Detroit Tigers: 1903-1917
At the end of 1902, a bidding war for players developed between the National and American Leagues. Crawford signed contracts with both the Reds and the Detroit Tigers. The competing contracts led to a publicized legal dispute, with a judge ultimately awarding Crawford to the Tigers but requiring $3,000 in compensation to the Reds.
Crawford joined the Tigers for the 1903 season and remained there until the end of his major league career in 1917. In 1903, he led the American League with 25 triples, and finished second in the batting race with a .335 batting average.
With the addition of Ty Cobb at the end of the 1905 season, the Tigers had two of the best hitters in baseball. Cobb and Crawford led Detroit to three straight American League pennants in 1907, 1908 and 1909, but both of them slumped in their World Series appearances, as the Tigers lost all three World Series. Crawford hit for a .243 average in three World Series, and Cobb hit uncharacteristic .200 in the 1907 World Series and .231 in the 1909 World Series.
Although Crawford never got to play in another World Series, he remained one of the most feared hitters in baseball through 1915. In 1911, he hit a career-high .378 with 115 RBIs and 57 extra base hits. From 1913 to 1915, Crawford played in 472 consecutive games for the Tigers. Crawford was among the American League leaders in hits, RBIs, extra base hits, slugging percentage and total bases every year from 1905 to 1915. He led the American League in triples five times, including an American League record 26 triples in 1914. Crawford remains the all-time major league leader with 309 triples in his career.
Though his fielding suffered in his later years, Crawford was an excellent fielder in his prime. In 1905, he led all American League outfielders with a .988 fielding percentage – 35 points higher than the league average. And in 1900, his range factor was 2.68 – 55 points higher than the league average of 2.13.
In 1916, the Tigers began transitioning the right field responsibilities from Crawford to their young hitting star, Harry Heilmann. That year, Crawford played 78 games in right field, and Heilmann played 66. Despite leading the league in both RBIs (112) and extra base hits (54) in 1915, Crawford saw his plate appearances cut almost in half in 1916 (from 694 to 368) as the Tigers made room in the lineup for Heilmann.
In 1917, Crawford lost his spot in the lineup altogether and was relegated principally to a pinch-hitting role. In his new limited role, Crawford hit .173 in 104 at bats. At the end of the 1917 season, Crawford was released and did not play again in Major League Baseball.
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