Ben Crockett

William Bennett Crockett

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.

• School Harvard University
• High School Masconomet High School

• Born December 19, 1979 in Washington, DC USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ben Crockett made it to AAA as a player then went into the front office.

Crockett was 5-1 with a 4.88 ERA as a freshman at Harvard, walking only 6 in 52 innings. In 2000, he had a 4-4, 4.01 record, again with 6 walks in 52 innings. During 2001, he had nearly identical numbers (4-4, 4.04, 8 BB in 56 IP). The Boston Red Sox took him in the 10th round of the 2001 amateur draft, but he turned down their offer to finish school. As a senior, he improved to 6-4, 2.79 with 117 K to 15 BB in 84 IP. He led the Ivy League in strikeouts and was third in ERA (behind Thomas Pauly and Craig Breslow) while tying Ross Ohlendorf for second in wins. He was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year, beating out future major leaguers Breslow, Ohlendorf and Chris Young. The Colorado Rockies chose him in the third round of the 2002 amateur draft, after they took Jeff Francis and Micah Owings the first two rounds. He was the #81 overall pick, right behind Curtis Granderson, and signed for a $345,000 bonus.

He split the summer of 2002 between the Tri-City Dust Devils (0-2, 2.88) and Asheville Tourists (2-3, 7.36), walking 9 in 54 1/3 innings. In 2003, he pitched much better for Asheville (10-9, 2.49) and got a brief look with the Visalia Oaks (2-3, 4.50). He was 5th in the South Atlantic League in ERA (between Anthony Lerew and D.J. Hanson). Among Rockies farmhands, only Justin Hampson had more wins, only Jeff Francis, Hampson and Ubaldo Jimenez had more strikeouts (Crockett fanned 143) and only Chin-Hui Tsao had a better ERA among hurlers with 100+ IP. He led Rockies minor leaguers in innings (183 2/3) and losses.

In 2004, the right-hander fell to 4-11, 5.56 for Visalia; in a high-scoring league, though, his ERA was barely above the team average (5.46). He tied for 4th in the California League in losses, led in hits allowed (210) and was third with 18 hit batsmen. He was 10th with 120 strikeouts, between Daniel Davidson and Ryan Rowland-Smith. Among Rockies farmhands, he led in hits allowed (12 over Brian Tollberg), tied for 3rd in losses and was second in strikeouts (trailing only Francis).

Moving to the bullpen, he pitched in 2005 for the Tulsa Drillers (4.00 ERA in 18 G) and Colorado Springs Sky Sox (3 R in 3 2/3 IP). Let go by Colorado, he spent 2006 with the independent Somerset Patriots, going 8-11 with a 3.51 ERA. He tied for third in the Atlantic League in losses, was 4th in strikeouts (113, between Mark Persails and T.J. Mathews) and 8th in ERA (between Pat Ahearne and Ryan Costello).

He finished his pro playing career at 18-27, 4.31 in 88 games (71 starts), with one shutout. He struck out 324 and walked 96 in 451 innings.

Crockett then said yes to the team he turned down after the 2001 draft, getting an internship job with the Red Sox. He worked his way up to Director of Player Development by 2012.

Sources

• 2000-2007 Baseball Almanacs
• Portland Press-Herald article