'Tarps off' Cardinals fans embarrassed themselves on PCA's dynamic home run

The 'tarps off' movement in St. Louis came to an abrupt pause during the Cardinals loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. While we applaud the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team (and the subsequent section they inspired) for bringing some excitement back to Busch Stadium, there were bound to be some bumps in the round.

Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who's become quite familiar with the 'tarps off' crowd considering Craig Counsell has played him back much of the series so far, got some much-needed revenge on the Cardinals fans who've made his life a living hell over the first two games of this NL Central set. As the 'tarps off' crowd chanted "overrated" at PCA, he hit a home run right to them in the right field seats.

'Tarps off' Cardinals fans only made matters worse from there

The tarps off crew — many of whom are self-proclaimed baseball players, mind you — tried to throw the ball back onto the field to voice their displeasure. This is common practice around MLB. When a player on the opposing team hits a home run, you throw the ball back. That...didn't go so well.

If that effort doesn't give you the ick as a baseball fan, nothing will. But to give Crow-Armstrong some credit, he wasn't as tough on Cardinals fans as I've been over the years.

“They got like hundreds of shirtless guys out in right field,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Interesting theme for the year, but they're rowdy and they're showing up, like they're buying into something, so I can appreciate it. We love playing against the Cardinals too, like in division rivals, always fun. And it's nice that they got a really good squad this year, and they're playing good.”

Pete Crow-Armstrong has learned from his mistakes

What will go unnoticed about Crow-Armstrong's effort this weekend isn't just that he dominated St. Louis pitching at the plate or made an impressive catch on a Jordan Walker fly ball. It's that he learned from his past mistakes. Whether it be calling out Dodgers fans in a Chicago Magazine article prior to the season, or getting into a shouting match with a jeering White Sox fan at Guaranteed Rate Field, PCA has struggled to keep his emotions to himself.

In the case of the cross-city rivalry between the Cubs and White Sox just a few weeks ago, Crow-Armstrong was forced to apologize for calling a woman a derogatory name.

“I think I just regret my choice of words the most,” Crow-Armstrong said at the time, “and who that affects in my life directly and indirectly. I don’t think that any of the women in my life would ever think that I would use those kinds of words regularly, especially referring to them. So, I’m just bummed out about the word choice, and that a bunch of little kids go and probably find their way to social media and see that as well."

PCA isn't perfect. Odds are, he'll make mistakes from time to time in his career. But if a loud and proud group of a college-aged men don't get a rise out of him this weekend, then we ought to notice. Crow-Armstrong is on his best behavior, and letting his bat and glove do the talking.

More MLB news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow