Aaron James Crow (born November 10, 1986) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He pitched in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Early life

Crow was born on November 10, 1986, in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

to parents Kevin and Julie Crow. Crow and his siblings—brother Travis and sister Jennifer—were raised in the small community of

Wakarusa, Kansas Wakarusa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Shawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 242. It is located south of downtown Topeka. History Wakarusa was founded in 1858. Wakarusa has a post office w ...

, not far from Topeka. Following his graduation from

Washburn Rural High School Washburn Rural High School is a public high school located in southwest Topeka, Kansas, operated by Auburn–Washburn USD 437, and serves students in grades 9–12. The school is next to Washburn Rural Middle School. In 2007, Edward Raines became ...

, Crow attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

College career

In his three years for the

Missouri Tigers baseball The Missouri Tigers baseball team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Missouri Tigers have an all-time record of 2426-1701-20 following the 2025 season. Head coaches Year-by-year record CB=''Collegia ...

team, Crow started 46 games, going 23–8 with a 3.27

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). Spending time in both the bullpen and the starting rotation as a freshman, Crow earned his first career victory by throwing a complete game against Pepperdine, staving off elimination in the 2006 NCAA Regional. Mizzou went on to win the regional, becoming the first #4 seed ever to win an NCAA Regional. As a sophomore, Crow went 9–4 with a 3.60 ERA, earning first-team All Big 12 honors. As a junior, Crow went 13–0 with a 2.35 ERA. He threw four complete-game shutouts and struck out 10.65 batters per nine innings. He was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year. He won the Robert A. McNeece Award as the top professional prospect in the 2007

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

season while playing for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

Professional career

Crow was selected by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

in the first round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft with the ninth overall selection. Negotiations stalled and Crow did not sign. Crow signed with the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

for the season.

Kansas City Royals

Crow was selected with the twelfth pick in the first round of the

2009 Major League Baseball Draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

by the

. Crow signed a contract with the Royals on September 15, 2009. To make room for

Danny Duffy Daniel Richard Duffy (born December 21, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. After being drafte ...

on the Double A Northwest Arkansas Naturals roster, Crow was demoted to High-A Wilmington on July 31, 2010. Crow made his first major league appearance on March 31, 2011, which was Opening Day. He faced four

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

batters, striking out three. On May 30, 2011, Royals manager

Ned Yost Edgar Frederick Yost III (; born August 19, 1954) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals. He played for the Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos. Since 2025, he has ...

announced that Crow had been promoted to the team's closer position on a temporary basis to replace the struggling

Joakim Soria Joakim Agustín Soria Ramos (born May 18, 1984) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Milwa ...

. However, on June 6, Yost announced that Soria had earned the spot back. Crow had no save opportunities in his brief stint as closer. In 2011, Crow was selected to the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

, although he did not play.

Miami Marlins

On November 28, 2014, the Royals traded Crow to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

in exchange for Brian Flynn and Reid Redman. Crow underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in April 2015 and missed the entirety of the season as a result. He was non–tendered and became a free agent on December 2, 2015.

Chicago Cubs

On February 19, 2016, Crow signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. He made three appearances for the rookie–level

Arizona League Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of playe ...

as he continued to recover from surgery. Crow elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Acereros de Monclova

On May 1, 2018, Crow signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

after sitting out the 2017 season. In 13 games for the Acereros, he compiled a 3.55 ERA with 8 strikeouts across innings pitched. Crow was released by Monclova on July 3.

Pericos de Puebla

On July 3, 2018, Crow signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: Puebla Parrots) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán. Established in 1938, the Pericos have won five Mexican League ...

of the

. He made six scoreless appearances for Puebla, logging three strikeouts over innings of work. After the 2018, season, Crow became a free agent and retired from professional baseball.

Pitching style

Crow is a sinkerballer with a heavy sinker at 94–97 mph. His main off-speed pitch, and most-used pitch against right-handed hitters, is a slider at 85–88. He also has a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

. Against left-handed hitters, he throws a small amount of

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

s and

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

s. The majority of his 2-strike pitches are sliders, owing to its 49% whiff rate.

References

External links

Missouri Player Bio: Aaron CrowFort Worth Cats Player Bio: Aaron Crow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crow, Aaron 1986 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American League All-Stars Baseball players from Topeka, Kansas Falmouth Commodores players Fort Worth Cats players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Missouri Tigers baseball players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Surprise Rafters players Wilmington Blue Rocks players