Carl Crawford's time in Boston was not exactly easy. His career as with the Red Sox had more lows than highs and the media had a field day with it. Now that Crawford is happy as a Los Angeles Dodgers, he is not shying away from his feelings towards the Boston fans and media. He claims the team just was not the right place for him.
Crawford signed with Boston in 2011 after nine years with the Tampa Bay Rays, Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million contract that was supposed to make him one of the faces of the franchise. Crawford signed alongside slugger Adrian Gonzalez, making the Red Sox lineup looking like the deadliest in the league. Instead, Crawford's time in Boston ended with Tommy John surgery and a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Crawford did not play well in Boston, at all. After batting .296 in Tampa, he slumped to .255 in his first year with Boston. He was averaging 45 steals a year in Tampa, but only stole 23 in 161 games over two seasons with the Red Sox. The media took that opportunity to blame Crawford for the downfall of the team.
"I took so much of a beating in Boston, I don't think anything could bother me anymore. They can what they want-that I'm the worst free agent every-and it won't get to me. But it bothered me the whole time there," Crawford said.
Crawford claims he and Boston were just a bad mix. He believes Boston fans love when players are miserable and that at the end of the day, it was not the place for him to be.
"Burying people in the media, they think that makes a person play better. That media was the worst thing I've ever experienced in my life," Crawford said.
Crawford takes full responsibility for the media beating he received. He recognizes that he did not play well and yet still earned a large paycheck. Now that he is in Los Angeles, Crawford says that he could not be happier being in California and is excited to get back to baseball.
Crawford has a goal to be ready for Opening Day while still recovering from Tommy John surgery. His main goal is to avoid any setbacks and just push forward.
