Jonathon Neal Crawford (born November 1, 1991) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 was a first round draft pick in 2013, but he never played 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).

Amateur career

Crawford attended Okeechobee High School in

Okeechobee, Florida Okeechobee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Okeechobee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 US census, the city's population was 5,254. The Lake Okeechobee area was severely damaged in the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the first r ...

. He then enrolled at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. On June 1, 2012 he threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against Bethune-Cookman. In his three years at Florida, he went 9–8 with a 3.51

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) with 146

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

. In the summer of 2012, he played for the United States collegiate national team. In 7 games, he was 3–0 with a 2.02 ERA. He pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing 2 runs in the 8th inning as the U.S. lost to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in the semifinal of the

Haarlem Baseball Week The Haarlem Baseball Week (, before 2016 known as ) is an international invitation baseball tournament at the in Haarlem, Netherlands. It was first held in and has been held every other year in even-numbered years since . In December 2016, a ...

tournament.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

The

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

drafted Crawford in the first round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

. He signed on June 14, 2013. Crawford made his professional debut that season with the

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play ...

. He finished the year with a 1.89 ERA over eight starts. In 2014, Crawford pitched for the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

. He started 23 games, going 8–3 with a 2.85 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 123 innings.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 11, 2014, the Tigers traded Crawford and

Eugenio Suárez Eugenio Alejandro Suárez (born July 18, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, and Seattle Mari ...

to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

for Alfredo Simón. He began 2015 on the disabled list before beginning to rehab with the AZL Reds in late June, pitching three games for them. He then pitched two games for the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

, giving up five runs in 5.1 innings, but was placed on the disabled list again, and missed the remainder of the season. In 2016, Crawford once again began the season on the disabled list, and did not begin rehabbing in the AZL until June. He returned to Daytona in August and spent the last half of the season there, pitching to a 1–3 record and 6.35 ERA in six starts. He spent 2017 back with Daytona where he was 0–10 with a 5.65 ERA ad 1.96 WHIP in 22 starts. Crawford missed all of 2019 with ah undisclosed injury and elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2019.

Team Texas

In July 2020, Crawford signed on to play for Team Texas of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for Minor League Baseball, minor league players. History ...

(a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) for the 2020 season.

Chicago Dogs

On April 1, 2021, Crawford signed with the Chicago Dogs of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. Crawford struggled to a 9.36 ERA in 14 appearances with the Dogs and was released on July 19.

High Point Rockers

On August 7, 2021, Crawford signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional minor-league baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 21 games down the stretch, he posted a 4-0 record and 2.70 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched. He became a free agent following the season. On April 8, 2022, Crawford re-signed with the Rockers for the 2022 season. Crawford made 29 appearances for the Rockers, pitching to a 4.82 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 28 innings of work before he was released on August 8. On April 6, 2023, Crawford re-signed with the Rockers.

Staten Island FerryHawks

On April 28, 2023, Crawford signed with the

Staten Island FerryHawks The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the Atlantic League. He made 2 starts for the FerryHawks, surrendering 5 runs (8 earned) on 12 hits and 5 walks with 5 strikeouts in innings of work. Crawford was released on June 6.

Charleston Dirty Birds

On June 11, 2023, Crawford signed with the Charleston Dirty Birds of the

Atlantic League The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are loc ...

. After 2 games for Charleston, in which he logged a 6.23 ERA with 5 strikeouts in innings, Crawford was released by the team on June 20. In October 2023, Crawford retired from professional baseball and became a real estate agent.

Personal life

Crawford's brother, Kutter, is also a professional baseball player. Kutter made his MLB debut in 2021 with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

References

External links

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Jonathon 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Florida Florida Gators baseball players Connecticut Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players High Point Rockers players People from Okeechobee, Florida Staten Island FerryHawks players Charleston Dirty Birds players Chicago Dogs players