40 in 40: J.P. Crawford keeps the Mariners on course

His career weathered a few storms, and now he is the storm.

Be it in fiction or in our living breathing moments, there are pillars to the narratives that surround us, monuments to ideas that we look to in order to experience the full range of the human experience. These are the protagonists and antagonists that make up our stories and our lives. Not all of these are built the same or hold the same role; at times a single, massive pillar of a character will hold a narrative aloft with no need for aid, and in others an ensemble of lesser pillars collectively bear the weight, and in doing so, equally accomplish the task. Much like many of our landmarks, these central figures are often instantly recognizable, and among them, an elite status can be obtained where they surpass recognition and become an entity unto themselves. They are no longer a pillar, they become the whole structure, an icon, a monument of legacy.

Since joining the Seattle Mariners in a trade before the 2019 season, J.P. Crawford has been positioned by the team and positioned himself by his play as one of these pillars, an important character in the ensemble holding up the hopes of the Mariners fans, and forwarding the narrative of competitiveness. After an offensive breakout in his 2023 season, this status has arguably escalated.

John “Prospect” Crawford

From the beginning of his pro career to now, J.P. has been carrying at least some level of hype. Drafted with the 16th overall pick of the 2013 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, he played well enough to maintain a status as the top prospect in their system, and ranking high in top prospect lists encompassing the entire league as well. In an era when minor league video was scarce, he still gave us an amazing highlight. Injuries and some subsequent struggles in his play pockmarked the end of his time with the Phillies, both in the high minors and after debuting at the major league level late in the season in 2017. These struggles were enough to eventually have the Phillies no longer care about the obvious upside, and the Mariners were more than happy to bet on it if it meant getting rid of the poor clubhouse fit in Jean Segura. The infielders were swapped (with some other players in the mix), and J.P. Crawford has officially been with the Seattle affiliates ever since.

John “Playmaker” Crawford

While defensive metrics have never been Crawford’s best friend, he has had no trouble passing the eye test since joining the Mariners.

His strengths in the field are his agility, reaction time, and his overall accuracy in throwing, but the roughness around the edges has only seemed to get rougher the last few seasons. In 2022, he put up a career high 14 errors, with seven apiece of fielding and throwing errors. In 2023, he matched the overall career high at 14, but with six fielding errors and eight throwing errors this time. In truth, Crawford is a bit of a puzzle box if you only try to evaluate his defense at a glance. The good news is you don’t have to try to open up that puzzle box, because Lookout Landing’s own Zach Mason already did that for us in part three of his early season series of articles celebrating the breakout we were seeing (and would continue to see all season) from the Captain of the Mariners. The nuances of his defensive profile are important, but even with the particular details set aside, J.P. is still absolutely passing the eye test.

John “Patience” Crawford

Plate discipline has long been a strength of his game. In every season he has been with the Mariners, his whiff rate and chase rate have always been on the healthy side of the league average. This was no different in 2023, where he posted both a chase rate and a whiff rate of 18.6%, good for the top five percent of the league in not chasing balls outside of the zone, and the top 14% of players at not just swinging through air. He hasn’t posted a strikeout rate above 20% since his first season with the Mariners in 2019, and he posted a double digit walk rate in ‘22 and ‘23: 11.3% and 14.7%, respectively. With a walk rate that high, and being firmly entrenched in the team’s leadoff spot throughout the 2023 season, it would only be natural that he would post a lot of numbers in the walks column.

Drawing walks is good. Drawing so many walks you do something that hasn’t been done since 1947 by a Hall of Fame player and lead the American League in the category? Legendary.

John “Power” Crawford

Crawford has been a pillar on this team since his arrival, and we’ve established the defense and the patience at the plate have been a huge factor in that. Another element has been his personality and role in the clubhouse, but more on that later. It was hinted earlier that J.P. may have with his 2023 breakout season cemented himself into a new, higher status. How did he do it? With style.

Okay, not the point. With style, and power. During the time in the offseason before 2023, Crawford was reported to be spending time at the Driveline facilities working on his swing, and specifically in an effort to add some pop to his bat and improve the overall quality of contact. Something else Crawford was involved in early that year was the introduction of the home run trident celebration, as in it was his idea. Perhaps coincidence, but if the offseason improvements were to prove true, it would mean he would be uplifting his own great celebration idea, quite literally, something that would be grand.

I’m sorry, I’ll drop the hypotheticals. It was grand, indeed.

His first home run was a grand slam, and against his former team the Phillies. Revenge so sweet it earned Lookout Landing play of the week honors. He didn’t just stop at one, either. His previous career high in home runs for a season was nine, in 2021. In 2023 he hit nineteen, a grand note to end on. My obvious lead-in may be a little stale the second time around, but Crawford’s bat stayed fresh all year, and yes, his last home run of the season was also a grand slam.

John “Protagonist” Crawford

Comparing J.P. Crawford’s Baseball Savant percentile rankings between the 2022 and 2023 season, it’s interesting how little changes across multiple categories, some regression but mostly improvement led to the biggest change in any category and an important one: Batting Run Value. He made significant gains in average exit velocity, hard hit rate, and barrel rate, yet was still sitting well below league average in those categories. He suffered a significant drop in strikeout rate, but still was 15% better than league average, and more importantly he continued to not chase and still had an elite rate of not whiffing. The improvements in contact weren’t in and of themselves world breaking, but coupled with his discipline? It was the perfect recipe for a career high wRC+ of 134. The offensive breakout was the driving factor in him posting his career high for fWAR in a season as well, 4.9, second best among position players on the team behind only Julio. Seattle wasn't the only one to notice, either, as he was ranked 69th in the most recent MLB Top 100. The playmaking, the patience, the power. But there is still another element we haven’t discussed, the John “Personality” Crawford of it all.

A good player breaking out to become great is always worth rooting for, but the truth is, diehard Mariners fans have always been rooting for J.P. Crawford anyway. His indomitable spirit, tireless work ethic, and irreverent joy have made him a fan favorite, a pillar. It was only natural, then, that when unofficial clubhouse captain Kyle Seager left the team, Crawford would be the one to assume the role.

All throughout last season, J.P. left it all on the field. He did everything he could to push his team to success. On September 28th, in a game against the Rangers with playoff elimination guaranteed with a loss, at T-Mobile Park, Crawford helped keep hope alive. It was that same grand slam mentioned earlier, his nineteenth and final home run of the season, but one highlight doesn’t capture just how important and grandiose that moment truly was.

His entire season elevated his status in the fandom to new height, his time with the team will now stand statuesque, and that moment lives as the polish on the statue (until he replaces it with an even greater one, of course). Characters give you moments to root for. Icons? Icons are the moment.

The very image of them, timeless, and dare I say, perfect.

They leave a unique signature.

But, try as he might, J.P. Crawford alone couldn’t steer the Mariners into Playoff Sound, even if he did single-handedly keep them from running ashore on at least one occasion.

Going into 2024, the Mariners have a gift in the reliability of Crawford, in his leadership and status on the team. With a team arguably better overall than they were last year, there will be plenty of moments for J.P. to increase his legend. However, in the eyes of many, he has reached legend status already, an icon in the history and the heart of this team. Don’t take my word for it. Protagonists that reach legend status are the proof. They are instantly recognizable. Sometimes it’s a catchphrase, or a particular style.

Whatever it is, you instantly know them when you see them.

Recognizable, in any setting.

He is the Mariners’ shortstop, their vibes leader, and their captain. He is John Paul Crawford, and you’ll remember the name.