We are witnessing one of the most special seasons in Cubs history in what Pete Crow-Armstrong is accomplishing in 2026.
Entering Sunday’s action: .282/.377/.567 (147-for-522) with 27 doubles, seven triples, 36 home runs, 89 RBI, 32 stolen bases and 71 walks. The .567 SLG leads the National League, as does his .944 OPS and 158 OPS+. His 296 total bases lead MLB, and with four more total bases he’ll have the first Cubs season with 300 or more since Javier Báez in 2018.
He’s now posted 8.3 bWAR and 9.1
fWAR. Both figures lead MLB.
So that’s a summary of PCA’s season, but here I want to talk about his three-homer game accomplished Saturday against the Reds. As you know, PCA also hit for the cycle this year, June 15 against the Rockies.
I wondered if anyone else had done that, so I asked BCB’s JohnW53 to do a little research project on this for me.
As it turns out, Pete Crow-Armstrong is the fourth Cub to have a three-homer game and cycle in the same season. The other three:
Hack Wilson, 1930 (three-HR game July 26, cycle June 23)
Babe Herman, 1933 (three-HR game July 20, cycle Sept. 30)
Andre Dawson, 1987 (three-HR game Aug. 1, cycle April 29)
Eleven other players have accomplished this feat:
Johnny Mize, Cardinals, 1940 (three-HR game Sept. 8, cycle July 13)
Joe DiMaggio, Yankees, 1948 (three-HR game May 23, cycle May 20)
Frank Robinson, Reds, 1959 (three-HR game Aug. 22, cycle May 2)
Jim King, Senators, 1964 (three-HR game June 8, cycle May 26)
Tony Horton, Indians, 1970 (three-HR game May 24, cycle July 2)
George Brett, Royals, 1979 (three-HR game July 22, cycle May 28)
Jose Reyes, Mets, 2006 (three-HR game Aug. 15, cycle June 21)
Adrian Beltre, Rangers, 2012 (three-HR game Aug. 22, cycle Aug. 24)
Nolan Arenado, Rockies, 2017 (three-HR game July 19, cycle June 18)
Jose Altuve, Astros, 2023 (three-HR game Sept. 5, cycle Aug. 28)
Yordan Alvarez, Astros, 2024 (three-HR game Aug. 28, cycle July 21)
That’s a pretty eclectic group of players, a few Hall of Famers and also a couple of “remember that guy?”
It’s just more proof that Pete Crow-Armstrong is a special player and we are witnessing one of the greatest seasons in Chicago Cubs history. Among other things, PCA is a strong candidate for Player of the Month for August. In 26 games this month he is batting .278/.371/.685 (30-for-108) with 12 home runs and six stolen bass (no caught stealing). Also:
Lastly, I’ll remind you that only three position players in Cubs history have ever had a 10+ bWAR season: Rogers Hornsby (10.6 in 1929), Ernie Banks (10.2 in 1959) and Sammy Sosa (10.3 in 2001). Hornsby and Banks were named MVP and Sosa finished second to Barry Bonds.
PCA has a chance to have a 10+ bWAR season. Here’s hoping he gets it, wins the hardware, and helps lead the Cubs to a long postseason run.
Many thanks to John for his always-great Cubs research.
Here’s his three-homer game Saturday:
And here’s his cycle from June 15:
