The Tampa Bay speedster, a perennial contender for the league leader in stolen bases, is getting frustrated with inconsistent rulings by the men in black and white, according to MLB.com. After he was thrown out trying to steal against the Blue Jays on Sunday, he had no qualms about airing his frustrations.
“I don’t say anything because I’m already out,” Crawford said. “I just give them a look, like in disbelief. Like I don’t understand why half of these calls get made against me.”
Crawford has had his fair share of problems on the base paths lately; he has been caught stealing in four of his last 13 games and has tied his career-high of 15 unsuccessful attempts.
He doesn’t think he’s gotten any slower. He thinks the umps need to get their eyes checked.
“I’ve been looking safe a lot lately,” he said, after replays showed that he was safe on Sunday. “For some reason, I’ve just been getting called out. I don’t know what it is. I’m a speedy guy. Common sense will tell you to watch the play closely because it’s going to be a close play.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Crawford had 59 steals to his name in 2009, tying his career high.
“They’re just not getting in the proper position to see that I’m safe most of the time,” he insisted. “Half of the times I’ve been thrown out this year, if you go back and look at the replay, I was safe.
“I’m just getting a little tired of it. It’s starting to wear on me and frustrate me a little bit. That’s the only reason why I’m extending the conversation to you guys about it. But it’s definitely starting to get frustrating. I just wish they could pay more attention to me sliding, because half of the time I’m safe.”
