Biography
John Paul Crawford (born January 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Growing up in Lakewood, California, Crawford attended Lakewood High School, where he achieved recognition for his athletic performance. Crawford was considered one of the nation's best teenage baseball players. The 16th pick overall in the 2013 MLB draft, Crawford began his career with the Philadelphia Phillies as an exceptional defensive infielder and was considered the organization's top prospect for much of his rise through their minor league system. He was promoted to the major league ball club, in 2017, playing at shortstop and third base. Prior to the 2019 season, Crawford was traded to the Mariners.
Early life
Crawford was born on January 11, 1995, in Long Beach, California, to Beth and Larry Crawford; he has two sisters. His father, a former professional football defensive back, was a four-time All-Star in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and won the Grey Cup with the BC Lions in the 1985. Crawford's mother received a scholarship offer to play college volleyball. His older sister Eliza, a softball player for California State University, Fullerton, brought him to batting practices and encouraged him. Crawford was highly involved in baseball programs for youth in nearby Compton, including the Urban Youth Academy and Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities.
In 2009, Crawford began attending Lakewood High School. The school's baseball coach Spud O'Neil recalled Crawford "was 6'2" and skinny as a rail" but recognized his flair defensively, and immediately accommodated the freshman by opening a spot at shortstop. Crawford posted several team records. By the end of his senior year, he led in career hits (179), runs scored (162), stolen bases (73) and walks (72). His senior season, his mother was diagnosed with throat cancer, and he would regularly drive her to chemotherapy treatment.
Crawford received a scholarship offer to play college baseball with the University of Southern California Trojans. Crawford chose to play professional baseball instead.
Professional baseball
Minor leagues
In 2011, Crawford's junior year, he was evaluated by Marti Wolever, the assistant general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Crawford's discovery by the Phillies was inadvertent; Wolever said he first watched Crawford while scouting another Lakewood prospect, pitcher Shane Watson, the Phillies' first-round draft pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. Wolever said in 2012, "I thought [Crawford] was one of the best players we saw last year," and anticipated that Crawford would be ready for the major leagues in three or four years. The Phillies selected Crawford in the first round, 16th overall, of the 2013 MLB draft, and he signed on June 18, receiving a $2.3 million signing bonus.
The Phillies had high expectations for Crawford, including becoming the eventual long-term replacement for former MVP shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Crawford made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Phillies of the Gulf Coast League (GCL) in Clearwater, Florida within weeks of signing. He adjusted well at the plate: in 39 games with the GCL Phillies, Crawford led the league in both batting average (.345) and on-base percentage (.443), earning a promotion to the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws in August. Returning to Lakewood in 2014, Crawford focused on his plate discipline. He finished the minor league season, which included a promotion to the Clearwater Threshers in June, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio close to 1-to-1. Crawford became the Phillies' number one prospect, according to Baseball America, for the rest of his ascent through the team's farm system.
Crawford's 2015 season was cut short by his first significant injury, a torn ligament in his left thumb. Playing 104 games, between Clearwater and the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, he finished his season hitting .288 with six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. Crawford worked to develop power in 2016, but by early 2017, with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Crawford struggled to hit, batting just .175 with one home run on May 25. Crawford returned to form in his next 85 games, posting a .275 batting average and 14 home runs, more than he had in any minor league season. Crawford received attention on July 26 with an inside-the-park grand slam at Coca-Cola Park, finishing with a decoy slide under the tag of Gwinnett's David Freitas.
With Freddy Galvis set as the Phillies' shortstop, Crawford began playing third base for the IronPigs on August 20, in anticipation of a time share with the struggling Maikel Franco. In the latter half of 2017, the Phillies had re-equipped their major league team with young players including Rhys Hoskins and Jorge Alfaro. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin expressed interest in Crawford, hoping the prospect could play regularly in the majors before the end of 2017.
Philadelphia Phillies
2017: September call-up
Crawford was promoted to the Phillies on September 5. Playing at third base in his MLB debut, Crawford went 1-for-5, hitting into a fielder's choice in his first at-bat, before singling to center field in the fifth inning. The Phillies won, 9–1. Mackanin rotated Crawford between shortstop, third base, and second base during the final month of the season. He ended the year batting .214 with six RBIs in 23 games.
