Pete Crow-Armstrong is not using his words to campaign for the National League MVP, and he’s not spending much brain power on the race between him and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani.
“I’m not paying attention to it,” Crow-Armstrong said.
True or not, Crow-Armstrong got closer to the prestigious prize Saturday by hitting three home runs in the Cubs’ 17-5 win over the Reds. While Ohtani pitching again this season is becoming cloudier, Crow-Armstrong had his first three-homer game and bathed in the adulation of an announced crowd of 39,597 at Wrigley Field.
After hitting his third, a 444-foot bullet to left-center, the fans again serenaded Crow-Armstrong with “MVP!” chants. That came before his eighth-inning chance at four home runs, when Crow-Armstrong grounded out against Reds catcher and mop-up pitcher Jose Trevino.
Despite missing out on a quartet, Crow-Armstrong was still greeted with a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the fans as he stepped into the dugout.
“I love receptions like I get going into the outfield sometimes. I’ve been so showered with love this year that I don’t really have an answer for that,” Crow-Armstrong said of the MVP chants. “I’m just grateful. This is the best place to play. You hear it from everybody, people love coming to play here on the road. We’re lucky enough to do it 81 games out of the season.
“The MVP chants are cool, but it’s cooler when we sing the song after a win like today.”
Indeed, Crow-Armstrong’s day was pretty cool, and the Cubs kept pace in the sprint for the top NL wild card.
On a day the Cubs celebrated their 150th anniversary of being in the National League, Crow-Armstrong got to “geek out” by meeting Alfonso Soriano and hit in an indoor cage while Sammy Sosa and Billy Williams watched.
Crow-Armstrong said Sosa wanted three home runs from him Saturday.
“Sure enough. I don’t know what he passed down to me there,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Weird [expletive] like that happens in this game.”
Though they see him every day, the Cubs still aren’t completely used to what Crow-Armstrong has done. Entering Saturday, Crow-Armstrong led baseball in wins above replacement according to both FanGraphs (8.6) and Baseball Reference (7.9).
He’s four home runs and eight stolen bases away from joining the 40-40 club, hitting lefties and electrifying the crowd.
“The great example for me is [bench coach] Ryan Flaherty stands next to me a lot of the game and he’s shaking his head, can’t believe it,” manager Craig Counsell said. “You see guys do this. It doesn’t happen a lot, but it’s the seasons that you remember somebody having. We’re lucky to be a part of it. As a fan in the stands, for the teammates, for the coaching staff, watching somebody perform like this is something special.”
Does Crow-Armstrong realize just how special? He occasionally uses a wider lens to remind himself about how lucky he feels to play for the Cubs and with his teammates, but his vision is generally more focused on what’s directly in front of his eyes.
“Sometimes you feel it in your bones that you’ve got a day like today in you and I did today,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’ll rarely zoom out and kind of think that this is all pretty cool, but it’s business and we’re here to win ballgames. My lens is seeing baseballs being thrown at me and hitting them.”
Because of how well he’s done that, Crow-Armstrong should get plenty of MVP votes. Players don’t have a ballot, but the Cubs’ choice is obvious.
“Everyone here,” Alex Bregman said, “knows what we think about Pete’s season.”