The Crawfords' howls heard 'round Seattle

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- No group celebrated J.P. Crawford’s walk-off sacrifice fly on Wednesday night quite like his three huskies back at his home across Lake Washington, a solid 45 minutes away from T-Mobile Park. Yet, they became the howls heard ‘round Seattle after Crawford’s wife, Kathy, posted a video of the trio shouting shortly after the Mariners’ 3-2 win over the Astros.

As Crawford was being hoisted by Luke Raley after rounding first base, and with Kathy watching on their living room’s big screen, their dogs began wailing -- perhaps with some nudging, given that Kathy was also audibly cheering.

“I got a good laugh out of it,” Crawford said. “It's so funny to see them get going like that. It doesn't take a lot to get them howling like that. So it was cool to see.”

Crawford said that the huskies will also run towards the TV when he’s featured in an up-close interview, recognizing him through the screen.

“They've done it before,” Crawford said. “Anytime anyone starts screaming back at the house, they just start going immediately. So it's really funny to see.”

Crawford has been a dog dad since he and Kathy adopted two of the three huskies -- named Loki and Thor, tying back to their fanhood of the Marvel characters -- back in 2013, just as he was graduating high school and right before he was selected by the Phillies in the first round of that year’s Draft.

Kathy’s brother is the owner of the pair’s mother, Elena, who recently moved in with Crawford when he purchased his Seattle-area home after signing a five-year, $51 million extension with the Mariners on Opening Day in 2022.

That transaction gave him the financial security to buy the home, but it also signaled him as the Mariners’ long-term shortstop -- and a player that the club intended to build around. As such, the Southern California native was motivated to put roots down in the Pacific Northwest, and with space plenty big enough for the huskies to roam.

“Thankfully, we found some groomers that come to our house and de-shed them,” Crawford said. “It's a game changer, because right now, they're shedding like crazy. There's never a time where they don't. It's either you get the hair or the drool. I'll pick the hair over the drool any day.”

This isn’t the first time that Loki and Thor have shared the spotlight. In 2021, Crawford and Kathy teamed up with a local eatery, Blazing Bagels, to create a custom sandwich that donates a portion of profits to NW Snowdog Rescue, an organization dedicated to saving huskies and husky mixes.

“The two boys, the white-shaded one is really chill, lazy, laid back, doesn't like to do much,” Crawford said, describing Thor. “The other one [Loki] is a complete [lunatic]. He's a typical Husky, screams, yells. He'll like talk back at you, [run wild] around the house, jumps from couch to couch, over the couches and stuff. Crazy. And then the mom's kind of in the middle.”

Moreover, as wholesome as this week’s moment was, it also shed light on Crawford’s life away from baseball, something he hasn’t always been keen to share publicly after a tough beginning in Philadelphia. There, he struggled to find his footing as a consensus Top 5 prospect in baseball while also battling significant injuries, which led to negative reaction from fans and media.

The totality of it nearly led him to walk away from baseball altogether. But the 2018 trade that sent him to Seattle “changed my life,” he’s said multiple times.

And through the highs and lows, the huskies continue to cheer him on.