| Del Crandall | |
|---|---|
 Crandall in 1955 | |
| Catcher /Manager | |
| Born: March 5, 1930 Ontario, California, U.S. | |
| Died: May 5, 2021(2021-05-05) (aged 91) Mission Viejo, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 17, 1949, for the Boston Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 14, 1966, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .254 |
| Home runs | 179 |
| Runs batted in | 657 |
| Managerial record | 364–469 |
| Winning % | .437 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Delmar Wesley Crandall (March 5, 1930 – May 5, 2021) was an American professionalbaseball player andmanager. Crandall played as acatcher inMajor League Baseball from 1949 to 1966, most prominently as a member of theBoston / Milwaukee Braves where, he was an 11-timeAll-Star player and was a member of the1957 World Series winning team.
A four-timeGold Glove Award winner, Crandall was the top defensive catcher of his era, leading theNational League inassists a record-tying six times, infielding percentage four times and inputouts three times.[1][2] Crandall was the last living player to have played for the Boston Braves. In 2003, Crandall was inducted into theBraves Hall of Fame.
Crandall was born inOntario, California,[3][4] on March 5, 1930.[1] He was the second of three children of Richard and Nancy Crandall, who were both employed in the citrus-packaging industry.[5] He was raised inFullerton and attendedFullerton Union High School.[1] Crandall played catcher for the school team and for the localAmerican Legion Baseball team.[5] He was signed as an amateur free agent by theBoston Braves before the 1948 season.[1]
Crandall played less than two seasons in the minor leagues from 1948 to 1949.[6] He made his MLB debut on June 17, 1949, at the age of 19,[1] entering as apinch runner in the final inning of a 7–2 loss to theCincinnati Reds.[7] Crandall appeared in 146 games for Boston in 1949 and1950,[1] before entering military service during theKorean War. When his two-year hitch was over in March 1953, the Braves departed Boston for Milwaukee, where they benefited from an offense featuringHank Aaron,Eddie Mathews andJoe Adcock. Crandall seized the regular catcher's job fromWalker Cooper in 1953 and held it for eight years, handling Bravespitchers such as left-handerWarren Spahn and right-handersLew Burdette andBob Buhl.[5][8] From 1953 to1959, the Braves' pitching staff finished either first or second in the National League in teamearned run average every year except 1955. Burdette credited Crandall for some of his success, saying, "I never—well hardly ever—have to shake him off. He knows the job like no one else, and you can have faith in his judgment".[9] On September 11,1955, with the Braves trailing thePhiladelphia Phillies, 4–1, with twoouts and a 3–2 count in the ninthinning, Crandall hit agrand slam to win the game.[10] The Braves wonNational League (NL) pennants in1957 and1958,[11][12] also finishing in second place five times between 1953 and1960, and captured the1957 World Series championship—the franchise's first title since1914.[13] Though hebatted .211 in the 1957 series against theNew York Yankees, Crandall had a solo home run for the Braves' final run in a 5–0 win in the deciding Game 7.[14][15]
Though rarely among the league leaders in offensive categories, he finished 10th in the 1958Most Valuable Player Award voting after hitting .272, tying his best mark to that point, with career highs indoubles andwalks;[1] Crandall also led the league in putouts, assists and fielding average, and won his first Gold Glove. In the1958 World Series, again against the Yankees, he hit .240; he slugged another Game 7 solo home run, tying the score, 2–2, in the sixth inning, though the Yankees went on to score four more runs to win the game and the title.[14][16]
Crandall averaged 125 games caught during the peak of his career but missed most of the1961 season with a shoulder injury, which gaveJoe Torre his opportunity to break in.[17] While Crandall did come back to catch 90 games in1962—hitting a career-high .297, making his finalNL All-Star squad and winning his last Gold Glove; he was soon replaced by Torre as the Braves' regular catcher. In 1962, Crandall also moved ahead ofRoy Campanella, setting the NL record for career fielding percentage; however,John Roseboro would edge ahead of him before his career ended. After1963, Crandall was traded by the Braves to theSan Francisco Giants in a seven-player deal;[1] he played a backup role in his final three major league seasons with the Giants in1964,Pittsburgh Pirates in1965, andCleveland Indians in1966.[5]
In 1,573 games over 16 seasons, Crandall finished with a batting average of .254 with 179 home runs; his 175 homers in theNational League (NL) trailed only Campanella (242),Gabby Hartnett (236), andErnie Lombardi (190) among the league's catchers when he retired. His 1,430 games caught in the NL trailed onlyAl López, Hartnett, and Lombardi. His career .404slugging average also placed him among the league's top ten receivers. He was selected as anAll-Star eight times during his career: 1953–1956, 1958–1960, 1962. A powerful right-handed hitter, Crandall topped 20 home runs in three seasons.[1]
Crandall was a superb defender with a strong arm; he threw out 45.44% of thebase runners who tried tosteal a base on him, ranking in the top 100 all-time.[18] Crandall ended his career among the major league career leaders inputouts (4th, 7,352),total chances (8th, 8,200) andfielding percentage (5th, .989) behind the plate, and ranked fourth in NL history in games caught. Crandall won four of the first fiveGold Glove Awards given to a NL catcher and tied another record by catching threeno-hitters (later surpassed byJason Varitek).[19][20] After having caughtJim Wilson's no-hitter on June 12, 1954, he added another pair in 1960—by Burdette on August 18, and by Spahn a month later on September 16; all three were against thePhiladelphia Phillies.[21][22][23] Richard Kendall of theSociety for American Baseball Research devised a study that ranked Crandall as the fourth most dominating fielding catcher in major league history.[24] The youngest battery to play in the major leagues was Boston's battery of Crandell catching andJohnny Antonnelli pitching, both were 19 years old on June 24, 1949.[25][26]
Crandall and pitcher Warren Spahn started 316 games as abattery, a record that lasted from 1963 until 1975. Spahn and Crandall currently rank as the third-most starts by a battery since 1900.[27][28]
Crandall was the last living Boston Brave, following the death ofBert Thiel on July 31, 2020.[29][30]
Crandall was inducted into theBraves Hall of Fame in 2003[31] and was added to theMilwaukee Braves Wall of Honor.[32]
Crandall piloted twoAmerican League clubs, theMilwaukee Brewers (1972–75) and theSeattle Mariners (1983–84). In each case, he was hired to try to right a losing team in mid-season, but he never enjoyed a winning campaign with either team and finished with a managing record of 364–469 (.437).[33][34][35] In between those American League stints, he was a successful manager of theLos Angeles Dodgers' top farm club, theAlbuquerque Dukes of theTriple-APacific Coast League, and also managed the Class ASan Bernardino Stampede from 1995 to 1997.[36] He remained in the Dodger organization as a special catching instructor well into his 60s.
Crandell worked as asports announcer with theChicago White Sox radio team from 1985 through 1988 and with the Brewers from 1992 to 1994.[5]
Crandall married Frances Sorrells in 1951, one day before he reported for military service. Together, they had six children who survived him,[4] in addition to Ronnie, who died when he was 7 years old from complications of cerebral palsy.[37] The family relocated toBrookfield, Wisconsin in 1959. After he retired, he moved toBrea, California.[5]
Crandall died on May 5, 2021 at his home inMission Viejo, California. He was 91 and hadParkinson's disease,heart disease, and suffered severalstrokes prior to his death.[38][39][40]
