Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

The anatomy of Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong's potential MVP season

suntimes.com · 15dShare

As hot as Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is, it’s easy to forget how cold he was. Through 50 games, Crow-Armstrong was hitting .225 with an OPS of .659. He had five home runs and 20 RBI. The Cubs were halfway through what became a 10-game losing streak, and manager Craig Counsell was looking for answers. After Crow-Armstrong homered in the next game, Counsell moved him from the bottom of the order to the top — the very top. “When we moved Pete there, honestly, we needed a jump,” Counsell said. “We were struggling scoring runs, and we were looking for a spark. It wasn’t very analytical. Now I look at the lineup, and he just comes around more.” Slowly but surely, Crow-Armstrong began to produce. He got hot in June, hitting 10 home runs in the first 18 games of the month. But it wasn’t until the Cubs’ trip that month to New York to face the Mets that Crow-Armstrong’s season completely changed. The way bench coach Ryan Flaherty tells it, Crow-Armstrong was working in the batting c

First report: Baldwin's leadoff home run is one-of-a-kind — mlb.com, 18d