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Mar 25, 2024

How Pete Crow

There’s one play in particular that epitomizes the intensity and excitement that Pete Crow-Armstrong plays with. It came during the fall of his senior year at Harvard-Westlake High School in suburban

There’s one play in particular that epitomizes the intensity and excitement that Pete Crow-Armstrong plays with. It came during the fall of his senior year at Harvard-Westlake High School in suburban Los Angeles. The way coach Jared Halpert remembers it, several of his starters were missing for a key contest against Citrus Valley High School. With his team trailing 2-1 and one of his squad's hitters on the verge of working a walk, Halpert shouted some words of wisdom to Crow-Armstrong, who was in the on-deck circle. He told him to stay patient and not try to do too much.

That was the last thing Crow-Armstrong wanted to hear.

“I won’t say exactly what he said to me,’” Halpert said with a laugh. "But he told me he was going to hit the ball over the mountain.“

After his teammate drew a walk, Crow-Armstrong strolled to the plate. Intent on leading his team to a win, he delivered almost exactly as promised. The outfielder swung on the first offering he saw and ripped a two-run homer about 100 feet over the right-center field fence to give Harvard-Westlake a 3-2 lead. The ball didn’t quite get to the San Bernardino Mountains that sit in the backdrop of the park as he predicted. But it was still a memorable blast that landed on top of a hill beyond the outfield. Halpert estimates the shot traveled at least 400 feet.

“A lot of kids like to call their shots and we all fantasize about being the guy in the moment,” Halpert said. “Man, that was pretty cool.”

Those type of moments have come to be expected from Crow-Armstrong. The 21-year-old outfielder for the Iowa Cubs is the top minor-league prospect for the Chicago Cubs and one of the biggest up-and-comers in all of baseball. Crow-Armstrong boasts a big bat, one of the best gloves in Minor League Baseball and a fiery mindset to win at all costs. It showed up during the victory that day for his high school. And it continues to be present as Crow-Armstrong works his way toward his first big-league promotion.

“I think I’ve had the most fun playing up here (with Triple-A Iowa),” Crow-Armstrong said.

That’s how he’s always played, though. Fun. Intense. Successful.

Acting would seem like a natural profession for Crow-Armstrong. After all, it was the family business. His father, Matt Armstrong, appeared in "American Dreams," "House and Heroes" and other productions. Crow-Armstrong’s mother, Ashley Crow, landed gigs in "The Good Son," "True Crime" and "Minority Report." She’s perhaps best known for her role as Jenny Heywood, the mother in the popular baseball movie "Little Big League."

Crow-Armstrong took his mom and dad's last names because Crow wanted to make sure hers name carried on. But the youngster had no interest in following in either of their famous footsteps. Crow-Armstrong got a taste of acting while helping out on his friend's father's project and called it "the worst day" of his life. He hated being on camera and didn't like the starting and stopping that came with being on set.

He preferred baseball. When Crow-Armstrong was a toddler, he woke up every morning and sprinted into his parents' room.

"He'd say, 'I have a great idea,'" Matt Armstrong said. "And we'd say, what?' And he goes, 'Let's go play baseball.'"

So that's what they did. While Crow-Armstrong ate breakfast and waited to get going, he turned on a recording his father made of Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game. Crow-Armstrong watched it over and over.

When he finished, he rushed outside with his parents and played whiffle ball or baseball for as long as he could. Crow-Armstrong emulated some of his favorite players. He pretended their backyard fence, which had ivy on it, was Wrigley Field. His mother caught Crow-Armstrong's throws in the front yard until he was about 10, when he hit her in the thigh with a dangerous heave. She decided she had had enough.

The family went to a local park where Armstrong tossed fly balls to his son. The outfielder in the making requested that his father throw balls farther away so he could dive trying to chase them down. He craved the challenge and loved having grass stains on his clothes. Armstrong always figured there was no way his son would come up with the next one. But one way or another, Crow-Armstrong usually did, sliding, diving, jumping and hauling in ball after ball.

"That's definitely the stuff that made me fall in love with playing," Crow-Armstrong said.

