The Cubs are creating an environment where Pete Crow-Armstrong is thriving

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Spring training is a time of renewal and optimism, when players report to camp in the best shape of their lives, and pitchers tinker with different pitches, hoping a new one finally sticks. As the Chicago Cubs assembled in Arizona to prepare for the franchise’s 150th major-league season, a new tradition began to emerge: The media asking about Pete Crow-Armstrong’s latest hairstyle.

“It could be different tomorrow,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said with a laugh. “Who knows?”

At that point in February, the Cubs had not yet traveled approximately 12,000 miles round-trip for the Tokyo Series. The most difficult opening schedule in baseball awaited them. And Crow-Armstrong’s bright blond hair was patterned with big blue stars.

Two months later, the Cubs are atop the National League Central with a 16-10 record. Their season series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are over. A playoff-type atmosphere has returned to Wrigley Field, where the crowds are chanting “P-C-A! P-C-A!” If this team makes an October run, the speedy center fielder with burgeoning left-handed power is the Cub most likely to become a breakout star.

“He plays the game with confidence and swagger,” Hoerner said that day at the Mesa complex. “It would be easy to criticize if it didn’t feel genuine. But it’s who he is. It’s how he lives his life. And all that energy and excitement you see is the same energy he pours into us as teammates and into winning games.

“If it was an energy that was selfish or just about social media or something stupid, then that would be one thing. But Pete’s here every day for the group and for all of us. He has fun, and he plays the game hard, and he plays to win. That’s everything you can ask for from a teammate.”

Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates at Wrigley Field after hitting a three-run home run. (Photo: Matt Marton / Imagn Images)

That welcoming atmosphere helped Crow-Armstrong, 23, work through some early-season struggles, as well as understand that he will experience more ups and downs. For perspective, Hoerner and Dansby Swanson are Gold Glove defenders with good communication skills. Ian Happ has played more than 1,000 games in a Cubs uniform, giving him insight into how to perform at Wrigley Field. Hitting coaches such as Dustin Kelly and John Mallee previously worked with Crow-Armstrong in the minor leagues, developing a sense of trust.

“I have a lot of help here,” Crow-Armstrong. “A lot of guys have all been in my ear the last couple weeks. That definitely gives you a little extra bit of conviction to go out there and try to produce when you feel everybody backing you.”

The Cubs hired Craig Counsell away from the Milwaukee Brewers, in part, for the manager’s patience with young talent. During Crow-Armstrong’s rookie season last year, Counsell stressed the importance of focusing on defense and base running rather than worrying about the offensive numbers. That is easier said than done.

Expectations were also much higher heading into this year. Crow-Armstrong carried a sub-.200 batting average into the middle of April. His OPS was .521 after 73 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Cubs executives and Crow-Armstrong’s camp had decided to table contract talks after the two sides did not find common ground on a long-term extension. Crow-Armstrong insisted it wouldn’t become a distraction.

“We have a lot of guys engaged and paying attention to each other,” Counsell said. “That means they want to help. When you’re the young player, you’re going to hear a lot. So you just got to take in the stuff that’s usable, and the stuff that works. But it’s a real sign that everybody really cares about you. When you’re struggling, that’s as important as anything. Yeah, the mechanics, but the fact that everybody cares is probably the most meaningful thing. And then you hear that one thing that maybe clicks.”

Crow-Armstrong didn’t hit his first home run until the 18th game of the season, when he blasted two homers and a triple during “Sunday Night Baseball” at Dodger Stadium. That offensive surge continued through the rest of that West Coast road trip and back into the Friendly Confines, where the Cubs just swept a two-game series against the defending World Series champs.

As measured by OPS+, Crow-Armstrong’s production, so far, is 48 percent better than the major-league average. He’s the first player in major league history to reach 5 home runs, 10 stolen bases and 15 extra-base hits before the end of April, according to Opta Stats research. The adjustments he made last summer — he posted a .736 OPS after the All-Star break — have carried forward.

“It’s just searching for the steady lines instead of this up and down that I’ve experienced a lot,” Crow-Armstrong said. “At times, I’ve let it get away from me. But it’s being really consistent in my work and knowing what I do well. Just every day, going back out there and looking for that. It’s so easy to have a clear mind in a game where you always got runners on base in front of you.

“It’s just easy to go out there and execute, even when you’re not feeling your best, when you got a lineup of gangsters.”

In reality, the Wrigley Field clubhouse is filled with several established hitters who have reserved personalities and an attention to detail that kind of makes them baseball nerds.

Happ, who debuted with the reigning World Series champs in 2017, observed how players such as Anthony Rizzo, Jon Lester and Jason Heyward followed their routines and handled the rollercoaster nature of each season. “I got to watch Rizz struggle for the first two months of many of those years,” Happ said with a smirk, “and always finish with 30 homers and 100 RBIs.”

It’s not like Crow-Armstrong was a complete unknown. He began playing for USA Baseball on the 12-and-under national team, rising through the ranks of those development programs. He’s the son of two parents with Hollywood acting credits and a graduate of the prestigious Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, which also produced first-round picks Max Fried, Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty. In Chicago, the highly touted prospect acquired in the Javier Báez trade will be highly scrutinized.

“We’ve all been through being young and in the big leagues, learning what it takes to get through 162,” Happ said. “It’s just controlling what you can control and not being frustrated with the process. You’re only a couple good days away from being right back in the thick of it. It’s early and things aren’t decided yet.”

The Cubs didn’t create Crow-Armstrong’s natural talents or the introspective side of his personality. When an individual’s game adapts and evolves, the credit should always go to the player first. But it’s a great sign for an organization when a young player feels the freedom to be himself, listens to coaches and teammates and continues to improve on the biggest stage.

“I’ve just found a way to continue to ask a lot of myself, and then also give myself a little more grace,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But when I got teammates tapping me on the butt after a quote-unquote ‘good out,’ my hitting coach telling me ‘Keep going,’ and Couns instilling confidence, it’s easy to try to work on those things. It’s just working on the energy you bring back in the dugout.”

(Top photo: Matt Marton / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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