Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has largely downplayed his personal accomplishments during an otherworldly season, preferring to deflect attention and credit to the team’s performance.
But even Crow-Armstrong couldn’t deny the magnitude of the moment Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
An anticipatory hush settled over the 35,410 fans at the Friendly Confines when he reached first base following his leadoff walk in the bottom of the first inning. The crescendoing roar followed Crow-Armstrong as he slid into second easily.
With his steal against Miami Marlins right-hander Tyler Phillips, Crow-Armstrong became only the seventh major-leaguer with at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season.
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The 24-year-old National League MVP favorite joined Shohei Ohtani (2024), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996) and José Canseco (1988) in the 40-40 club. Only Rodriguez and Canseco reached the mark at a younger age than Crow-Armstrong. He is the first Cub to achieve the feat.
“Recently here, I really felt how badly people wanted it for me, and I wanted it,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I wanted to put myself in that same conversation as such impressive and great players. But every day I showed up and if I took the right base, it was going to help the team. And that’s how I’ve framed everything this year. I’m so lucky for that and that realization and that approach to game.”
Crow-Armstrong’s combination of incredible speed and power has put him among the upper echelon of elite multitool players in Major League Baseball history. He saluted the crowd as he stood at second with the 40-40 graphic on the scoreboard.
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“I was pretty emotional, I’m not going lie,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I know I try and play it off sometimes like I’m all cool and s—, but I got a little thrown off when I ran out into the outfield today. … I’ve never felt anything other than love when I’ve been here and that was pretty emotional.”
Cubs fans and his teammates weren’t going to let the milestone go unrecognized in what might be the Crow-Armstrong’s final home game of the year.
“It was kind of symbolic of the season a little bit: all eyes on him, high attention and still having the focus and composure to still execute,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “It’s amazing. It’s hard to steal when everyone knows you’re going, just an incredible accomplishment. A 40-40 season is a reflection of incredible physical talent, but the consistency to do it every day, to get on base, to hit for power and do everything on the baseball field, it’s amazing to see.”
Although starter Matthew Boyd kept focused on what he needed to do against the Marlins — and he did in helping the Cubs clinch a playoff spot with a 2-1 victory — he was very aware of what was at stake for Crow-Armstrong.
“To get to witness what Pete has done this season is so special and it is something you have to recognize because it’s a historic year,” Boyd said. “We got to witness the greatness that he did on defense and offense all year long. He’s not done yet, but it’s one you’ve got to step back and go, man, we’re witnessing one of the all-time great seasons.”
As he watched Thursday’s game from his Wrigley suite, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer realized, while looking at that ridiculous list of names, the level of history Crow-Armstrong is now a part of.
“I’m glad he got it done, it felt like every time he’s at first base now it’s a bigger deal than a homer and everyone’s hanging on every time,” Hoyer told the Tribune on Thursday. “And bang, to get it done right away in the first inning was really awesome and so cool. If we don’t win that game, no one feels the same. Now we really celebrate what an amazing accomplishment it is.”
The stolen bases haven’t been as frequent lately for Crow-Armstrong, in part because of his power surge over the last two months. In that span, the lefty has slugged 44 extra-base hits, including 24 home runs, while recording 17 steals in that 63-game stretch. But he had a cue he was looking for from Phillips in that moment Thursday, saw it on the first pitch and took off.
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His 40 steals are a career high after swiping 35 last year.
“I always know that I’m going to turn it on at some point, but I’m proud of how I did this year,” Crow-Armstrong told the Tribune earlier this month. “It was a very honest showing all year of everything. So, yeah, I’m proud of that.”
Crow-Armstrong’s 40-40 performance is a high point in a season filled with them.
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He already was the first Cub to record back-to-back 30-30 seasons, a mark he reached Aug. 17 when he memorably slugged both a leadoff and walk-off home run against the White Sox at Wrigley Field.
His nine games this year with at least one home run and one stolen base broke Ryne Sandberg’s franchise record of seven in 1991. Crow-Armstrong also passed Hall of Famer Billy Williams’ 1970 franchise record for most home runs in a season by a left-handed hitter.