“Crandall was a hell of a defensive catcher,” Hank Aaron recalled. Joe Adcock said Crandall “couldn’t hit with Campanella, but strictly as a catcher he was the best.” Crandall replaced Walker Cooper as the Braves regular catcher and captain and led NL backstops in fielding four times, winning four Gold Gloves. He appeared in eight All-Star games, homering in one; he also homered in both the 1957 and ’58 WS, and three times collected over 20 HR in a season. After a shoulder problem sidelined him for most of 1961, Crandall batted a career-high .297 in 1962. Twenty years later, he managed Albuquerque (Pacific Coast League) to a remarkable 94-38 record, but in six years managing the Brewers and Mariners finished no higher than fifth. Crandall joined the White Sox broadcast team in 1985.
