While there haven't been a lot of positives to the start of the Philadelphia Phillies' season, there's been a lot to like from some of the younger stars on the roster. Everybody continues to talk about what Andrew Painter has done on the mound, as well as Justin Crawford offensively.
Crawford isn't much of a home run hitter, not hitting any yet in 49 at-bats, but he has 15 hits and is currently hitting .306. He's also done a good job defensively and seems to be a player who can be a big piece of this future.
Despite how well he's playing, it's important to remember that this is still a young kid who's trying to find his footing in Major League Baseball. Only 22 years old, even with him playing as well as he has to start the campaign, there's still a lot that he has to learn. When speaking with reporters about that, including Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Crawford had a lot to say about that.
“You’ve got to take it one at-bat at a time,” Crawford said. “That’s kind of where I’m at, good or bad. Some days you get hits, some days you don’t. We play a lot of games here. I’m learning that really quick. A lot of quick turnarounds. So, no matter what the day is, no matter what you did yesterday, it’s flipping the page and being ready to go the next day.”
Hearing him talk about how he goes about his business is great, and the way he looks at the game is a bit different from how most players do in the modern era. A lot of guys nowadays are searching for the long ball, but Crawford is just looking to take what defenses give him. There's a lot of value in guys like that nowadays, so it's really cool to hear a different approach than what we usually do.
“I love seeing the third baseman in or back, honestly,” Crawford said. “Because if he’s back, I’m obviously going to lay the bunt down. But I can tell teams have been trying to take the bunt away from me. I don’t mind. I like it for that exact reason. Like, I could sneak that one by him. It’s just playing the game and always trying to read the defense, seeing what they’re doing and trying to take what they give me.”