PHILADELPHIA -- Justin Crawford waited 22 years and 72 days for this moment.
It took seconds to make the most of it.
Crawford (Phillies' No. 3 prospect, No. 53 MLB prospect) singled on the first pitch he saw in his first MLB plate appearance in the Phillies’ 5-3 season-opening win on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Crawford laced a first-pitch fastball from Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi up the middle for a two-out single to center field in the bottom of the second inning.
“I wasn’t trying to wait around,” Crawford said.
Crawford was the first Phillies player to get a hit in his first at-bat of an Opening Day MLB debut since Denny Doyle on April 7, 1970. Crawford later singled in the fifth inning to become one of just 15 players in Phillies history with two or more hits in an Opening Day debut, and the first to do it since Bryson Stott on April 8, 2022.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a little butterflies,” Crawford said.
He didn’t play like it.
Crawford spent Wednesday’s workout at the Bank getting a feel for center field and the “heartbeat” of the ballpark. He got cheesesteaks with his family. He said he slept well.
“I slept almost too good,” he said.
The 22-year-old walked to the batter’s box with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the second inning.
“I was definitely making sure to breathe, for sure,” Crawford said. “But I was pretty locked in, honestly.”
Eovaldi threw Crawford a first-pitch fastball. Crawford ripped the pitch up the middle.
“I feel like a 10-pound weight got off me,” he said.
Crawford got the baseball, of course. He said he isn’t sure what he’s going to do with it.
“Between my mom, my dad, my grandmas -- I’m sure there are a few people who are going to be fighting over wanting it,” Crawford said, smiling.
Crawford had about 40 family members and friends in town for his debut, including his father, former big leaguer Carl Crawford.
Everybody celebrated on the field after the game.
“He just said, 'I’m so proud of you for everything you’ve done,'” Crawford said. “We’ve come a long way, being able to get to this moment and see it. … I’m so glad everyone was able to make it out. LIke I said, it’s really just a moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”