J.P. Crawford is making a strong case to win back-to-back Gold Glove Awards with a stellar start defensively to this season.
But don’t sleep on Crawford’s bat; he is currently having a career year at the plate and has reached base safely in 25 of his last 28 games.
Last season, Crawford became just the second Black shortstop in American League history to win a Gold Glove, joining Yankee legend and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, who won the award five times.
During the first quarter of the 2021 season, Crawford has been on guard with his glove. Dating back to April 11th, he has gone 27 straight games without committing an error.
He only has two this season which is good enough for third place in the league, trailing Freddy Galvis, who has one, and MLB Bro White Sox Bat Flipper Tim Anderson, who has yet to commit an error this year.
Crawford, however, has played in all 34 games for Seattle this season, while Anderson has missed a few, so we’ll see if T.A. can keep at this pace.
Crawford is also tied for first with 23 turned double plays thus far.
It’s no surprise J.P. has found success defensively, but this season he has answered many people’s questions about his offense with his performance at the plate.
J.P. Crawford (@jp_crawford) extends his hitting streak to 8 games, which ties a career-high.
He's batting .417 (10×24) during the streak.
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) April 18, 2021
He batted leadoff on Sunday and finished with another multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 and scored a run. It was his second multi-hit game of the series.
On Friday, he recorded the ninth three-hit game of his career – including a two-run homer in the fourth inning in a Mariners’ victory.
? @jp_crawford checking in ? pic.twitter.com/gwOgaurgsx
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 8, 2021
We have seen Crawford’s batting average climb each year since his rookie campaign with the Phillies and this year continues that trend.
He is batting .264 with 12 RBI and 15 runs scored in 2021. He has been using the entire field and putting the ball in play as much as possible during his current hot streak to make up for not slugging multiple homers.
?-2⃣-? doubles!
The @Mariners add more in the 8th! @jp_crawford & @TomJMurphy2 with back-to-back RBI doubles to make it a 7-3 ballgame.#WHEREiROOT | #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/V1xjbbcF1Z
— ROOT SPORTS™ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) May 1, 2021
Saturday night, Crawford put a ground ball in play with runners on the corners in the first inning that allowed reigning Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis to dive into home and score.
Later, he would go on to nearly tie the game after hitting a flare to center with two strikes in the ninth, but a great play saw Lewis thrown out at home.
Seattle has been tested throughout this year as they have had to play the second-hardest schedule in all of baseball.
J.P. has been a mainstay in the lineup in the middle of the defense through it all as he has yet to miss a game.
He’ll need to continue to lockdown on defense and steadily improve his bat in order to keep the Mariners in contention for what appears to be a wide open American League West.