Pete Crow-Armstrong continued a season for the ages, reaching a major milestone on Thursday. After reaching base on a leadoff walk, Crow-Armstrong swiped second for his 40th stolen base of the season. With 45 home runs, the Chicago Cubs center fielder became the seventh player in MLB history to record a 40/40 season.
Crow-Armstrong joins Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Shohei Ohtani in the 40/40 club. He'll likely follow Acuna and Ohtani by parlaying the historic feat to NL MVP honors. PCA ties Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead in home runs, and he ranks fifth in steals.
The 24-year-old has scored an MLB-high 119 runs while boasting an NL-best .949 OPS. He began Thursday with 24 long balls and a .994 OPS in 62 sizzling games after the All-Star break. A heated NL MVP debate between Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani formed earlier this summer, but the Cubs star now looks poised to dethrone the 2024 and 2025 winner in a landslide.
Crow-Armstrong's 9.8 bWAR is the highest of any NL position player (not accounting for Ohtani's two-way contributions) since Barry Bonds in 2004. Along with his seismic leap at the plate, the two-time All-Star could win another Gold Glove Award with an MLB-leading 26 outs above average. "You’re grateful to be a part of it.
You’re grateful to see things like this," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said last week, per The Athletic's Patrick Mooney. "And then you’re grateful that the fans get to see a season like this, because they’re going to tell their kids about it. They’re going to tell their grandkids about it." Crow-Armstrong may have wrapped up MVP honors, but the Cubs remain one win away from clinching a playoff berth.
They'll also jostle for wild-card seeding with the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies during the regular season's final games.
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