Aaron James Crow (born November 10, 1986) 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. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Early life

Crow was born on November 10, 1986, in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

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 an unincorporated community in Shawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 242. It is located south of downtown Topeka. Wakarusa is also the name of an unin ...

, 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, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

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 had an overall record of 2053-1339-17 entering the 2012 season. Head coaches Year-by-year record CB=''Collegiat ...

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 one thousan ...

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.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

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 Basebal ...

for the season.

Kansas City Royals

Crow was selected with the twelfth pick in the first round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft 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 who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. After being drafted by the Royals in 2007, Duffy spent the ...

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 In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

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

Ned Yost Edgar Frederick Yost III (; born August 19, 1954) is a 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. Early life Yost was born o ...

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 purports to showcase 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 div ...

, 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 (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

for Brian Flynn and Reid Redman.

Chicago Cubs

Crow signed a minor league deal 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in February 2016. He became a free agent on November 7, 2016.

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 based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Ace ...

of the

Mexican Baseball 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 ...

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

of the

. 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 Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

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 in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

. 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 speed ...

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 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 Sportspeople from Topeka, Kansas Surprise Rafters players Wilmington Blue Rocks players