Coco Crisp

Coco Crisp
Boston Red Sox – No. 10
Center fielder
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
debut
August 15, 2002, for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics (through August 8, 2008)
Batting average	.277
Home runs	55
Runs batted in	300
Stolen bases	118
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2002-2005) Boston Red Sox (2006-present)

Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the Boston Red Sox. Crisp is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.

Early life

Crisp attended Los Angeles Pierce College following his graduation from Inglewood High School in Los Angeles, California. He briefly attended high school with NBA star Paul Pierce. Before attending Inglewood High School, he attended St. Bernard High School in Playa Del Rey, California for 3 years.

Baseball career

Minor League Career

In his minor league career, he played for the New Haven Ravens, then the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded to the Cleveland Indians organization. There he played for the Indians' Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. Crisp had 81 hits, one home run, and 24 RBI before being called up by the Indians.

Major League Career

Cleveland Indians

Crisp was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. On August 7, 2002, while playing at Double-A New Haven, Crisp was traded to Cleveland to complete an earlier trade for pitcher Chuck Finley.

Crisp became the starting center fielder with the Indians in mid-2002, replacing the injured Matt Lawton. For the next few seasons, Crisp established a reputation as an excellent fielder and speedy baserunner. Despite his success, Crisp had to fight for his roster spot each spring. In 2005, Crisp moved to left field following the emergence of another young outfielder, Grady Sizemore. In his final two seasons with the Indians, Crisp showcased his offensive talent by batting .297 and .300 with 31 total home runs and 35 steals.

Boston Red Sox

After Johnny Damon signed with the New York Yankees, the Red Sox sought Crisp to fill Damon's vacated role both in center field and as a lead-off hitter. In January 2006, the Red Sox sent prospect third baseman Andy Marte, pitcher Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named later (Minor Leaguer Randy Newsom), and cash considerations to the Indians for Crisp and pitcher David Riske. Crisp, already a fan favorite in Cleveland, saw his national fame jump dramatically upon entering big-market Boston before playing a single game in a Red Sox uniform.

After a promising start to his Red Sox career, which included signing a 3-year contract extension worth $15.5 million, Crisp broke his left index finger attempting to steal third base and spent the next 42 games on the disabled list. After returning to the Red Sox outfield on May 28, Kevin Youkilis had taken over the leadoff spot, and Crisp usually batted 7th or 8th in the line-up for the rest of the year. In 105 games, he had a .264 batting average with 8 home runs and 36 RBI. Besides his injury, Crisp's 2006 season may be best remembered for a fantastic defensive catch against the New York Mets on June 29.

2007 Season

Crisp began the 2007 season struggling offensively. On April 20, 2007, Crisp fell over a short wall at Fenway Park while trying to catch a home run by Alex Rodriguez. Although he was unable to make the catch, missing by inches, he hit a game tying triple off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the eighth. The Red Sox went on to win 7-6. During this season, he made numerous impressive catches in the outfield. It has even been claimed by one major league club that Crisp is easily the best defensive center fielder in all of Major League Baseball. Although struggled at the plate throughout much of the season, between June 13 and July 5, Crisp raised his batting average from .221 to .265, and after a 3 for 4 game on July 22, he raised his average to a season high .277. On June 18, entering the game with only two home runs in the season, Crisp belted two homers in the first multi-HR game of his career in a 9-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

On August 5, Crisp was almost run over by the Seattle Mariners' mascot, the Mariner Moose. The Moose, driving a lap around Safeco Field's warning track on an ATV, nearly collided with Crisp as he was leaving the dugout for his position in the middle of the fifth inning; Crisp had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell was incensed by the mascot's actions and voiced his displeasure to both the mascot and Seattle's head groundskeeper. Immediately following the incident, the Red Sox received an apology from Mariners GM Bill Bavasi.

On October 21, in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, Crisp made the catch that sent Boston to their second World Series in four seasons. He sprinted over to the triangle in center field and collided with the wall after making the catch.

Although he was the team's starting center fielder throughout the 2007 season, he was benched mid series during the ALCS for rookie Jacoby Ellsbury. He remained benched for the 2007 World Series, only appearing late in games for defensive substitutions.

2008 Season

Bench-clearing brawl on June 5, 2008

On June 4, Crisp was the center of controversy in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. After trying to steal second base in the bottom of the sixth inning, Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett placed his knee in front of the bag, in attempt to prevent Crisp from stealing the base. Crisp stole the base, but was not happy with this. On base again in the bottom of the eighth inning, he attempted another steal, this time taking out second baseman Akinori Iwamura on a hard slide. He slid as if he was trying to break up a double play. During a pitching change in that inning, Ray's manager Joe Maddon and Crisp argued, with Crisp in the dugout and Maddon on the pitching mound. After the game, Crisp said that he thought it was Bartlett in the play in the eighth inning, not Iwamura. Crisp described Bartlett's knee in front of the bag as a "shady" play. The very next game, in Crisp's first at bat in the bottom of the second, leading off the inning with the Sox up 3-1, Rays starter James Shields hit him on the thigh on the second pitch. Crisp charged the mound and first dodged a punch from Shields, and then threw a punch at Shields which also missed, setting off a bench-clearing brawl. Crisp, Jonny Gomes, and Shields were ejected from the game. Major League Baseball suspended Crisp for seven games due to his actions in the brawl. Upon appeal, the suspension was reduced to five games which he had served on June 28, 2008.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs