So....I've got this big crazy idea. Hear me out - don't laugh quite yet - but I want to give Carl Crawford a going away present.
I was thinking it'd be a great gesture to create a newspaper "ad" that would be similar to the Thank You notes that players typically leave in newspapers (if you're looking for an example, here's what Rocco Baldelli did in the St. Pete Times a few years ago). The idea is for the Thank You to be written by our writers here, supported by all of us fans, and placed in the St. Petersburg Times on a Sunday. "Thank you Crawford, from all of us fans."
Not only is this a nice gesture to Crawford, showing him how much the fans have appreciated his time here and how much he means to us, but I feel like it also sends a bit of a message to the world about Rays fans. What other fanbase has ever created such a gesture for one of their players? It'd be a unique effort, and one that would make me proud to be a fan of the Rays.
I'm trying to solicit some funding from other sources, but in the end, the bulk of the cost will probably come down to you - our readers and fellow fans. Would you be willing to donate to make this happen?
(Please ignore the formatting, but please....serious answers only. This is not a strict commitment, but we do want to have a reliable estimate of what we can expect.)
Note: I'd like to clarify, this ad would run after Crawford was signed, not beforehand.