2018: Opening day starter and injuries
Crawford became the Phillies' 2018 Opening Day shortstop after the team traded Galvis to the San Diego Padres in December 2017. Philadelphia, under new manager Gabe Kapler, wanted its players to "control the strike zone" and post high on-base percentages (OBP). In his first 20 games, Crawford struggled on offense and defense, batting .190 while committing five errors. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list (DL) on April 29 with a strained right forearm. He returned to the roster on June 6, sharing starts at third base with Franco as Scott Kingery became the team's primary shortstop. Facing the St. Louis Cardinals on June 19, Crawford was hit by a pitch, breaking his left hand and returning him to the DL. After rehabbing, he struggled to find consistent playing time for the remainder of the season, limiting him to just six starts. He finished the season batting .214 with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
Seattle Mariners
2019
On December 3, 2018, the Phillies traded Crawford and Carlos Santana to the Seattle Mariners for Jean Segura, James Pazos, and Juan Nicasio. Crawford said the trade "saved his career" and that he had negative interactions with Philadelphia fans, whom he called "ruthless." Crawford began the 2019 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. On May 10, the Mariners called up Crawford following an impressive stretch in Tacoma in which he hit .319/.420/.457 with 7 doubles, 3 home runs, and 15 RBI, reaching base in all 31 games he played. He made his Mariners debut the same day against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Crawford's first home run as a Mariner came off Michael Pineda of the Minnesota Twins on May 16. Crawford spent the rest of the season as the starting shortstop for Seattle, hitting .226 with 7 home runs and 46 RBI in 93 games.
2020: Gold Glove season
In 2020, Crawford batted .255/.336/.338 with two home runs, 24 RBIs, and 33 runs scored in 53 games during the pandemic-shortened season. He won the Gold Glove Award as the best defensive shortstop in the American League in 2020. Crawford later credited infield coach Perry Hill with improving his defense.
2021
On Juneteenth, Crawford hit his first career grand slam off of Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Josh Fleming. He finished the 2021 season batting .273/.338/.376 with 9 home runs and 54 RBIs in a career-best 160 games. He led all shortstops with 222 putouts.
2022: contract extension and playoffs
On March 22, 2022, Crawford signed a $4.85 million contract with the Mariners, avoiding salary arbitration. Then, on April 8, Crawford signed a five-year, $51 million contract extension with Seattle, which lasts through 2026. On June 26, Crawford was punished for his involvement in a bench-clearing brawl that started after teammate Jesse Winker was hit in the thigh by a pitch from Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Wantz. Winker later got into an altercation with Ryan Tepera, in which Crawford was seen punching Tepera. Crawford, along with several players from both teams, was ejected from the game, Crawford's first career ejection.
Crawford finished the regular season with a .243 and 6 home runs, both worse than 2021, but showed improved patience, walking in 11 percent of plate appearances. He had his worst defensive season according to Statcast and FanGraphs metrics, rating as below-average at shortstop.
Crawford hit a game-tying, bases-clearing double in the Mariners' 10–9 win in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, a bloop hit in which center fielder George Springer was injured after colliding with teammate Bo Bichette. It was Crawford's only hit in the series, and he hit only 4-for-21 in five postseason games. He also hit a home run off Justin Verlander Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
2023: American League walks leader
Crawford's dip in offensive production in 2022 saw him begin the 2023 season batting towards the bottom of Seattle's lineup. However, by the end of April, he had shown himself to be a dependable option at leadoff and flourished in this role during the rest of the season. Crawford worked on his hitting during the offseason at Driveline Baseball. On September 28, Crawford hit a two-out, 2-run walk-off RBI single off Jonathan Hernández of the Texas Rangers, which both kept Mariners' postseason chances alive and prevented the Rangers from clinching a playoff berth. In the following game on September 29, Crawford hit his third career grand slam in an 8–0 victory over Texas. In 2023, he batted .266/.380/.438 with a career-high 19 home runs, more than doubling his previous high of 9 in 2021. Combined with his AL-leading 94 walks, he received four downballot MVP votes, finishing tied for 16th with Bichette.
2024
Crawford dealt with injuries and offensive regression in 2024. Three weeks into the season, he was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain, sidelining him for a month. He hit poorly before the injury, with an on-base plus slugging of .598 in his first 23 games, down from .818 in all of 2023. He was hit by a pitch from former teammate Tyler Anderson on July 22, breaking his pinkie and missing another month of the season. He returned to the injured list until August 28. In the final month of the season, he was moved from the leadoff spot back to the bottom of the order. He finished the season batting .202 with 9 home runs and 52 walks in 105 games.
Personal life
Crawford and his wife Kathleen married on December 11, 2021. Their daughter Korra was born on December 4, 2024. They live in Woodinville and have pet huskies named Thor, Loki, and Alaina. Crawford said his dogs can recognize him when he is interviewed on TV. His dogs also celebrated his walk-off hit in May 2024.
Crawford's first cousin, once removed, is former MLB All-Star Carl Crawford. His second cousin and Carl's son, Justin Crawford, was also a Phillies first-round draft pick, taken 17th overall in the 2022 MLB draft.
Both of Crawford's sisters played collegiate sports at Cal State Fullerton. His older sister Eliza played softball, and his younger sister Julia played volleyball.
Growing up, Crawford was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, and Derek Jeter was his favorite player.