SEATTLE -- J.P. Crawford exercised some ultimate “dad strength” when celebrating his first Father’s Day with his 6-month-old daughter, Korra, in attendance on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park, blasting a grand slam in the second inning that helped the Mariners break out the brooms for a 6-0 win to cap a three-game sweep of the Guardians.
Crawford dug out a slider from Cleveland’s Luis L. Ortiz at the bottom of the zone and in a 1-2 count, then with the momentum of his follow-through, he pointed his bat toward the sky before pinwheeling it down the first-base line.
At the end of his trot, Seattle’s shortstop sought out Korra and his wife, Kathy, and blew them kisses before receding into the home dugout.
“It's the best day ever,” Crawford said. “People always say it hits differently, being your first one, but I finally get it now. I'm just so thankful.”
Korra’s name was also etched on his blue-painted bat, with Crawford adding: “Hopefully she'll want to use it one day.”
It was Crawford’s fifth career grand slam and continued a scorching stretch for the nine-year veteran, who is all of a sudden putting together a compelling All-Star case, with exactly one month to go until the Midsummer Classic on July 15 in Atlanta.
That group is also crowded with many All-Star-worthy candidates -- such as Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (last year’s AL MVP runner-up), Houston’s Jeremy Peña (the 2022 World Series MVP) and the Athletics’ Jacob Wilson (the front-runner so far for this year’s AL Rookie of the Year Award).
Crawford’s name recognition doesn’t exactly extend as far beyond the Pacific Northwest as the others, which could play against him. But if he remains at his current pace -- he’s hitting .330 with a .907 OPS over the past month, which coincidentally was sparked by a wholesome trip with Korra in San Diego -- he’ll remain in consideration all the way to the wire.
“I'm not thinking about any of that stuff,” Crawford said. “I'm just trying to help my team win each day and be a good dad.”
Sunday’s homer will grab headlines, but it’s been Crawford’s workmanlike approach that’s led to his massive turnaround.
He’s worn out the left side of the field with an onslaught of base hits, including three apiece in the first two games of the series, as 28 of his 71 hits in 2025 have gone to the left of straightway center field -- second most among lefty hitters behind only three-time batting champion Luis Arraez.
“That's been a key success to the beginning of the season, just not being afraid to use it and letting the ball travel a little bit, instead of trying to be someone I'm not,” Crawford said.
That mental shift is why he likely won’t replicate the 19 homers he hit in a career-best 2023, but he’s perfectly OK with that -- especially back in the leadoff role and hitting in front of Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh.
“You have to adjust pitch by pitch in this league,” Crawford said. “And the more you think about that, you pay attention, and I think the better success you'll have. I think I do a pretty good job of that. Just pay attention to how they're pitching you, and if it works [for them], they're going to keep doing it. And if not, you see what they're going to do next. Like, I know if I get a hit to the left side, they're going to try to come inside, that type of thing.”
The biggest thing, though, is leveraging his strike-zone awareness. Per Statcast, Crawford ranks in the 71st percentile in strikeout rate (17.9%), 88th percentile in chase rate (20.8%) and 98th percentile in walk rate (15.8%).
“I think it's all part of the approach,” Crawford said. “If it's not there, don't swing. And the key for me is just not being scared to hit with two strikes, knowing that I can go the other way and poke it through with two strikes.”
The slam, obviously, came in a two-strike count, but against a pitch that Crawford knew he could do damage with -- underscoring his willingness to sell out in the right moments. For his career, he’s now 26-for-65 with the bases loaded, for a 1.190 OPS and 78 RBIs.
All-Star bids are all about big moments, and Crawford delivered another one on a day he’ll never forget.