TORONTO -- J.P. Crawford, the longest-tenured member of the Seattle Mariners, has experienced different tastes of disappointment in his seven seasons in the Pacific Northwest. A last-place finish. Falling just short of reaching the postseason three times. Playoff exhilaration getting abruptly extinguished the one year they did make it.
Sometime early this season, the shortstop explained after the Mariners completed perhaps the most important road trip in franchise history with a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays to take a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series, he believed this team was different.