CHICAGO — Brandon Crawford had heard and seen enough. He watched TV analysts break down National League Rookie of the Year candidates without mentioning Matt Duffy and then noticed a tweet from a St. Louis baseball writer asking whether the Cardinals’ Randal Grichuk matched up with Kris Bryant, Joc Pederson and Jung-ho Kang.
It was Tuesday, a day when Duffy had four hits, and Crawford couldn’t help himself, so he tweeted this: “Umm ... @mm_duffy #duffman”
Consider it the official kickoff of the Matt Duffy National League Rookie of the Year campaign. One word, Duffy’s Twitter handle and Duffy’s nickname hashtagged.