Edward Carlton Crosby (born May 26, 1949) is a former infielder 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), ...

who played for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1970, 1972–1973), Cincinnati Reds (1973) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(1974–1976), who batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was nicknamed "Spider". Crosby played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...

and was drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the January phase of the

1969 Major League Baseball draft The 1969 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1969 MLB season. The draft featured future Hall of Famers Bert Blyleven (pick 55) and Dave Winfield (pick 882). First round selections The following are the first round picks ...

. He began his professional career with a rookie-league stint, as well as with the

Lewiston Broncs {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Lewiston Broncs , firstseason =1921 , lastseason =1974 , allyears =1921, 1937, 1939, 1952–1974 , city =Lewiston, Idaho , logo = , caplogo = , past class level = Short-seaso ...

, compiling a .295

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 is ...

in 70 games for them. In 1970, Crosby played in 78 games for the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, where he had a .300 batting average. Part way through that season, he was promoted to the Cardinals' major league roster, where he played in 38 games primarily as a shortstop. After a year with the major league club, Crosby spent the 1971 season with the AAA

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

, hitting .287. His fielding ability had taken a turn for the worse at shortstop, and he tried moving to second base during the offseason. He was supported in this by Travelers manager

Ken Boyer Kenton Lloyd "Ken" Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 ...

, who joined the Cardinals as first base coach. As a result, Crosby made the major league roster in 1972 and was considered one of the team's bright spots early on. He played in 101 games for the Cardinals that season, then appeared in just 22 in 1973. On July 27, he was traded along with Gene Dusan to the Cincinnati Reds for Ed Sprague, Sr. and later

Roe Skidmore Robert Roe Skidmore (born October 30, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and one of the few players in Major League Baseball history with a perfect career batting average of 1.000. An outfielder and first baseman, he had a te ...

. Crosby spent the rest of the 1973 campaign with the Reds, then was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Indianapolis Indians in the Rule 5 draft on December 3, 1973. Before playing a game for the Phillies, the Cardinals purchased his contract, and shortly afterward traded him to the Cleveland Indians with

Luis Alvarado Luis César Alvarado Martínez (January 15, 1949 – March 20, 2001), born in Lajas, Puerto Rico was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). From 1968 through 1977, he played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals ...

for

Jack Heidemann Jack Seale Heidemann (born July 11, 1949 in Brenham, Texas) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop between and for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets and Milwa ...

. Crosby played in 37 games for the Indians in 1974 and 61 in 1975, finishing his major league career with two final games played in 1976 with Cleveland, having spent most of the season with the Oilers. He was dealt from the Indians to the California Angels for minor-league outfielder Marty Friedman on December 10, 1976. He played three more years in the minor leagues before retiring. In a six-season

MLB 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), ...

career, Crosby posted a .220

(149-for-677) with 67 runs and 44 RBI through 297 games played. His son,

Bobby Crosby Robert Edward Crosby (born January 12, 1980) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The son of former ...

, had an eight-year Major League Baseball career and was the 2004

American League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

References

External links

Baseball Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosby, Ed Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players St. Louis Cardinals players San Jose Missions players Major League Baseball infielders 1949 births Living people Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from California Lewiston Broncs players Florida Instructional League Cardinals players Arkansas Travelers players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Oklahoma City 89ers players Wichita Aeros players Spokane Indians players Anaheim Angels scouts Baltimore Orioles scouts Chicago White Sox scouts Oakland Athletics scouts Long Beach City Vikings baseball players

See also

References

External links