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Rays/MLB

Not an All-Star, but the Rays star

By MARC TOPKIN
Published July 9, 2006

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ST. PETERSBURG - AL/White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and MLB officials may not think Carl Crawford is an All-Star, but there is no doubt he has become a star.

Crawford, at age 24, has developed into one of the sport's most electrifying and exciting players, one who can impact the outcome of a game in many ways - with his speed, his bat, his glove, his arm and his head.

As the Rays have played with maddening inconsistency this season, the one constant has been Crawford.

Whether it was his 5-for-5 night in Toronto, his thrilling steal of home against Boston or one of his many physics-defying plays in leftfield, he has contributed more on a daily basis than any other Ray.

Even more than All-Star Scott Kazmir, who, obviously, has had a tremendous season, has at age 22 lived up to the ace hype and just by taking the mound gives his teammates confidence they can win, but who as a starting pitcher can only contribute once every five days.

And for that reason as much as any, Crawford thus far has been the Rays' most valuable player.

Runnersup: 2. Kazmir, 3. Ty Wigginton.

BIGGEST PLEASANT SURPRISE: The slew of first-half injuries created an opportunity for Wigginton, and he certainly made the most of it, emerging as one of the Rays' most productive hitters.

Having made it clear in spring training he would do whatever was needed, he has filled in at third for injured Aubrey Huff, at second for injured Jorge Cantu and now at first for slumping Travis Lee, starting at five positions overall.

He went into play Saturday trailing only Jonny Gomes with 16 homers and 50 RBIs and has made them count - 11 of his homers and 20 of his RBIs have either tied a score or put the Rays ahead.

Runnersup: 2. Tim Corcoran/James Shields, 3. Brian Meadows.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS: The Rays re-signed Lee for a hefty $2.45-million, expecting a continuation of his strong 2005 second half. But he has been in a miserable, extended slump, is reduced to part-time duty and is grumbling about it.

Runnersup: 2. Bullpen injuries, 3. Huff.

RAYS RUMBLINGS: Returning prospect Josh Hamilton made quite an impression during a break in his first batting practice at Hudson Valley, hitting a ball off a tee near the plate over the left-centerfield wall. Hamilton was impressed a few days later when he got the chance to talk with Cal Ripken before a game at Aberdeen, Md. ... Huff's name continues to come up in trade talk in Detroit. ... A plan is in the works for a donation to charity for each time a Ray hits a splash shot into the new tank of live rays that opens next homestand. ... San Francisco manager Felipe Alou wished ex-Giant Tyler Walker well with his elbow surgery and said, "I feared for him when he started pitching every day and saving games."

KING CARL

Carl Crawford may not be an All-Star, but he has established himself as one of the game's elite players. Consider some of these special things:

- He went into play Saturday with a .322 average, 13 homers and 32 steals. Only two others, according to research by the Rays, have reached the All-Star break with a combination that good: Cincinnati's Joe Morgan (.345-13-40) in 1975 and Eric Davis (.325-27-33) in 1987.* He is on pace to increase his average, home runs and RBIs for a fifth straight season, which has been done by only two others in major-league history (with at least 250 at-bats each season) - Hall of Famers Charlie Gehringer and Rogers Hornsby.

Year .Avg. HR RBI

2002 .259 2 30

2003 .281 5 54

2004 .296 11 55

2005 .301 15 81

2006* .322 24 86

- Projected

- His 5-for-5 game with five runs and four stolen bases on May 24 was a performance unmatched in at least the past 50 years, as far as records could be checked. And he was the first since 1969 to have eight hits and six steals over consecutive games.

- He reached 100 hits by the All-Star break for the third straight season; no other Ray has done it more than once.

- He is the first AL player to steal for the cycle - second, third and home in the same game - since Gerald Williams for the Yankees in 1996.

 - He is the eighth player in history to steal 200 bases before turning 25 and the 12th to hit 56 triples.

[Last modified July 9, 2006, 02:59:33]