Pete Crow-Armstrong's cycle is also what makes him so frustrating to Cubs fans

Pete Crow-Armstrong is an NL All-Star hopeful, and a plausible MVP candidate at his best. On Monday night, he showcased just that, hitting for the cycle and saving his best for last, a sacrifice fly to keep the Cubs within striking distance. It's that at-bat — rather than the four preceding it that helped Crow-Armstrong make history — that should linger in the minds of Cubs fans the next few days.

While just a five-pitch at-bat, Crow-Armstrong managed to foul off a tough changeup and wait for Victor Vodnik's slider, which he was sitting on with two strikes. From there, PCA didn't try and do too much, hitting the breaking pitch into the outfield to drive a run home. This is an approach for Crow-Armstrong, both on and off the field, that's been lacking since he was called up in September of 2023.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's maturity on display for the Cubs

PCA hasn't always been on Craig Counsell's good side, but on Monday night, the veteran manager was smiling ear to ear as if his brightest star had finally heard him for the first time.

“I think that's where there's been improvement from Pete,” Counsell said. “To control your emotions and not try to be the hero. I think that's the growth that's exciting to see.”

Crow-Armstrong hasn't always been this way. He's prone to slumps, often chasing breaking pitches out of the zone. As PCA goes, so to do the Cubs, which is why they've had two separate 10-game winning streaks alongside a 10-game losing streak in 2026. Despite all of those accomplishments, Chicago is just three games over .500, good for third in the NL Central, while PCA has finally heated up of late with an .843 OPS. His individual accomplishments were highlighted by Monday's cycle.

“It was cool,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I'm proud of myself for the work that I've been doing the last few weeks and, really, over the course of the year.”

With Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs fans take good with the bad

Before the start of the 2026 season, Pete Crow-Armstrong showed off his lack of maturity by calling out Dodgers fans. PCA, who was born in California, could've chosen his words more carefully.

‘‘I love Chicago more and more. It’s just an incredible city. The people are great. ... They aren’t just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care," Crow-Armstrong told Chicago Magazine.

Follow that up with an on-field altercation with White Sox fans, in which PCA aimed an expletive at a woman, and you can understand why Crow-Armstrong can be hard to root for at times. Even on Monday night, just after Crow-Armstrong hit for the cycle, he was picked off first base.

Crow-Armstrong is just 24 years old. He's been thrust into the spotlight on a few too many occasions, but even had he handled those differently, there's no right way to be the face of a franchise as iconic as the Cubs. The fanbase wants everything from PCA. Love him or hate him, he's been nothing but his authentic self. That guy tends to make some mistakes along the way, even though those who watch him on a daily basis, like Counsell, as starting to notice a difference in his demeanor.

“It's more controlled,” Counsell said. “There's a lot of taking balls, taking his moments when he has them. He's obviously making hard contact, and you throw in a good spot for him, and he's going to hit it hard.”

And that, more than anything Crow-Armstrong has done this season, should give Cubs fans hope that the franchise is in the right hands.

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