How a Simple Change in Approach is Helping J.P. Crawford Drive Seattle Mariners' Offense
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The Seattle Mariners offense has surprisingly been one of the best in baseball through the first month of the season.
Entering play on Tuesday, they are third in home runs (42), first in walks (125), and tied for third in stolen bases (35). Seattle is also fourth in on-base percentage (.336) and fifth in OPS (.748).
It's a far cry from last season, when Seattle led baseball in strikeouts and was 29th in batting average at .229.
Several players have had a hand in the M's breakout, from Jorge Polanco (.377 average), to Cal Raleigh (10 homers) to Dylan Moore (AL Player of the Week two weeks ago) to Randy Arozarena (several clutch hits), but the contributions of shortstop J.P. Crawford cannot be overlooked.
Crawford struggled through the first 10 games, hitting just .148, but he's hit .339 for the last 17, raising his season average to .277. He hit a big three-run homer in a series win over the Boston Red Sox last week and added a homer this past weekend against the Miami Marlins as well.
J.P. Crawford, 2025...
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) April 27, 2025
First 10 games: .148/.361/.148 (.509 OPS)
Past 17 games: .339/.431/.482 (.913 OPS)
Speaking on the "Refuse to Lose" podcast on Tuesday, Mariners on SI Insider Teren Kowatsch detailed a recent conversation with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer about Crawford's mindset and approach.
We had a really interesting aside, me and several other media members with Kevin Seitzer after the photo day (season ticket holders on Sunday). And, pretty much he's just been using the opposite side of the field more, using pull side and not really looking for the power every single time, just looking to get on base, get a base hit. And it's been really impressive to see a veteran of his standing and, the kind of respect he has in the clubhouse, kind of buy-in to that mentality. And it's worked for him. And, Seitzer mentioned. I think it was a series against the Red Sox, where it felt like everything kind of fully clicked.
You can hear the full interview, as well as the rest of the podcast, in the player below:
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of "Refuse to Lose," talking about the resilient series win over the Miami Marlins and he wants some apologies for the pushback he got on wanting the M's to bring back Jorge Polanco this offseason. Furthermore, he talks to noted injury expert Will Carroll on what exactly is going on with Logan Gilbert and what comes next. He catches up with Mariners on SI reporter Teren Kowatsch to talk about the team's recent run of strong play and addresses strong comments from a former MLB GM on Julio Rodriguez. And, Brady was given the coveted 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck rookie card. CLICK HERE:
CHANGE IN VOICE: We caught up with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney, who credits the M's new hitting coach tandem for their offensive turnaround. CLICK HERE:
DUMPER, AGAIN: Cal Raleigh hit his 10th homer of the season on Sunday, joining an elite group of catchers in baseball history. CLICK HERE:
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