Crystl Irene Bustos (born September 8, 1977), also known as The Big Bruiser, is an American softball player at the designated hitter or third base position although on the roster she is a designated player.[1] She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She holds the world record for home runs during an Olympic series, with six.[2]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Crystl Irene Bustos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | The Big Bruiser | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 8, 1977 (age 47) Canyon Country, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Palm Beach Panthers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editBustos, a Mexican American, was born in Canyon Country, California (currently a part of Santa Clarita). She began her career playing softball at Canyon Country Little League and attended Palm Beach Community College.[3] She is a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic softball team, which won the silver medal after losing to Japan in the gold-medal game, the first loss for the U.S. women in 23 straight Olympic games.[4] Her accomplishments also include two World Cup Championships (2006 and 2007), three Pan American gold medals (1999, 2003 and 2007), and a gold medal at the 2006 ISF World Championships. She has also played for the NPF Akron Racers, and was the Most Valuable Player in the WPSL for the Orlando Wahoos in 1998.[5]
Bustos announced that she would retire from international competition after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[6]
Bustos was named 2008 USA Softball Player of the Year. She became the field manager for the Akron Racers in October 2009,[7] but elected to return to the playing field for the Racers in 2010.
Statistics
edit| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2000 | 10 | 37 | 5 | 10 | .270 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .459% | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 | 9 | 26 | 9 | 9 | .346 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 24 | .923% | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 9 | 22 | 12 | 11 | .500 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1.318% | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 28 | 85 | 26 | 30 | .353 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 70 | .823% | 12 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
References
edit- ^ Coffey, Wayne (July 4, 2000). "CRYSTL PURE GOLD FOR U.S. WOMEN'S OLYMPIC SOFTBALLER GETS RAVES". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008.
- ^ "U.S. advances to gold medal game with 5-0 win over Australia". Amateur Softball Association. August 22, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2006.
- ^ Branch, John (August 17, 2008). "Bustos Is a Rugged Slugger With a Heart of Gold". New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ^ "Team USA loses bid for fourth straight softball gold medal". Sports Illustrated. August 21, 2008. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008.
- ^ "Crystl Bustos". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved August 16, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Branch, John (August 16, 2008). "The Babe Ruth of Women's Softball Has a Heart of Gold". New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ cleveland.com
- ^ "Olympic Games Sydney, Australia". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ "Olympic Games Athens, Greece". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ "Olympic Games Beijing China". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
External links
edit- Crystl Bustos at SoftballPerformance.com (archived January 21, 2009)
- Crystl Bustos at Team USA (archive July 11, 2022)
- Crystl Bustos at Olympedia
- Crystl Bustos at Olympics.com
