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All-Star Carl Crawford Lost to the Phillies in the World Series.
Now His Son Justin Is Playing for Them Its very funny how that worked out, Justin Crawford laughs on a video call with TODAY.com Skip to Content@justincarlcrawford via Instagram / @carlcrawfordceo via InstagramFour-time MLB All-Star Carl Crawford played in the World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.
The teams opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, won in just five games.
At the time, his son Justin Carl Crawford was just 4 years old.
This season, Justin made his debut with the Phillies as an outfielder.
Has Carl been able to root for the team he had his most prominent loss to?Its very funny how that worked out, Justin laughs on a video call with TODAY.com.
He was pretty quick to change, though, once I got drafted.
I think he was one of the first ones to get a Phillies jersey.
I would literally copy everything he did, Justin shares, starting with mimicking Carl making a shake for breakfast by mixing up every type of juice from the fridge.I tried to dress like him, I had his whole routine to a T.
It drove my mom crazy, but I loved it.
Carl, who also was an outfielder and hit and threw left-handed, influenced Justin, who is naturally a righty, to bat left-handed.I was 2 years old when I like first picked up a bat, and Id pick it up righty, so would always switch my hands and turn me into a lefty, Justin explains.
He is still right-handed otherwise.Im really glad he did because it would be tough to face right-on-right every day.
for the Phillies.
In April 2014, Carl had a walk-off hit for the Dodgers.
In both cases, baseball legend Don Mattingly was the team manager.I looked at it as a great opportunity to be able to keep the Crawford name going.
It gives me something to strive for as well, he says.
He knows that his son hopes to one day beat all of his own records.I want him to do it all, too, because itll be great.
Im glad that what I did in the major leagues motivated him to become who he is today, Carl said.Im fortunate enough to lean on him for any advice, and I look at as a blessing, honestly, to have a father that accomplished all the things he did, is something that Im really grateful for and really proud of, says Justin.
The advice that stuck with me is, Dont ride the roller coaster stay even, Justin says.
Basically, dont get too high, dont get too low, stay in the moment.Whether youre 0 for 4, or 4 for 4, you got to come to work the next day.
Courtesy Justin Crawford Carl coached Justin through the mental and physical challenges of the game and stressed the importance of showing up at the ballpark ready to work, whether youre feeling good or feeling bad.
Justin is holding tight to that advice because this game is always challenging you, even now.
My first year at Big League is challenging.Honestly, thats the beauty of it, he says.I look forward to waking up and trying to figuring it out and competing.
Thats the most exciting thing to me.
The best part about growing up with a dad in the majors, Justin says, was getting to hang out in the clubhouse.It was my happy place, he says.
I would go to everyones locker and just have a question, he recalls.
It would be anything from like, Why do you wear your sleeve on this arm? Or, Why are you doing this? I was just always a curious kid.
Harp brings his kid, Crew, in, Justin says of teammate Bryce Harper.He brought him in during spring training and Ill see him after games sometimes.
Phillies Bryson Stott and Jhoan Duran will also bring their kids for clubhouse visits.Seeing them definitely just gives me a whole bunch of memories to be like, Wow, man, thats where it started for me, says Justin.
Its really, really cool to see.
Playing in the majors has been a dream come true, says Justin, especially because he gets to share the dream with his father.Im talking to him first thing in the morning, talking to him after the games, like we always do, Justin says, noting that his hectic schedule might prevent them from spending Fathers Day together.
Fathers Day is always special, but it might be a little bit more special this time, he says.
Im really excited and thankful to be able to share this day with him.Its a great day to look back and just know that kind of all the hard work has paid off a little bit, and that we still got a long journey to go.
Rosie Colosi lives in New Jersey and is a reporter for TODAY Parents.
She has bylines in The Atlantic, The Week, MSNBC, and PureWow, and she has written 33 nonfiction children's books for Scholastic, Klutz, and Nat Geo Kids.Once upon a time, she played Mrs.
Claus in"The Rockettes' Radio City Christmas Spectacular," but now she mostly sings songs from"Annie" to her two daughters ..
while they beg her to play Kidz Bop.