Baseball was easy to love because his parents never focused on the fundamentals. The emphasis was on having fun. Armstrong knew how much his son loved the game and he didn't want him to get burnt out. So they always tried to keep it fun. When Crow-Armstrong got in the car after games, his mom and dad never asked him about certain plays or key at-bats. They didn't try to break down the win or the loss. All they asked him was one simple question: Did you have fun? As long as Crow-Armstrong was playing, he was enjoying it.

"Any opportunity for him to run and move was like medicine for him," Armstrong said.

But Crow-Armstrong was also intense and wanted to win at all costs. It developed at an early age and likely came from Armstrong, who never let his son strike him out when they played in the backyard. Armstrong, a linebacker in high school, loved watching NFL star Mike Singletary and modeled his mindset after the Chicago Bears icon. Armstrong believes his son, in turn, picked it up from him.

Whenever Crow-Armstrong competed, the burning desire to win could be seen. One of the first times was around first grade. Crow-Armstrong was in a chess club and was playing his mom, trying to teach her how to play. When Crow managed to win, her son stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut, stunned he had lost.

"He loves to win," Crow said.

Crow-Armstrong usually ended up on the winning side. While his parents knew he was talented early on, they didn't know how good he really was until he tried out for USA Baseball's 12-under team. Halpert, who watched the one-day tryouts, said Crow-Armstrong was easily the best player on the field. He not only made the team but turned into one of the best players.

"I think it was the first time he kind of thought, 'Oh, maybe I can actually do this,'" Crow said.

Rob Shabansky got an up-close look at how hard Crow-Armstrong was willing to work at an early sage. Shabansky was the coach of USA Baseball 15-under team that Crow-Armstrong played on in 2017. During the team’s run to becoming co-champion of the COPABE Pan American AA championships, he had some rare struggles at the plate.

Shabansky and another assistant coach offered to do some extra work with Crow-Armstrong. He jumped at the chance. So the three ventured off to a random, worn-down field in Columbia and started hitting soft, foam balls.

Crow-Armstrong was determined to do whatever he could to get better. While he didn't produce as much as he wanted at the plate, he still shined during the tournament, making two great catches and a strong throw to help USA share the gold.

“He worked like he sucked and played like he was great,” Shabansky said.

When Crow-Armstrong got to high school, he was a star, earning a starting spot as a freshman. Halpert remembers him making a strong impression early on by turning on a triple-digit fastball from future Cincinnati Reds star Hunter Greene. Crow-Armstrong started the season batting at the bottom of the lineup but was so good that by the end of it, he was hitting leadoff.

He quickly earned the respect of his teammates for his play and his leadership. After most of the team's starters graduated following his freshman year, Crow-Armstrong took it upon himself to lead the outfielders in practice and in games a sophomore. He was firm but fair as he encouraged other players to compete with the same energy and passion he had and to lay out for balls whenever they could.

“I’d let them hear it,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’d let them know I was better than them. I look back and I obviously could have done it differently.”

But Crow-Armstrong was intent on getting the best out of himself and his teammates. During high school practices, Halpert encouraged his outfielders to try to make outlandish catches. The goal was to keep practice fun but prepare his players for whenever the moment would come that they may have to pull out a trick. They turned into daily contests, with Crow-Armstrong battling outfielder RJ Schreck, who went on to play at Duke, Vanderbilt and now in the minor leagues, to see who could make the craziest plays.

"Pete wore the crown for a long time," Halpert said.

Outfielders weren't his only targets. Crow-Armstrong kept a close eye on infielder Drew Bowser, now an infielder in the minors with the Cubs, and would try to upstage him, even in the outfield. Everything was a battle. And Crow-Armstrong usually came out on top. During his junior year, he hit .395 with three home runs and 23 runs batted in in just 34 games. Halpert estimates he struck out less than 20 times during his high school career. Each one was a learning experience.

"He'd shoot lightning bolts out of his eyes," Halpert said.

Crow-Armstrong, who had committed to Vanderbilt, had his senior season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the New York Mets selected him with the 19th overall pick in that year's draft, he didn't get to play because the Minor League Baseball season was canceled.

