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Originally Published: September 18, 2009

Locker Room Report: Carl Crawford

The Rays' left fielder offers up his personal plan of preparation, from morning until night

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By Tim Kurkjian
ESPN The Magazine
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Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Carl Crawford is one of the best players in the American League, and perhaps the best athlete in either league.

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J. Meric/Getty ImagesCarl Crawford, 28, is in his eighth season with Tampa Bay.

Yet for all his speed and strength, he doesn't move with the grace and the fluidity of a great baseball player. His movements at the plate, in the field and on the bases are violent. He looks like a football player learning to play baseball because, ultimately, that is what he is: He was a great high school football and basketball player.

This year, teammates say, Crawford has for the first time begun exploring the mental part of the game, understanding how it is played, and how he can play it even better.

This is Crawford's day as he prepares for a 7:10 p.m. game at Tropicana Field. It is a relatively simple day, with routine. But it's also a day without complications and superstitions, and without too much thinking. Football and basketball players don't have time to think because the next play is only seconds away, there is always another shot to take or another block to make.

This is how Crawford prepares for success in baseball. In his own words, here's how Crawford describes what he does:

"I get up between 9 and 10:30 [a.m.] every day and eat breakfast -- it's the most important meal of the day, I don't want to miss it. Then I usually take a nap until about 1 o'clock. Then I go to the field at 2 o'clock. The first thing I do when I get there is go right to the [batting] cage.

"I usually go to the cage alone. I hit a bucket of balls off the tee just to get my swing loose. I'm usually there for about 15 minutes. After that, I usually eat, watch TV, read a newspaper, hang with the guys and download. I mostly eat turkey burgers, especially when I'm at home. I love turkey burgers. Our [clubhouse] guy makes them good. … Turkey burgers are good for you.

"That takes us to batting practice, time to get ready for the game. I usually do the same things during BP every day: I try hitting the ball the other way, and I just try to hit line drives. When we're on the road, I shag during BP, I run after balls and watch how the ballpark plays. At home, on the turf, I don't like to shag during BP. I don't like turf, it really wears down your legs. I don't take one step on it without thinking about that. It's not good. So I will just watch the ball and get a read on it. I can do that without moving.

"After BP, I watch some video of the pitcher we're going to be facing that night. I'll watch the previous two games that he pitched against us. I'll be watching to see if he was throwing a lot of breaking balls, but mostly, I go up there and react. That's what football and basketball taught me, just let your body react. When I get older, and have lost some of my skills, maybe I'll change it. But I'm a see-and-react kind of guy. That works for me now.

“

Right before the game starts, I stand in the on-deck circle and try to time the pitcher. I'm thinking only about one thing, having a solid at-bat, and squaring up the ball.

” -- Carl Crawford

"At home, after BP, I hang with the guys, but when it gets closer to game time, I go back to the cage. There's a lot of time in between BP and the start of the game, and you can get cold. So I get loose again in the cage. A coach usually comes down with me. They throw to me instead of hitting off a tee. It's good to see a ball out of the hand that close to game time.

"Right before the game starts, I stand in the on-deck circle and try to time the pitcher. I'm thinking only about one thing, having a solid at-bat, and squaring up the ball. When I go to the plate, I always nod to the catcher and the umpire: [Veteran umpire] Joe West taught me that. My rookie year, I'd go to the plate and not look at anyone or say anything to anyone. Joe told me, 'You should say hello when you come up here.' Since my rookie year, I've done that. I don't want to do anything that's going to make an umpire mad at me.

"If I square the ball my first at-bat, I won't go watch the at-bat on video after the next inning. But if I have two really bad at-bats in a row, I'll go back [to the video room] to see what the heck is going on. If I square the ball a few times during a game, I won't watch video after the game. I probably won't watch if I went 0-for-4 one night. But if I have two 0-for-4s, or three 0-for-4s in a row, I'll go back there and try to figure out what I was doing wrong. But for the most part, once the game is over, it's over whether we won or lost. All I usually do is ice my legs and start to get ready for the next game. There's not much else you can do. It's over.

"It really bothers me when we lose, but I don't take the game home with me. I never lose sleep over it. I never have a hard time going to sleep at night, and I don't sleep better if we had a good game. I keep steaming ahead. Every day. Keep steaming ahead."

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His book "Is This a Great Game, or What?" was published by St. Martin's Press and became available in paperback in May 2008. Click here to order a copy.