We can only wish Carl Crawford.

I know that Carl Crawford is his own person and will do what he thinks will be best for him and his future, but as a Rays fan it is just unbearable to think of him playing anywhere else, but for the Tampa Bay Rays. As Clark Brooks for the SB Nation Tampa Bay writes, “If Carl Crawford is going to move on, let it be to a team that won’t hurt the Rays that much.” He took the words right out of my mouth. Carl Crawford has meant so much to us fans that we kind of hope that if he ends up somewhere it is with some small market or middle-of-the-pack team so he can help them the way he helped the Rays. Heck, Brooks even points out that many of us would rather see him go to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan or just anywhere to spare fans the discomfort of seeing him in an unfamiliar uniform here in North America. And as much as I support and appreciate what Carl Crawford has done for the organization, it is just difficult to shake off that human feeling and emotion of him playing somewhere else. However, at the same time it just makes you realize how great the Rays’ farm system is and how great it has become to produce a guy like that. While it may be a long time before anyone that comes close to Crawford comes up through the system I take slight comfort looking forward to what the future may bring, but I guess until then much like Brooks I’ll be rooting for the Rays or the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighter whichever Carl prefers is alright by me.