Michael R. Crouse (born November 22, 1990) is a Canadian

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

Milwaukee Milkmen The Milwaukee Milkmen are an independent baseball team based in Franklin, Wisconsin. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2019 and play h ...

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 lea ...

. He has also been a member of the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization, and has competed for the

Canadian national baseball team The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international baseball. They are overseen by Baseball Canada, the governing body of baseball in Canada. Their manager is Ernie Whitt, a former Major League Baseball catcher for the Toronto ...

Career

Amateur career

Crouse attended Centennial Secondary School in

Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouve ...

. Crouse played baseball and basketball in high school, eventually choosing to focus on baseball.

Toronto Blue Jays

Out of high school, Crouse was drafted by the

in the 16th round (489th overall) of the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. Crouse chose to sign with the Blue Jays instead of attending college. He made his professional debut in 2008, appearing in seven games with the

Gulf Coast Blue Jays The Florida Complex League Blue Jays are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. The team plays ...

of the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

. He returned to the Gulf Coast Blue Jays in 2009. He was promoted to the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

of the Class-A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

in 2010. With the Lugnuts, Crouse established himself as the team's starting

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

, finishing the season with a .261

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

, 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s and 55

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. He led the Lugnuts with 38 stolen bases. Crouse joined the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark ...

in the Class-A Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

in 2012. He remained with the Blue Jays organization through the 2014 season, playing for the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

, and was released in the offseason.

Lancaster Barnstormers

Crouse signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the

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

, an independent league, for the 2015 season. He missed the entire campaign due to injury. He re-signed with the team on January 26, 2016.

New Britain Bees

Lancaster traded Crouse to the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticu ...

on May 21, 2016, and finished the 2016 Atlantic League season with a league leading 61 stolen bases.

Pericos de Puebla

Crouse 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, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

for the 2018 season.

Algodoneros de Unión

He signed with

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cotton Farmers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Torreón, Coahuila. History Early years The team was established in 1940 under the name Algodoneros de Unió ...

in early 2019, but was released on May 21, 2019.

Somerset Patriots

On May 28, 2019, Crouse signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, an ...

of the

Chicago Dogs

On March 16, 2020, Crouse signed with the

Chicago Dogs The Chicago Dogs are an independent professional baseball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2018 and p ...

of the

American Association of Independent 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 lea ...

. Crouse played in 58 games for Chicago in 2020, slashing .262/.379/.457 with 10 home runs, 30 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. He improved upon his previous season in 2021, appearing in 73 games for the club in 2021, batting .277/.383/.492 with 13 home runs, 64 RBI, and 33 stolen bases. In 2022, Crouse made 87 appearances for Chicago, hitting .283/.400/.406 with 7 home runs, 47 RBI, and 38 stolen bases.

Winnipeg Goldeyes

On August 27, 2022, Crouse was traded to the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

of the

in exchange for Eric Rivera. Crouse appeared in 9 games for Winnipeg to round out the year, going 4-for-27 with eight walks, no home runs, and 2 RBI.

Milwaukee Milkmen

On January 18, 2023, Crouse was claimed off waivers by the

International career

Crouse has played for the

. He played in the

2008 World Junior Baseball Championship The 2008 World Junior AAA Championship was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from July 25 to August 3, 2008. Group stage Pool A * 5–0 * 4–1 * 3–2 * 2–3 * 1–4 * 0–5 Pool B * 4–1 * 4–1 * 3–2 * 3–2 * 1–4 * 0–5 Knockout stag ...

, being named to the tournament's All-Star team. He also participated in the

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

, winning the bronze medal, and the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, winning the gold medal.Canada golden on baseball's world stage , Bob Elliott , Columnists , Sports , London Free Press
/ref> He was the youngest player on the team.Michael Crouse is a name to watch in the Blue Jays system , MLB.com: News
/ref>

Scouting profile

Crouse, listed at , is considered to be a five-tool player. Drafted as a

centre fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, Crouse is expected to remain in right field.

Personal

Crouse's father, Ray Crouse, a football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

, played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouse, Michael 1990 births Living people Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players Black Canadian baseball players Baseball people from British Columbia Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Canadian people of African-American descent Canadian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Canberra Cavalry players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Chicago Dogs players Dunedin Blue Jays players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Lansing Lugnuts players Melbourne Aces players Mexican League baseball outfielders New Britain Bees players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Pericos de Puebla players Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in baseball People from Port Moody Somerset Patriots players Sydney Blue Sox players World Baseball Classic players of Canada 2017 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Canadian expatriate baseball players in Australia Canadian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela