Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and right fielder Kyle Tucker tossed the ball back and forth, warming up for the inning in what has become a regular routine for the duo.
But during the game against the Guardians on Wednesday, they were doing their customary game of catch as 2025 All-Star starters.
“That’s one of the more rewarding parts,” Crow-Armstrong said after the Cubs’ 5-4 win Thursday against the Guardians, “is that I get to share that with him.”
MLB announced the All-Star starting lineups, chosen by fan voting, Wednesday night. Crow-Armstrong and Tucker are lined up to become the first pair of Cubs outfielders to start the All-Star Game since 1936, when Frank Demaree and Augie Galan shared the honor.
Crow-Armstrong received 20% of the vote in the final round and Tucker 19%. They’re joined by the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (12%).
“It’s obviously one of the cooler accomplishments thus far in my playing career,” Crow-Armstrong said. “… I’m just so grateful that people have been touched by how I like to play the game. And I think that’s the biggest compliment out of everything, is the fan vote.”
Said Tucker: “You never know if you’re going to have this opportunity to play in an All-Star Game again. And I just really want to thank the fans for their support all year, and their votes and everything to get me to this point.”
Pitchers and reserves are selected via player ballots and commissioner’s-office selections. Full rosters are scheduled to be unveiled Sunday.
Regardless of the fan voting, Crow-Armstrong and Tucker have emerged as the obvious stars elevating the Cubs’ offense, which has been one of the best in the majors in the first half of the season.
“They’re very, very different people,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And I think that’s what’s cool, is that there is no one makeup or approach to the game that means you’re going to be a good player. You can do it in a very different way. And essentially it means, you have to authentically be yourself. And that sounds like, ‘Well, that’s easy.’ It’s not that easy.”
Crow-Armstrong claimed his first career All-Star nod as a reward for a breakout first half.
“He relies on emotion to fuel himself, and he needs to express it,” Counsell said. “And that’s what attracts the fans to him because you see that, and you can feel it from him. And you can feel his emotion, which is really hard on a baseball field sometimes in our game. But it’s fun to watch.”
Tucker claimed his fourth consecutive All-Star selection, his first in the National League and his first starting nod.
“In a lot of ways, when you think of Kyle, it’s like, this is the perfect makeup for a major-league hitter,” Counsell said. “In terms of how even-keeled he is, and it allows him so well to stay pitch to pitch, which is what hitting is. You really have to be able to take a pitch and move on or take an at-bat and move on and not let it somehow influence what happens next — because we usually sabotage ourselves.”
Entering Wednesday, Crow-Armstrong and Tucker were tied for the second-highest fWAR (4.0) in the NL behind Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Crow-Armstrong’s first half put him in the super-early MVP conversation. He leads NL outfielders in defensive runs saved (12), according to FanGraphs. And he still is the only major-leaguer with 20-plus home runs and stolen bases this season.
“The All-Star Game should be about the best and most exciting players in the game, and he’s inarguably one of the most exciting players in the game,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week. “That power/speed combination is so special.”
Tucker had the fourth-highest OPS (.926) among qualified NL hitters entering Wednesday. And his consistent high-level performance comes in his first year with a club other than the Astros despite the pressure of impending free agency.
“Just the consistency,” left fielder Ian Happ said of what has impressed him the most about Tucker’s season. “Every single day, same routine, same guy. And he’s just been consistently great day in and day out.”
The All-Star Game will be July 15 at the Braves’ Truist Park.