Pete Rose

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Lore & Background

Crow-Armstrong attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California, where he played baseball. In 2019, his junior year, he was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year after hitting .395 with three home runs, 23 runs batted in (RBIs), and 47 hits over 34 games, striking out only seven times. That summer, he played in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game. In 2020, his senior year, he was batting .514 before the baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University before the 2020 MLB draft. The New York Mets selected Crow-Armstrong in the first round with the 19th overall selection of the 2020 MLB draft. He signed with the Mets on June 25 for a bonus of $3.4 million. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic. Crow-Armstrong began the 2021 season with the St. Lucie Mets of the Low-A Southeast League. On May 18, it was announced that Crow-Armstrong would undergo surgery on his right shoulder for a glenoid labral articular disruption, ending his season. He hit .417 with four RBIs and two stolen bases in 24 at bats prior to the injury. On July 30, 2021, the Mets traded Crow-Armstrong to the Chicago Cubs for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. On September 16, 2024, Crow-Armstrong revealed his feelings about the trade, saying, "I didn't feel like I was a part of any trade talks that I had seen on TV or anything like that." He continued, "I had a sling on my shoulder... I thought it was a joke."

Reader's Guide

Crow-Armstrong began the 2022 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Low-A Carolina League and was promoted to the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League in late May. He was selected to represent the Cubs at the All-Star Futures Game. He was named a MiLB Gold Glove as one of the three best defensive outfielders in the minor leagues. Crow-Armstrong and South Bend won the Midwest League championship. On September 11, 2023, after recording a combined .876 OPS in the minors, the Cubs called up Crow-Armstrong to the major leagues for the first time. That day, he made his MLB debut against the Colorado Rockies, entering the game in the seventh inning as a pinch runner but was caught stealing third base. In the ninth inning, he made his first career plate appearance, hitting a sacrifice bunt. Crow-Armstrong made his first MLB start on September 12 in center field. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI fielder's choice and made two highlight-reel plays in the outfield. In 13 games in September, Crow-Armstrong batted 0-for-14 with 3 walks and two stolen bases, coming in as a pinch runner seven times. Crow-Armstrong was optioned to Triple-A Iowa Cubs to begin the 2024 season after batting .138/.194/.435 with four hits and three stolen bases in spring training. He was recalled to the majors on April 24, after an injury to Cody Bellinger. In the sixth inning of the following game, Crow-Armstrong collected his first career hit, a go-ahead two-run home run off of Bryan Abreu of the Houston Astros. Crow-Armstrong hit an inside-the-park home run on August 23 off Max Meyer of the Miami Marlins. It was noted as being the fastest time to home plate from a base hit since 2017 at 14.08 seconds, with a peak sprint speed of 30.4 ft/s (20.7 mph). In 123 games for the Cubs, he averaged .237/.286/.384 with 10 home runs, 27 stolen bases, six triples, 13 doubles, 46 runs, and 47 RBIs. Crow-Armstrong was the Cubs' opening day center fielder in 2025, as the team began the season in Japan. On May 23, Crow-Armstrong hit a go-ahead grand slam home run in a six-run seventh inning, leading Chicago to a 13–6 road victory over the Cincinnati Reds. It was Crow-Armstrong's first career grand slam. He became the first Cubs player with two six-RBI games in a calendar month since RBIs became official in 1920. On June 3, Crow-Armstrong, who led off the fourth inning of the Cubs' series opener versus the Washington Nationals with a double, stole third base before coming home to score. With the steal, his 20th of the season, Crow-Armstrong became the fourth-fastest major leaguer in the modern era (since 1900) to record 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season, reaching the milestone in 60 games. On June 19, Crow-Armstrong hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the first inning, becoming the first player to 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the 2025 season. Crow-Armstrong was one of six players to receive more than 3 million votes to start in the All-Star Game, being named the National League's starting center fielder on July 2. With two home runs on July 10, Crow-Armstrong became the fourth fastest player in major league history with at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season, trailing Eric Davis in 1987 (69 games), and Alfonso Soriano in 2002 and Bobby Bonds in 1973 (both 91 games). Crow-Armstrong took 92 games to reach this milestone. At the All-Star break, Crow-Armstrong was hitting .265/.302/.544 with 25 home runs, 27 stolen bases, 4 triples, 21 doubles, 67 runs, 99 hits, and 71 RBIs. However, Armstrong slumped in August, batting .160 with one home run and two steals in 28 games. On September 26, Crow-Armstrong joined the 30–30 club with a two-run home run off Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas in the fourth inning. He became the second player in Cubs history to record a 30–30 season, joining Sammy Sosa. He finished the season batting .247/.287/.481 with 37 doubles, 31 home runs, 95 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, and an MLB-leading 12 sacrifice flies. The Cubs made the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, gaining home-field advantage during the 2025 National League Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres. In the 2025 postseason, Crow-Armstrong had a batting average of .185 with 3 RBI and a stolen base. On November 2, 2025, Crow-Armstrong was awarded his first career Gold Glove Award for National League center fielders. Before the 2026 season, Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs agreed to a six-year, $115 million extension through the 2032 season. On June 15, 2026, Crow-Armstrong hit for the cycle against the Colorado Rockies, being the 13th player in Cubs franchise history to do so. On July 5, Crow-Armstrong was named an All-Star for the second straight season. In the All-Star Game, he went 1-for-1 with a single in the 8th inning. On August 17, Crow-Armstrong hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning against the Chicago White Sox (his second of the game and fourth hit of the game) to achieve his second consecutive 30–30 season, the first player in Cubs history to achieve this feat. Against the Cincinnati Reds on August 29, he had his first career three-homer game.

Did You Know?

• Crow-Armstrong was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year in 2019 after hitting .395 with 47 hits and only seven strikeouts in 34 games.
• He was traded from the Mets to the Cubs for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams on July 30, 2021, while recovering from shoulder surgery.
• Crow-Armstrong's first MLB hit was a go-ahead two-run home run off Bryan Abreu of the Houston Astros on April 24, 2024.
• He hit an inside-the-park home run on August 23, 2024, with the fastest time to home plate from a base hit since 2017 at 14.08 seconds.
• Crow-Armstrong became the second player in Cubs history to record a 30–30 season, joining Sammy Sosa, and later became the first Cub to achieve back-to-back 30–30 seasons.