Brandon Crawford: living the dream Giants Crawford's connection with team is thick as a brick (yes, he has one)

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The writing on the brick is worn down after 13 seasons of footsteps and a few Champagne showers. You have to know where to look. From the back end of the Willie Mays statue, walk several paces northeast and count 20 bricks over from the King Street sidewalk.

And there it is.

"Mike Lynn Brandon Amy Kaitlin and Jenna Crawford."

How many Giants players have their own brick outside AT&T Park, purchased back when the idea of having a locker on the inside of the building was nothing more than a childhood dream?

One.

Brandon Crawford, the starting shortstop for the San Francisco Giants. Exactly how he dreamed it in his Bay Area backyard.

Crawford is the first local product in years to be drafted by the Giants and developed into a true regular. Danville's Nate Schierholtz got close, but didn't ever lock down a job in right field over the past few seasons. And Monterey's Mike Aldrete was a part-time starter in the outfield in 1987 and '88. But Crawford is a mainstay on this year's division winners, and he grew up with the Giants.

Somewhere in the Crawford family archives is a photo of Aldrete holding 1-year-old Brandon that season. But then again, somewhere in the Crawford family archives are photos of their kids with many former Giants, because the Crawfords were loyal season-ticket holders, showing up regularly at spring training and fan-photo days.

Mike Crawford, who handles contracts for global defense and security company Northrop Grumman, said his 9-month-old son wasn't bothered by the loud noise in the 1987 playoffs. No one could have predicted that such early exposure would be good training for entering a postseason environment.

Even-keel player

A young Brandon Crawford stands next to his father, Mike, while he holds a sign with a message for National League President Bill White on Sunday, Sept. 27, 1992, at Candlestick Park. A young Brandon Crawford stands next to his father, Mike, while he holds a sign with a message for National League President Bill White on Sunday, Sept. 27, 1992, at Candlestick Park. Photo: Tom Levy / The Chronicle Photo: Tom Levy / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Brandon Crawford: living the dream 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Crawford, 25, is an even-keel player and low-key about living out his dream. He acknowledges former Giants shortstop Royce Clayton was his role model, but ballplayers are good at living in the moment, holding the emotion of the big picture at bay.

Family members, however, don't downplay their amazement.

"I got choked up," Lynn Crawford said of the first time she saw her son in a Giants uniform at AT&T. "How many mothers get to see their child fulfill the dream they've had since they were little?"

The Crawfords lived in Menlo Park before moving to Pleasanton in the 1990s. Brandon learned early to bundle up at Candlestick Park. When he was 5 and the Giants announced that they were fleeing Candlestick and moving to Florida, he was devastated; a Chronicle photographer caught his forlorn face in what was considered the final series at the Stick. When Crawford was in middle school, AT&T opened and the family bought a brick in Willie Mays Plaza, along with season tickets.

As a fifth-grade teacher, Lynn listened to her son's big dreams and reminded him, "OK, honey, but make sure you do really well in school, too."

Crawford did well enough in both school and baseball at Foothill High to play at UCLA. There, at a freshman athlete's orientation during his first few weeks, he met gymnast Jalynne Dantzscher. Within months, they were dating, and they were married last December. They are expecting their first child, a daughter, in December.

"He says all the time just how fortunate he is to be playing here," Jalynne said.

Crawford made his big-league debut in May 2011, hitting a grand slam in his first game in Milwaukee, but also was sent down for a while to Triple-A ball in Fresno. It was a stressful time, as he tried to nail down the starting job. But the easygoing shortstop wasn't letting the pressure of his testosterone-fueled sport get to him at home.

Crowded quarters

He and Jalynne rented a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment down King Street from the ballpark. Jalynne's twin sister, Janelle, had just started a teaching job in the East Bay and needed a place to live. Brandon and Jalynne had a pullout couch, so why not? When the twins' older sister, Jamie, landed a job coaching gymnastics in the Bay Area, she joined them too, sharing the sofa bed.

Brandon learned not to linger in the bathroom.

"I managed; I grew up with three younger sisters," Crawford said. "So it wasn't that different."

In the offseason, the newlyweds moved to a house in Walnut Creek - four bedrooms and two bathrooms - and the sisters came along, though both moved back to Southern California over the summer. Crawford is too young to remember "Three's Company," but knows the general premise. He said the reality of "Four's Company," sharing a home with three sisters, was a lot less wacky than a sitcom.

"It almost seemed natural to me," he said.

The sisters kept Jalynne company when Brandon was traveling, watched the couple's dogs when Brandon and Jalynne were both on the road, and provided benefits that some young ballplayers would love to have, like a clean house, washed and folded laundry and home cooking.

"Baked macaroni and cheese was a big favorite," said Jamie, who did much of the meal planning.

All three sisters were competitive gymnasts at UCLA. Jamie was on the 2000 Sydney Olympic team that won a bronze in 2010 when the third-place Chinese team was ruled to have used underage athletes. Though they didn't handspring or backflip around the house, they did joke with nimble Crawford that he should throw some gymnastics moves into his shortstop repertoire.

"We tease him about throwing in a trick, like a 'Popa,' " Jalynne said, referring to a 360-degree straddle jump named after Romanian gymnast Celestina Popa. "When he's turning a double play and jumping over a guy sliding into second, he could include it."

Crawford's acrobatic turns at shortstop have become his signature, so it was strange to see him struggle with errors early in the season. In the novel "The Art of Fielding," by Chad Harbach, a young shortstop suddenly can't make the throw to first. For a time, early in the season, Crawford seemed to be channeling protagonist Henry Skrimshander, committing 12 errors in his first 60 games.

"I hadn't ever gone through that before, making errors in bunches," Crawford said. "I had some tough plays."

Then the errors all but stopped. He made six in the final 102 games. Crawford had, in effect, two seasons in the field.

"He never hung his head," infield coach Ron Wotus said. "I never saw his confidence shaken. He took extra groundballs every day. And he never made excuses."

When he came home from work, Jalynne and her sisters, who learned the need for positive reinforcement in gymnastics, kept their feedback encouraging.

"He never brought it home with him," Jalynne said, adding, "He's a homebody. He likes hanging out, watching movies, playing X-box, playing with the dogs. He cherishes being at home."

And playing at home. When the Giants clinched the National League West on Sept. 22, Crawford's parents, sisters and Jalynne were all in the stands. In the celebration afterward, they came into the clubhouse and saw his locker.

Above it, the nameplate reads Brandon Crawford.

Just like the brick outside.