by Knox Bardeen
Carl Crawford put some of the new scratch from his seven-year, $142 million contract with the Boston Red Sox to good use on Wednesday when he bought lunch for 150 Tampa Bay Rays employees.Crawford was drafted in 1999 by the Rays and spent nine seasons in Tampa Bay, hitting .296 with 104 home runs, 592 RBI and swiping 409 bases.
The thank-you lunch was a barbecue special at Tropicana Field for members of the front office. The kicker here is that Crawford wasn't in attendance. I suppose if the former Tampa Bay outfielder was footing the bill, that's the important issue. Who cares if Crawford was there to enjoy some pulled pork with beans and slaw? I suppose, too, Crawford could have been showing respect for his new teammates by not breaking bread with the team that will now be an arch-rival 18 times per season.
The sentiment shows, like Adrian Gonzalez before him who took out a full-page advertisement in a San Diego newspaper to thank the city, that Crawford is a stand-up guy that is more than capable of showing appreciation in situations that call for something special.
It also shows that the Red Sox picked up two high-character ballplayers who, more importantly, can mash a baseball.
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