Justin Crawford delights his dad Carl and showed the Phillies the weapon they might have in the nine-hole

The biggest reason to believe in Justin Crawford is the man who strode through the stands toward the field a few minutes after the final out on Thursday. Carl Crawford stepped onto the warning track and walked onto an infield where, 18 years earlier, he’d stood and watched dejectedly as a red dogpile formed in front of the pitcher’s mound.

He was a sight to behold, at least to anyone who remembered that 2008 World Series. Wearing a red Phillies cap and a white jersey with the same number he’d worn all those years ago, the elder Crawford beamed as he watched a spitting image of his younger self emerge from the tunnel in the Phillies dugout.

“I’m so proud,” he said after he wrapped his son in a hug.

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He had every right to be. Not just because his son became a big leaguer. No, his son was more than that. Justin Crawford looked like a big leaguer. In fact, he looked like a big leaguer who can help a stagnant Phillies offense become something other than what it has long been.

In a 5-3 win over the Rangers on opening day, Crawford excelled in a way that wouldn’t have attracted much attention if he weren’t a 22-year-old blue-chipper making his highly anticipated debut. Two singles, four at-bats, a run scored. A year from now, even he wouldn’t remember it. But there’s some beauty in that. It’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

“The guy hits,” Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber said. “I think that’s kind of the biggest takeaway is that the guy just gets hits, he finds a way to get hits.”

Crawford doesn’t have your typical blue-chip game. Because of that, he has been questioned, even derided by a world so obsessed with raw power that it will enthusiastically overlook the odds that a player will ever deploy it productively at the major league level. Yet, on Thursday, that game played a direct role in the Phillies’ win.

Crawford’s first big league hit didn’t yield much beyond a personal keepsake and a big sigh of relief from Dad. He smacked a two-out single up the middle on the first pitch he saw from Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi. The inning ended soon after.

His second hit was more consequential.

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In the fifth, Crawford led off the inning with another single up the middle, this one ensuring that Alec Bohm would get to the plate with two on and two out. Bohm delivered the way a cleanup hitter needs to, following back-to-back strikeouts by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber with a three-run home run to the opposite field. Crawford only got credit for one run scored. But the Phillies wouldn’t have plated three without him.

“Great, great start,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Had a couple hits, and they paid attention to him on the bases. So even if he doesn’t get a stolen base, he creates some havoc just that way.”

The havoc that Crawford can wreak starts at the plate. Batting average and base hits have gotten a bit of a bad rep in our current three-true-outcome world. The paradigm originated in a good place. Bohm’s home run essentially won the Phillies the game. A single may not have. What people sometimes overlook is that singles are a distinct skill. Sure, they count the same as a walk, as the old coaching saying goes. But a team sometimes needs a guy who can get you a single vs. a guy who goes up there looking for a home run or a walk.

Just look at Thursday’s matchup. Few starters in baseball issue fewer walks than Eovaldi. He averaged just 1.5 per nine last season. Over the last five seasons, only five pitchers in baseball have averaged fewer walks in at least 700 innings. Twice, Crawford earned his way on base. The second time paid big dividends.

You get the sense that Thomson has been yearning for a bat like Crawford’s. Deployed in the nine-hole, a potential .300+ average at-bat can serve as another leadoff hitter, especially with a right-handed bat with some pop like Trea Turner’s atop the order. Crawford didn’t just perform as advertised on opening day. He showed the value of what was advertised.

“I was just looking to put a good swing on something,” Crawford said. “Wasn’t trying to wait around.”

It’s a mentality that served his father well, especially early in his career. When Carl Crawford broke into the big leagues at 20 years old, he spent his first few weeks batting ninth. He hit .292 during that first stint and was eventually relocated to the top.

Given the construction of the Phillies lineup, Justin Crawford makes as much sense at ninth as anywhere. As long as Schwarber and Harper are batting second and third — which is where they should remain — Crawford leading off isn’t feasible. The middle of the order isn’t much better.

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That could change if Crawford develops power more emblematic of his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame. Carl’s power came around the same age, albeit in this third season in the big leagues.

For now, all parties would be satisfied if Justin’s trajectory tracks closer to Carl’s first two seasons, when he hit .274 and stole 64 bases. Combine that with decent center field defense and you have a decent floor to work from. Considering the pedigree, there could be more to come.