By Ben Leonard
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Behind Brandon Crawford’s slicked back man bun and electric blue eyes lies a fire inside. A fire to win. A fire to back his teammates. But a silky smooth, calm, slow burning flame, one that picks up and rages when the game, or his teammates, are in jeopardy.

The moment never seems too big for Crawford, the cool UCLA kid. With his laid back demeanour and flowing hair, he seems like he would be more at home at a Southern California beach than in a big league batter’s box. Crawford’s cooly confident yet internally fiery leadership has quietly buoyed the San Francisco Giants this season, and no other time was it more apparent on Friday, leading the Giants to a 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

When the Diamondbacks thought they were retaliating for a retaliatory hit-by-pitch that Jeff Samardzija didn’t throw, Crawford stepped up to back up his catcher. After Arizona starter Patrick Corbin threw tight and inside to Posey and then threw right behind him, that smooth ember within Crawford was lit. Facing a 2-0 deficit, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected after lobbying for Corbin’s ejection. Four pitches later, Crawford gracefully slammed one into the arcade to tie the game.

“When he walked [and threw at Posey], I wanted to make him pay for doing that,” Crawford said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. That’s what I was going for. I wanted to get him, and fortunately, I was able to get a pitch that I was able to get both in with.”

Giants’ outfielder Gregor Blanco knew that Crawford was going to do something to steady the team — he had a feeling that Corbin’s throw had ignited his sense of duty.

“When he took that bat, I felt like he’s going to do something,” Blanco said. “I knew he was kind of mad about it.”

Even though seemingly few have noticed, Crawford has been doing this all season long for the Giants. Count Mets’ manager Terry Collins in as one of those who hasn’t noticed Crawford’s exploits — he snubbed the Giants’ RBI leader and defensive whiz from the National League All-Star roster.

Among others, Blanco thinks Crawford should join fellow Brandon (Belt) in San Diego.

“Defensively, he’s one of the best shortstops in baseball, and now in the last couple years, he’s starting to become one of the best offensively as well,” Blanco said Friday. “So it’s really good to watch him play.”

The numbers back up Blanco’s assertion — Crawford ranks first in FanGraph’s defensive ratings, and second in overall WAR, behind just the Dodgers’ Corey Seager. But he doesn’t just do it when the game is firmly within one team’s grasp — the Giants’ count on him to come through when it matters.

“He’s a clutch hitter,” Blanco said. “He’s a guy that always in big situations, he always brings in the run or at least gives you a good at-bat.”

One of those clutch moments vaulted the Giants into the (real) National League playoffs in 2014, a grand slam that put them ahead of the Pirates in a do-or-die Wild Card Game. Without it, who knows if Madison Bumgarner would have been able to carry the Giants on his back all the way to the championship.

He’s one of the driving forces behind a team that has overperformed its way to three championships since 2010, scratching and clawing together makeshift rosters to perfection. With that magic Giants glue, they’re doing it again this season, at times rolling out lineups that look more like the San Francisco Rivercats than a major league lineup, yet still leading the majors in wins.

We may not have the best team,” Blanco said, “but we do something together that, I don’t know how we do it, we just feed off of each other.”

The Giants aren’t in your face about it, but they win. And win again. With one of the more quiet clubhouses in baseball, (Hunter Pence excepted) behind Crawford and Buster Posey they calmly do it every year.

With Crawford at the helm, expect nothing less than a deep run in the playoffs this season. He’s calm about it, he’s cool about it, but you know it: the fire to win a World Series is still there. It’s early, but watch out: Crawford and the Giants might just take another trophy from right under your nose.

Cover Image: San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Crawford hits a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 8, 2016, in San Francisco. The Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 6-2. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)