Crawford mentally 'stronger than ever' after becoming a dad

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- J.P. Crawford sat on the visiting dugout’s bench last weekend in Anaheim as he recounted one story after another, indulging in nostalgia for some of the good-natured pranks he used to play early in his career, to reflecting on the mental state that fatherhood has taken him over the past six months.

And the setting for this specific conversation was purposeful.

The Mariners’ annual family trip almost always aligns with a road series at Angel Stadium, an opportunity for kids to take in Disneyland, wives and girlfriends to take in the beach and more. But they’ve also been a homecoming for the shortstop and his high-school-sweetheart-turned wife, Kathy, who grew up just 20 miles away in Long Beach, Calif.

But this year hit different for the Crawfords, who had an extra member to their massive crew of locals along the first-base line -- a group so big that they had to purchase seats separate from the Mariners’ family section because they simply had too many people.

And baby Korra, who was born in December, was just as much the star of the show among friends and family as her dad on the field.

“She's always on my mind,” J.P. said, as he prepares to celebrate his first Father’s Day as a dad. “And I think that's given me a piece out here -- a piece of freedom. Just go out and play. You're a dad now. And that's really, in a sense, all that matters.”

Despite the Mariners’ recent spiral, Crawford has been a bright spot, slashing .317/.423/.433 (.856 OPS) over Seattle’s 4-13 stretch dating back to May 24. His 2025 season has featured a resounding turnaround from what he called the worst year of his career, after multiple injuries -- including a right oblique strain and right hand fracture -- significantly impacted his production.

Fatherhood has certainly played a part, too, and it’s impossible not to draw a correlation between that and his continued rise in leadership among an infield that features two rookies, third baseman Ben Williamson and second baseman Cole Young.

“He’s been the guy to look up to for me,” Williamson said. “He’s like the same dude every single day. It’s just been cool to just be next to him, and watch that like every single day.”

It wasn’t long ago that Crawford was in their shoes, though his ascent from bluechip prospect to everyday player took a more mentally-taxing path that featured him emerging “from such a dark place” during his first seasons with the Phillies in 2017-18, when he fell out of love with the game. The trade that sent him to Seattle in December of 2018 “was the best thing that's ever happened to me,” he said after signing a five-year, $51 million extension on Opening Day in 2022.

Part of that transformation necessitated strong influences, none bigger than Mariners icon Kyle Seager and two-time All-Star Dee Strange-Gordon, both of whom are fathers and whom Crawford remains in touch with regularly today.

“The way they treated me, the way they handled things, I was taking notes every day,” Crawford said. “And so it's kind of easy being out here, talking to Cole and Ben, because they're really smart, too.”

Of course, the 30-year-old had to joke about becoming the elder statesman, too.

“It’s definitely going to make me have gray hair faster,” Crawford said. “But yeah, definitely having those two at the same time is a lot, it definitely made me be like, ‘Dang, you're really here already at this time in your life.’”

Kathy met J.P. in 2013 -- and as such, has been through so many significant life developments alongside him.

“I definitely never lost doubt in J.P.,” she said. “I knew he would overcome what he was going through, but it's hard. It's hard mentally, to go through the whole baseball world and feeling like you're not in the right mental state where you want to be. ... He's taken more time himself to really address things that he had going on, and moving to Seattle definitely, I would say, saved him in a way.”

In a better mental space than ever before, producing again like he knows how and leading as he’d always envisioned, Crawford the father sees things only going up from here.

“She came at a perfect time,” Crawford said, “and like you said, it's definitely the cherry on top. From my first moments here, I've come a long way. I've been through a lot of ups and downs, but I got through the humps, and now I'm stronger than ever.”