Don’t Let Anyone Downplay How Amazing Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2025 Really Was
Ever since Pete Crow-Armstrong put on a Chicago Cubs uniforms fans had one simple request, just hit a little. It’s kind of crazy how much hype there was surrounding PCA’s defense when he was in the minor leagues and yet in his first full season in MLB he not only lived up to those ridiculous expectations, he blew them away.
Chicago Cubs Secure MLB Wildcard Spot Despite Losses
Oh and by the way, the 23-year-old also hit 31 home runs and stole 35 bases, ending the year with a 5.4 fWAR, the highest value for the Cubs in 2025. Oh, oh, and another thing! Back to the defense as Crow-Armstrong led all MLB outfielders with 19 five-star catches. That might not mean much to you, but by comparison the guy who finished second was Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu, who had nine.
What’s even crazier about PCA’s highlight reel is that he had more five-star catches than 28 of 29 teams had as a whole, individually. He tripled the average amount that each team made.
Crow-Armstrong was named the 2025 Gold Glove Winner in center field for the National League in what should be the first of many defensive awards to come his way.
That puts PCA on an incredible list of players who have hit 30+ home runs, stole 30+ bases and won a gold glove in a single season, including Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Barry Larkin, plus Barry Bonds among other legends of the game.
Yes, Crow-Armstrong floundered at the plate in the second half, but you still have to look at the totality of his season and it will go down as one of the best individual seasons in not only Cubs history, but MLB history as well. Not bad for a guy who only had to hit a little to become a valuable player. Sky’s the limit with PCA.
Mad Dog slams FOX announcer over Dodgers parade: You’re ‘the World Series voice ... lay low!’
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has never had an opinion he didn’t share.
On Tuesday, Russo voiced his frustration over FOX’s MLB Postseason announcer Joe Davis taking part in the Dodgers’ World Series parade. Although Davis also calls Los Angeles games during the regular season, Russo argued that appearing in the celebration created a conflict of interest for a national broadcaster.
“God, if you’re a Blue Jays fan, you’re vomiting right now,” Russo said in a more-than-2-minute-long rant on Tuesday, via X(Twitter). “You could say, I’m being hard ... nonsense! He’s the voice of the World Series; he’s supposed to be right down the middle. Obviously, he’s rooting his ass off for the Dodgers in the World Series, and everybody I spoke to hated the idea. They sensed he was rooting for the Dodgers throughout the World Series, and his call at the end was ridiculous. ...
“I don’t care. Call me anything you want. Call me an old man on a hill screaming; Get off my lawn; Say anything you want. That’s bogus. The Dodgers should have done him a favor ... (they should have said,) ‘This is not the time for you, you’re the voice of baseball in postseason play. You can’t be doing our parade, waxing poetic about us at the Blue Jays’ expense, it’s wrong.”
The Dodgers have been catching some flak since winning the World Series over the Blue Jays.
Immediately after sealing the Game 7 victory, Caleb Joseph, the Blue Jays analyst for Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, gave an emotional speech after the game. Joseph, who spent time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Mets and Seattle Mariners during his career, stated the Blue Jays should have won the series and celebrated their first World Series championship since 1993.
“There were a lot of wet eyes, and I don’t doubt them, and I don’t blame them for that,” Joseph said in a video posted on social media. “It’s going to sound like sour grapes, and I don’t really give a (bleep), but I think the better team did not win this series. I think the Blue Jays are the better team, and I feel like they played baseball a certain way that was infectious and grabbed the attention of the fans.”
