Brandon Crawford credits advice from Barry Bonds for improved hitting

Brandon Crawford is playing like a potential NL MVP candidate this season, and he may have one well-known former San Francisco Giant to thank.

In an interview with Eno Sarris of The Athletic that ran on Monday, the Giants shortstop credited some advice that Barry Bonds once gave him for helping him improve his approach at the plate with two strikes this year.

“I’ll choke up a little bit now,” the 31-year-old was quoted as saying. “I started doing that and it’s cut my strikeouts the last seven weeks. That’s something Barry mentioned to me years ago.

“With two strikes I’m not really as worried about power,” Crawford added. “And it allows me to get to an inside fastball and still have the bat control to hit something offspeed or hit something the other way.”

Crawford’s results speak for themselves — the former All-Star is posting a career-best slash line this season of .308/.365/.490 to go with eight home runs, 33 RBIs, and just 58 strikeouts through 74 games. Bonds, meanwhile, previously worked with the Giants as a special hitting instructor and now serves as a special advisor to their CEO.

While Bonds will always be a controversial figure, the city of San Francisco has been going out of its way lately to welcome him back, and a shoutout from arguably their best player this season certainly helps advance that cause.