Callix Crabbe has been named the 14th Manager in Altoona’s franchise history following one season as the leader of High-A Greensboro. Crabbe, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, led the Grasshoppers to 58 wins and oversaw the development of several top Pirates prospects who matriculated to Double-A Altoona during the season, including catchers Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez as well as outfielder Matt Gorski.
Crabbe played ten years of professional baseball after he was selected in the 12th round of the 2002 MLB Draft out of Manatee Community College in Bradenton by the Milwaukee Brewers. Crabbe was named the Best Defensive Second Baseman in the California League in 2004 while also being named an All-Star by Baseball America. Crabbe was selected by San Diego in the 2008 Major League Rule 5 Draft and made his major league debut on April 3, 2008 and picked up his first major league hit off Brad Hennessey at San Francisco just five days later. Crabbe played 21 games with the Padres and totaled six hits in 39 major league plate appearances before joining the Seattle Mariners for the 2009 season and spending the final two seasons of his playing career with the Toronto Blue Jays where he played 150 games with Eastern League rival New Hampshire across the 2010 and ’11 seasons. He earned an Eastern League Championship ring in 2011 with the Fisher Cats. In all, Crabbe played nearly 1100 games in his professional career and batted .264 with a .359 on-base percentage including 43 home runs, 384 runs batted in and 200 stolen bases.
Following his retirement from playing, Crabbe quickly jumped into the coaching ranks. He spent the 2012-16 seasons as a baseball instructor and coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton and later spent the 2019-21 seasons as the Assistant Hitting Coach with the Texas Rangers, he joined the Pirates organization as a Manager and Assistant Hitting Coordinator prior to the 2022 season. In 2016 Callix established Crabbeology Sports Development, a company focused on high level hitting instruction, game strategy, personal development and physical conditioning. Crabbe resides in Valrico, FL with his wife Amanda, daughter Alana (12) and son Calyx (9).