his father didn’t want him to sign with a major league club that had many prospects on their farm teams, he turned down a $20,000 offer from the Dodgers and signed with the Milwaukee farm team of the Boston Braves for two years and $4000. The 17-year-old Crandall struggled in spring training in 1948 and was assigned to Leavenworth of the Class C Western Association where he batted .304 with 27 doubles, 15 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .359 on-base percentage. Due to injuries to both catchers with Milwaukee, he started all seven games in the American Association playoffs. After nearly sticking with the Braves to start the 1949 season, Crandall was instead assigned to Evansville of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League where he hit .351 with 8 home runs and 36 RBIs in 38 games before being called up to the Braves. As a brash 19-year-old who was also tall for a catcher of that era and athletic with the ability to hit for power, Crandall also demonstrated good throwing ability and moved well behind the plate. He appeared in 67 games as a rookie (59 of them starts) and batted .263 with 10 doubles, 4 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .291 OBP. He placed second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and was named to The Sporting News Rookie All-Star team. A broken finger hindered his hitting in 1950 and he hit just .220 with 4 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .257 OBP while appearing in 79 games (62 of them starts). He then spent the next two years in the Army. Returning to the Braves in 1953, who moved to Milwaukee, he was part of a team with a strong core of young players.

1953 Season Summary

Appeared in 116 games

C – 108, PH – 9, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 420

At Bats – 382

Runs – 55

Hits – 104

Doubles – 13

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 15

RBI – 51

Bases on Balls – 33

Int. BB – 5 [19, tied with five others]

Strikeouts – 47

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .272

OBP - .330

Slugging Pct. - .429

Total Bases – 164

GDP – 13 [19, tied with five others]

Hit by Pitches – 0

Sac Hits – 5

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 8, HR - 9, RBI - 28, AVG - .301, OBP - .360, SLG – .492

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Most hits, game – 3 (in 5 AB) vs. NY Giants 5/12, (in 4 AB) at Cincinnati 5/31, (in 4 AB) vs. Cincinnati 7/2, (in 5 AB) vs. Brooklyn 8/6 – 11 innings

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 9

HR on road – 6

Most home runs, game – 1 on fifteen occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 at Brooklyn 5/4, vs. Phila. Phillies 5/18, at Chi. Cubs 5/24, vs. Cincinnati 7/3

Pinch-hitting/running – 1 for 5 (.200) with 1 R & 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 637

Put Outs – 566

Assists – 62

Errors – 9

Passed Balls – 6

DP – 13

Pct. - .986

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

24^th in NL MVP voting, tied with Hank Thompson, NYG (1 vote, 0% share)

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In their first season in Milwaukee, the Braves went 92-62 to finish second in the NL, 13 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers while drawing 1,826,397 spectators to County Stadium. The Braves quickly moved into contention and were in first place, on and off, from May 23 until June 27. The club ultimately couldn’t keep pace with the Dodgers and dropped into second place.

Aftermath of 1953:

Having demonstrated his all-around abilities in 1953, Crandall followed up in 1954 by overcoming a slow start at the plate in batting .242 with 21 home runs, 64 RBIs, a .305 OBP, and a .425 slugging percentage. Defensively, he ranked fifth among NL backstops by throwing out 49.2 % of baserunners attempting to steal against him. He also placed second in double plays with 11 and first in assists with 79. He also proved to be adept at handling pitchers and was a quiet but effective team leader (he was named team captain). Benched briefly in 1955 after getting off to another slow start at the plate, he went on to hit .236 with 26 home runs, 62 RBIs, a .299 OBP, and a .457 slugging percentage. His defense remained strong. In a season of great promise for the Braves in 1956, Crandall slumped with the rest of the club during the final month and ended up batting .238 with 16 home runs, 48 RBIs, a .313 OBP, and a .450 slugging percentage. The Braves finally won the pennant in 1957 and Crandall hit .253 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs, a .308 OBP, and a .410 slugging percentage. Shortening his swing due to a shoulder injury from the previous year lowered his power numbers, but he had several extra base hits in key situations along the way, perhaps his biggest being a towering home run in the eighth inning of the decisive Game 7 of the World Series that gave Milwaukee a decisive lead over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. His handling of pitchers again drew praise, particularly in the World Series where RHP Lew Burdette defeated the Yankees three times and Crandall was credited for steadying the nervous Burdette in the Series-clinching game. The Braves won the NL pennant again in 1958 and Crandall batted .272 with 23 doubles, 18 home runs, 63 RBIs, a .348 OBP, and a .457 slugging percentage. In the World Series rematch with the Yankees, New York came from behind to win in seven games and Crandall’s bat was one of those that fell silent for Milwaukee in the last three losing games. The Braves ended up tied with the Dodgers atop the NL in 1959, falling to LA in a season-extending playoff. For the year Crandall hit .257 with 19 doubles, 21 home runs, 72 RBIs, a .318 OBP, and a .423 slugging percentage. He continued to excel defensively, leading NL catchers in assists (71) and double plays (15), and he received his second consecutive Gold Glove. Crandall had another solid season for the second-place Braves in 1960, especially after he was moved up to second in the batting order by manager Chuck Dressen, and batted .294 with 19 home runs, 77 RBIs, a .334 OBP, and a .430 slugging percentage. He again received a Gold Glove for his defensive performance. After years of impressive durability, Crandall missed almost all of the 1961 season due to a sore arm. When he returned to action in 1962 he found himself splitting time behind the plate with the up-and-coming young Joe Torre. In 107 games he hit .297 with 8 home runs, 45 RBIs, a .348 OBP, and a .417 slugging percentage. He still received a Gold Glove and a handful of MVP votes. He spent one last season with the Braves in 1963 backing up Torre and batting only .201 with a .251 OBP in 86 games. Traded to the San Francisco Giants in the offseason, he backed up starting backstop Tom Haller and hit .231 in 1964. Dealt to Pittsburgh in 1965, Crandall appeared in 60 games with negligible production and finished his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1966. For his major league career Crandall batted .254 with 1276 hits that included 179 doubles, 18 triples, and 179 home runs. He scored 585 runs and compiled 657 RBIs, a .312 OBP, and a .404 slugging percentage. With the Braves he batted .257 with 1176 hits, 552 runs scored, 167 doubles, 17 triples, 170 home runs, 628 RBIs, a .313 OBP, and a .412 slugging percentage. Appearing in 13 World Series games, he hit .227 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. An 11-time All-Star, Crandall finished in the top 17 in NL MVP voting five times and received four Gold Gloves. Following his playing career, he managed at the minor and major league levels, including stints with the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners. He was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2003 and died at age 91 in 2021.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.