Aaron Crow

Early life

Crow was born on November 10, 1986, in Topeka, Kansas to parents Kevin and Julie Crow. Crow and his siblings—brother Travis and sister Jennifer—were raised in the small community of Wakarusa, Kansas, not far from Topeka. Following his graduation from Washburn Rural High School, Crow attended the University of Missouri.

College career

In his three years for the Missouri Tigers baseball team, Crow started 46 games, going 23–8 with a 3.27 earned run average (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 season while playing for the Falmouth Commodores.

Professional career

Crow was selected by the Washington Nationals 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 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 Kansas City Royals. Crow signed a contract with the Royals on September 15, 2009. To make room for Danny Duffy 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 batters, striking out three.

On May 30, 2011, Royals manager Ned Yost announced that Crow had been promoted to the team's closer position on a temporary basis to replace the struggling Joakim Soria. 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, although he did not play.

Miami Marlins

On November 28, 2014, the Royals traded Crow to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Brian Flynn and Reid Redman. Crow underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2015 and missed the entirety of the season as a result. He was non–tendered and became a free agent on December 2, 2015.

Chicago Cubs

On February 19, 2016, Crow signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs organization. He made three appearances for the rookie–level Arizona League Cubs as he continued to recover from surgery. Crow elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Acereros de Monclova

On May 1, 2018, Crow signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League after sitting out the 2017 season. In 13 games for the Acereros, he compiled a 3.55 ERA with 8 strikeouts across innings pitched. Crow was released by Monclova on July 3.

Pericos de Puebla

On July 3, 2018, Crow signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League. He made six scoreless appearances for Puebla, logging three strikeouts over innings of work. 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 at 85–88. He also has a four-seam fastball. Against left-handed hitters, he throws a small amount of curveballs and changeups. The majority of his 2-strike pitches are sliders, owing to its 49% whiff rate.

References

References

1. "Aaron Crow". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
2. Kaegel, Dick. (24 December 2012). "Crow relishes spending holidays near Kansas City". MLB.com via KC Royals official team website.
3. "Missouri Downs Pepperdine Behind Crow's Complete Game".
4. "Mizzou baseball team upsets Pepperdine". msnbc.
5. "Player Bio: Aaron Crow". mutigers.com.
6. "Aaron Crow Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year". mutigers.com.
7. "2007 Falmouth Commodores". thebaseballcube.com.
8. Bailey, Erica. "Robert A. McNeece Award as Top Pro Prospect Of 2007 Goes to Falmouth Pitcher Aaron Crow". capecodbaseball.org.
9. "BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Ask BA".
10. (13 August 2008). "Fort Worth Cats sign Aaron Crow".
11. Dodd, Rustin. (March 31, 2001). "Rookie pitchers are 'dynamite' in relief". Kansas City Star.
12. Kaegel, Dick. (May 30, 2011). "Aaron Crow would replace Joakim Soria as the Royals' closer". MLB.com.
13. "Blue Jays vs. Royals - Game Recap - June 6, 2011 - ESPN".
14. "July 12, 2011 All-Star Game Play-By-Play and Box Score". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
15. "Royals trade reliever Aaron Crow to Marlins for two minor-league pitchers". kansascity.com.
16. "Where are they now? Topekan Aaron Crow happy with life after baseball".
17. Todd, Jeff. (December 3, 2015). "2015-16 National League Non-Tenders".
18. (8 November 2016). "Minor League Free Agents 2016".
19. "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Aaron Crow". Brooks Baseball.