San Francisco Giants Shortstop Brandon Crawford Needs to up His Game

Shortstop is one of the positions where a guy can make it in the majors without swinging the bat like Mickey Mantle. For that to work however he needs to be able to get on base a little bit and also play solid defense. Short is a difficult position with a great deal of real estate to be covered and the throws from the hole are the longest on the infield diamond. Suffice it to say, shortstop is important to the success of a team.

San Francisco Giants shortstop last season for most games was Brandon Crawford. Though he started the majority of the games and clearly the team succeeded in winning the World Series, Crawford needs to play better in 2013. His average hasn’t been impressive since he made the jump to triple-A. He did get a power stroke going but only for four homers. In the RBI department, 48 is certainly not going to blow anyone away.

So what though, right? Defense is the key to being a great shortstop. Even a good or great hitter with no range and no arm is not going to play short. Crawford held his own with the glove but he did make eighteen errors. The Giants have a powerful lineup and it really is okay for Crawford not to shock the world with a career year. He can do better however and he should strive to improve his defense even more to ensure his spot on the team remains secure for a few years.

David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google₊.