This Pete Crow-Armstrong kid will fit in just fine with the Chicago Cubs. PCA has been everything the Cubs could have hoped for and more through early May, emerging as a possible NL MVP candidate early this season. However, what PCA said on Saturday about the Milwaukee Brewers should endear him even more to Cubs fans and manager Craig Counsell.
American Family Field and previously Miller Park has been fondly referred to by Cubs fans as their home away from home. The two cities aren't that far apart, after all, and Cubs fans travel well. The Chicago-Wisconsin rivalry even transcends MLB, as the Packers and Bears hate each other every NFL season. That makes what Crow-Armstrong said even more frustrating for Milwaukee fans.
“I didn’t hear any boos,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’m so impressed with the turnouts that we get over here the last couple years. It’s so fun. It feels like a second home in a sense.”
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong twists the knife in Brewers fans
Woof! To make matters even worse for the Brewers, their former manager, Craig Counsell, is sitting on the Cubs bench. Counsell left on bad terms two winters ago, signing a record-breaking managerial contract to betray the Brewers trust, and the rivalry as a whole. Counsell, a Wisconsin kid, signed with big brother.
Unlike Counsell, Crow-Armstrong is a crowd favorite in Milwaukee. Chants of P-C-A could be heard at American Family Field. Crow-Armstrong rewarded the Cubs fans who made the trip with two home runs in a 10-0 Chicago romp. While PCA was expected to take some time to adjust to MLB hitting – and even received some criticism in that regard from Counsell this spring – Crow-Armstrong has left his own teammates astonished in recent weeks.
“He’s just hitting everything,” Jameson Taillon said. “It’s left-on-left fastballs up. Breaking balls down. Righty breaking balls down. Changeups down. It’s not like he’s just doing one thing and hitting mistakes. He’s hitting some really good pitches.”
It doesn't matter what opposing pitchers throw to Crow-Armstrong, he is hitting as well as he ever as in Chicago of late. P-C-A has taken his show on the road. Thankfully for the Cubs, it doesn't have to rhyme for P-C-A to win M-V-P.