最新杏吧原创

In the underrated baseball film 鈥淟ittle Big League,鈥� Ashley Crow plays the mom of 12-year-old Billy, who becomes the owner of the Minnesota Twins 鈥� and then names himself the manager. Young Billy鈥檚 character has an exuberant love for baseball, and his joy proves infectious.

The same can be said for Ashley Crow鈥檚 actual son.

鈥淭he game brings it out of me,鈥� said Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs鈥� breakout star of 2025. 鈥淭he game finds a way to grab at you in a bunch of different ways. I love playing the game 鈥� I definitely find joy in my everyday.鈥�

At just 23, Crow-Armstrong arrived Monday to Busch Stadium having totaled the most wins above replacement (WAR) of any position player in the National League (4.1). He鈥檚 got an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .866 and 61 RBIs. And he just became the fourth-fasted player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season. It took him 73 games. Only Eric Davis, Jose Canseco and Fernando Tatis Jr. accomplished it in fewer games.

鈥淧CA,鈥� as they call they kid, is an entertaining and energetic and enthusiastic ballplayer 鈥� and he鈥檚 going to drive 最新杏吧原创 fans nuts.

Yes, my prediction is he will be the next 鈥渉ated鈥� Cub among the Cardinals fans. In a way, of course, that鈥檚 a compliment to Crow-Armstrong. As Reggie Jackson once said: 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 boo nobodies.鈥� But man, PCA plays with such passion (and celebration) that I bet the lightning-fast Cub will become a lightning rod in the rivalry.

This is the perfect week to start. The first-place Cubs entered Monday 4 1/2 games ahead of the Cards 鈥� and this is a four-game series, followed on Independence Day weekend with a three-game series in Chicago.

Sure enough, even though the Cubs lost the series-opener in 最新杏吧原创, Crow-Armstrong went 2 for 3 鈥� and both hits were doubles. Oh, and he robbed Brendan Donovan of a homer with a leaping catch at the wall.

With the 最新杏吧原创 win, the Cards are only 3 1/2 games back of the Cubs.聽

The rivalry is relevant again.

And right in the center of it is the likely center fielder for the National League All-Star team 鈥� Crow-Armstrong leads all NL outfielders in votes. And only Dodgers players 鈥� who have a few extra fans overseas 鈥� have more votes than Crow-Armstrong has at this point.

鈥淧ete鈥檚 a player that plays incredible defense 鈥� he鈥檚 super-fast 鈥� and he can hit a ball out of the park,鈥� Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 鈥淪o you鈥檙e talking about things that not a lot of players can accomplish all those things 鈥� and Pete鈥檚 doing it at a really young age. And that makes him really exciting to watch. I mean, the speed probably is the thing that I think draws fans to him as much as anything. I think casual fans can recognize his speed, and that鈥檚 always fun to watch.鈥�

Crow-Armstrong is so good for baseball. They called the NBA鈥檚 Dominique Wilkins 鈥淭he Human Highlight Film鈥� in the 1980s; well, in 2025, Pete Crow-Armstrong is baseball鈥檚 鈥淗uman TikTok Reel.鈥� He鈥檚 constantly making amazing plays that flood social media. And he鈥檚 fun to follow because he鈥檚 not larger than life. He stands 6 feet tall and weighs 184 pounds. And he鈥檚 got a youthful face. Yes, it鈥檚 the Cardinals鈥� own speedy center fielder, Victor Scott II, who coined the young-hungry phrase 鈥測ungry,鈥� but Crow-Armstrong is the epitome of this particular glee.

Before Monday鈥檚 game, I sought out the great baseball wordsmith Jon 鈥淏oog鈥� Sciambi. He鈥檚 a Cubs broadcaster. I asked Boog: What do you enjoy about watching PCA play?

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a great question,鈥� he said, thinking it over. 鈥淵ou talk about other sports. I feel like if you took someone to an NBA game who had never seen basketball, they could actually pick out the best players. In baseball, because so many games, sometimes the really good players don鈥檛 get a chance to stand out. I think he鈥檚 unique in terms of 鈥� if you brought someone who鈥檇 never seen baseball before to a game that PCA was playing in, I think eventually they鈥檇 be like, they鈥檇 be like: 鈥�Him.鈥� PCA. I mean, look 鈥� the speed and the athleticism really jumps out. He plays with a lot of passion, a lot of joy.鈥�

And Crow-Armstrong patrols center field with a flash and fire that 最新杏吧原创 will recognize, regardless of your age 鈥� the guy looks like Curt Flood or Willie McGee or Jim Edmonds or Harrison Bader. He鈥檚 got seven defensive runs saved already 鈥� fourth-most of center fielders in baseball 鈥� and will be in the Gold Glove mix for sure.

鈥淲hen a ball gets hit, you kind of look to the outfielder,鈥� Counsell said. 鈥淎nd if you do this enough, somehow fielders are just starting to move, but it feels like Pete鈥檚 already ran three steps. That鈥檚 kind of the layman鈥檚 way to describe it, I guess. And just that difference, that鈥檚 10 feet, you know? That鈥檚 15 feet, and then you add the speed on top of it, and that鈥檚 how you cover and get to balls that maybe you don鈥檛 expect people to.鈥�

As for the 1994 film 鈥淟ittle Big League,鈥� it鈥檚 always worth a watch. Especially if you need a pick-me-up. It came out during a decade stretch of numerous baseball movies, so it often gets overlooked. But it鈥檚 pretty great. Delightful.

鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 a great baseball movie,鈥� Crow-Armstrong said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any baseball movie where you got people of Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. caliber in that film. And, yeah, my mom killed it. I鈥檓 glad she鈥檚 still getting recognized for that, acknowledged for that. But no, I love that movie, bias aside.鈥