The toughest time came in 2021 when Crow-Armstrong suffered a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder during a baserunning mishap just six games into the season.

"I had a hard time at first through the rehab process," Crow-Armstrong said. "I didn't know how to conduct myself and have a healthy day or healthy schedule."

Crow-Armstrong said his days usually finished around 9 a.m. It left a lot of hours to sit and ponder things. He was hard on himself and felt bad for himself. But things turned around for him when the Mets traded Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs in exchange for pitcher Trevor Williams and star infielder Javier Baez. Crow-Armstrong reported to the team's facility in Arizona and got a fresh perspective on things.

"It was a bit of a wake-up call, definitely a sign that I needed to live a healthier lifestyle as I was rehabbing and take care of myself in a better fashion," he said.

His pro career took off. When Crow-Armstrong got back on the field in 2022, he became a star in the Cubs' system, hitting .313 with 21 doubles, 17 home runs and 36 stolen bases between Single-A and High-A. Crow-Armstrong earned an invite to the All-Star Futures Game and won a Minor League Baseball Gold Glove. He also helped South Bend to a High-A Midwest League championship.

Turns out, it was just the start of things to come.

Crow-Armstrong brings a certain element to the minor leagues that Iowa manager Marty Pevey admits he doesn't see from every young player. He wants to win. While many players rising through the system are focused on reaching the next level or getting the next promotion, Crow-Armstrong is adamant that tallying victories is his top priority. Pevey said that's apparent to him.

"It's not about 'me,'" Pevey said of Crow-Armstrong's mindset.

Crow-Armstrong, who played in the Futures Game for a second-straight time this year, began 2023 in Double-A with the Tennessee Smokies. After hitting .289 with 19 doubles, five triples and 14 home runs, he was promoted to Triple-A Iowa at the start of August. Crow-Armstrong's arrival in Des Moines was a top topic among Cubs fans, with the top prospect in the system (according to MLB Pipeline) being one step away from the majors.

Crow-Armstrong's first week in Triple-A was anything but smooth sailing. He struggled out of the gate, going 3-for-20 with eight strikeouts. He's been on a tear ever since, hitting safely in his next 15 games entering Wednesday's contest while tallying a .292 batting average with a .942 OPS. Pevey says Crow-Armstrong, who may have been trying to make a strong impression early on, made a good adjustment and stopped chasing pitches out of the strike zone.

One thing that hasn't needed any tweaking: Crow-Armstrong's glove, which has already made a collection of highlight-reel catches in Des Moines. Pevey compared Crow-Armstrong's defense to three-time Gold Glove winner Vernon Wells and eight-time winner Jim Edmonds.

"Unbelievable instincts," Pevey said. "If it stays in the park, we've got a chance (to catch it)."

Despite getting closer to the big-leagues, Crow-Armstrong hasn't let up or slowed down. He went crashing into the wall late in an Iowa blowout loss last week to try to haul in a catch. He runs out every ground ball he hits to try to beat it out. He nearly broke a bat over his knee following a strikeout last week. Every at-bat, every play is important to Crow-Armstrong, who is equally known for his calm approach off the field.

"As long as he managed it, and he's getting better and better all the time at managing it," his father said. "To ask him to play any other way would diminish his skill, right? I really do think that's all part of it."

Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said in an interview with 670 The Score in Chicago that Crow-Armstrong is being considered for a promotion. The Cubs are making moves to prepare him for it. Pevey plans to play Crow-Armstrong in the corner outfield spots this week. Iowa also has had him come off the bench. Those are roles he could have in Chicago.

In the meantime, he's enjoying where he's at. Crow-Armstrong is on a text chain with both of his parents. They still try to keep things calm, even from afar, telling him to have fun before games and pick out something positive that happened to talk about afterward.

"I appreciate the nod from him (Carter) and the recognition, but nothing's set in stone," Crow-Armstrong said. "Nothing's final until it actually happens. And that's just how I'm going to treat it and continue to treat it."

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-284-8468.