CHICAGO — The chants have followed Pete Crow-Armstrong from the Tokyo Dome in Japan in March, across road ballparks throughout the country all season and persistently within Wrigley Field from the Cubs†faithful who regularly pack the place.
On Friday afternoon, they were more deafening than usual as Crow-Armstrong headed out to center field.
As those repeated cries of “P-C-A!†rained down from the stands, the dynamic Cubs center fielder raised his cap to another roar. Crow-Armstrong then repeatedly patted his heart, offering gratitude for the crowdâ€s raucous recognition of him joining franchise icon Sammy Sosa as the only players in team history with 30 homers and 30 steals in a season.
“They didnâ€t have to give me any sort of ovation,†Crow-Armstrong said. “Itâ€s really special that we get such a crowd every day, so itâ€s very important, for me at least, to let them know that Iâ€ve got them like theyâ€ve got me all year.â€
In the fourth inning of a 12-1 romp over the Cardinals, Crow-Armstrong connected with Miles Mikolas†curveball that dropped right into the heart of the zone. The powerful swing that had gone missing in recent weeks was back in full force, launching the baseball into the right-field bleacher seats for a two-run souvenir.
Crow-Armstrong watched the ball in flight for a moment, but then he quickly turned to his teammates in the third-base dugout and flipped his bat away. The blast was the All-Starâ€s first since Sept. 15, and only his second going back to Aug. 23. And with that home run, Crow-Armstrong finally reached this anticipated milestone.
After the game, Crow-Armstrong took photos with the fan who wound up with the 30-30 baseball. The Cubs star gave him a few items — a jersey, bat and baseball — and posed for photos outside the Cubs†clubhouse after the win. The center fielder said the man told him it was his first Cubs game in about 30 years.
“Glad I got to make it worth it,†Crow-Armstrong said.
With the win, the Cubs (90-70) increased their cushion to 2 1/2 games over the Padres (87-72) for the National Leagueâ€s top Wild Card spot. If San Diego loses on Friday night, Chicago would clinch hosting the Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field, with Game 1 on Tuesday.
Crow-Armstrong also carved out a distinct place in Cubs history with the blast, too. He became the only player in the teamâ€s storied annals to collect at least 30 homers, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases in a single campaign. That has been done 55 times overall in baseball history since at least 1901.
On top of that, Crow-Armstrong became the MLB-record sixth player with a 30-30 showing this year, joining Juan Soto, Corbin Carroll, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Francisco Lindor and José Ramirez. The previous record was four such performances in a single Major League season (accomplished five times).
The rest of the Cubs†lineup was right with Crow-Armstrong in the power outpouring, too.
Nico Hoerner launched a solo homer in the first off Mikolas to get the derby rolling. Michael Busch followed Crow-Armstrongâ€s historic shot with a blast of his own in the fifth. And then in the seventh, Seiya Suzuki — in the wake of a two-homer game on Thursday night — hammered a grand slam to put an exclamation point on a seven-run seventh.
Between Crow-Armstrong, Suzuki (30 homers) and Busch (32), the Cubs now have three players with at least 30 blasts in the same season for only the second time in team history. The 2004 club holds the single-season team mark with four players (Moises Alou, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Sosa).
“He does things that help you win games,†Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of Crow-Armstrong. “I think that he showed that the last couple nights. I think for us to be our best version of ourselves, heâ€s doing those things on a nightly basis.â€
In Wednesdayâ€s 10-3 win over the Mets, Crow-Armstrong scored from second base on a wild pitch in a key moment. On Thursday, he showed off his elite defensive ability by chasing down a deep fly from Soto and making a jaw-dropping lunging catch in the right-center gap. The power showed up again on Friday.
Those are the kinds of things that can swing momentum in an October atmosphere.
“He gets the whole crowd involved and everybody gets excited,†Suzuki said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “To think about what he can do in the playoffs, Iâ€m very excited.â€
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