Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong made an err in judgement on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals, as the top prospect called off second baseman Nico Hoerner when he shouldn't have. PCA tried to make a diving catch, but failed to do so in a game the Cubs would lose by a single run.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell took the right approach postgame. Rather than calling Crow-Armstrong out for his mistake, Counsell thought of PCA's mistake as a teaching moment.
Chicago had a two-run lead and what should've been an easy third out. Instead, both runners scored and Arenado was safe.
“Pete just got a little over aggressive,” Counsell said. “It’s right to call him off, but not if we’re making a sliding play. It’s a learning experience for Pete, but unfortunately, it contributed to a big play in the game that ultimately cost us two runs.”
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Craig Counsell, Cubs use Pete Crow-Armstrong mistake as a teaching moment
Crow-Armstrong's teammate, Hoerner, also gave his teammate a pass. At this point, little can be accomplished by making an example of the 22-year-old.
“It’s the play we’ve all practiced our whole lives, as far as the rules of it,” Hoerner said, “where an infielder, you go until you hear something. We did that today, and the ball dropped, unfortunately. I feel like if we do that play 100 times, we catch it 99 times.”
Crow-Armstrong is one of the better defensive outfielders in baseball, so such a mistake is very out of character for him.
“Pete’s been pretty awesome on defense,” Jameson Taillon said. “The thing I would say to him, I don’t want him to ever feel timid going after balls. Just because this one instance happened doesn’t mean you don’t call balls and you don’t try to be a ballhawk out there and make every play."
As Taillon points out, a high-profile mistake like this one can impact a young player like Crow-Armstrong beyond just Saturday's loss. Considering how talented PCA is -- and his likely role in the future of the franchise -- the Cubs can't afford to harp on such a mistake.