The St. Petersburg Times reports that Rays LF Carl Crawford, who sustained a groin injury in a game on September 16th against Seattle, will miss the rest of the season. The announcement was neither surprising nor particularly meaningful, despite what the apparent fluctuations in sentiment by manager Joe Maddon might have been over the weekend. With only six games left, the Rays apparently didn't feel comfortable with Crawford suiting up and playing every day. Maddon made the announcement about Crawford's status prior to tonight's game against the New York Yankees.
Crawford finishes the year with a mixed bag of improvements and declines as far as his statistics go. His batting average improved this season to .315, continuing a trend that has seen his batting average improve over each of the last five seasons. His on base percentage inched upward seven points to .355, while his slugging percentage fell 16 points to .466 for an overall OPS decline of 10 points, though he recorded an increase in his line drive percentage. Despite the step forward in OBP his walk rate fell and his strikeout rate went up while his BABIP took a huge jump to .375. His stolen base totals declined to just 50 while he was caught stealing once more than last year.
Through all of that Crawford still recorded his second appearance in major league baseball's All Star Game, in which he hit a home run. He became the first Ray to make more than one appearance in MLB's Midsummer Classic, and the first Tampa Bay representative to homer in the game.