He attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton, where he was a standout athlete, excelling in baseball, basketball, and football. His athletic talents earned him a scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he majored in physiological science and played for the UCLA Bruins baseball team from 2006 to 2008.

Collegiate Baseball Career at UCLA

While at UCLA, Crawford made a significant impact on the baseball field. He helped lead the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances—an accomplishment unprecedented in the program’s history at the time. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in both 2006 and 2007 and earned All-Pac-10 Conference honors in 2007.

Professional Career with the San Francisco Giants

Brandon Crawford was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, 117th overall. He began his professional career with the Class-A Advanced San Jose Giants in 2009. In 2010, he advanced to Double-A and earned an Eastern League All-Star nod for his strong performance.

Crawford was called up to the major leagues for the first time in May 2011, in the wake of injuries to key players such as Darren Ford, Mike Fontenot, and Buster Posey. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on May 27, 2011, against the Milwaukee Brewers. In his third at-bat of the game, he hit a grand slam off Brewers pitcher Shaun Marcum. With this feat, Crawford became only the sixth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his first Major League game. He also joined Bobby Bonds and Brian Dallimore as the only San Francisco Giants whose first career MLB hit was a grand slam.