Threshers' Justin Crawford following in father's footsteps

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Justin Crawford has vivid memories of his father, four-time MLB all-star Carl Crawford, wowing fans at Tropicana Field. 

"He's the reason why I fell in love with baseball," said Justin. 

Most notably, Justin remembers throwing out a first pitch during the Rays' 2008 World Series run. 

"I have a very small vision of just looking back and seeing the whole crowd, at five years old, just roaring," he recalls. 

That lasting image of a raucous Trop set Justin on a mission. 

"For me, it was probably that little spark that made me think that I want to do this," Justin said. 

Thankfully, Justin had an all-star mentor to look up to. 

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 "When I was younger, from like eight to 11 or 12 years old, I tried to do everything exactly like him," Justin admits. 

Fast-forward to 2022, and Justin Crawford was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round of the MLB draft. 

This season, Justin's first full season in the pros, he was assigned to the Clearwater Threshers and sent back to where the dream started. 

"It's really made this transition into pro ball a lot easier for me," said Justin. 

Even at 19 years old, Crawford is proving that he is every bit of the first-round pick the Phillies spent on him. 

Through 40 games with the Threshers this season, Justin leads the team in hits, batting average, and runs batted in. 

"It's something that feels really good that I'm having this early success," said Justin.

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"But this is also something that I just have to take it one day at a time."

The son, however, knows the comparisons to the father will continue. 

Justin Crawford in a minor league game 

But it is something Justin Crawford embraces. 

"I'm my own person," said Justin. 

"As I've gotten older, I've been able to kind of separate (my dad) from me and be like, 'this is who I am.' I just go out there and show everybody what I can do."

And while Justin appears to be every bit of the ball player his dad was, there is one thing Justin says he surpasses his dad in. 

"If you ask him now, he would say he can still beat me in a race running backwards," Justin joked. 

"I think he has no shot. I think maybe in his prime, the race might have been a little closer, but at the end of the day, I still think I come out on top."

Later this summer, meanwhile, Justin's dad will be inducted into the inaugural class of the Rays' team hall of fame. 

And as the father prepares to be enshrined in St. Pete, the son continues to carve out his own career just up the road.