Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is chasing a 40 homer/40 stolen base season, which would be just the seventh such year in MLB history.
With 37 steals entering Friday’s action, he’ll need three steals in the remaining nine games to get there. And if he keeps hitting home runs — he’s hit five in his last 10 games — that obviously takes away a chance to steal. (Not that anyone’s complaining about the homers!)
Those 37 steals represent a rare level in Cubs history. Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler stole
that many in 1930. He led the National League that year and it was his third straight year with at least 37.
In the 96 seasons since 1930, there have been 590 player seasons of at least 37 stolen bases across the major leagues.
Just 11 of those years have been posted by members of the Chicago Cubs, and just four of those have been in the last 30 years:
| Rk | Player | SB | Season | Age | Team | Lg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | 37 | 2026 | 24 | CHC | NL |
| 2 | Nico Hoerner | 43 | 2023 | 26 | CHC | NL |
| 3 | Juan Pierre | 58 | 2006 | 28 | CHC | NL |
| 4 | Eric Young Sr. | 54 | 2000 | 33 | CHC | NL |
| 5 | Brian McRae | 37 | 1996 | 28 | CHC | NL |
| 6 | Davey Lopes | 47 | 1985 | 40 | CHC | NL |
| 7 | Ryne Sandberg | 54 | 1985 | 25 | CHC | NL |
| 8 | Bob Dernier | 45 | 1984 | 27 | CHC | NL |
| 9 | Ryne Sandberg | 37 | 1983 | 23 | CHC | NL |
| 10 | Iván de Jesús | 44 | 1980 | 27 | CHC | NL |
| 11 | Iván de Jesús | 41 | 1978 | 25 | CHC | NL |
That’s it. As you can see, it took 48 years after Cuyler’s 37 in 1930 for any Cub to steal that many bases. If PCA does get to 40/40, that puts him in even rarer territory — it would be just the 10th 40-steal season by any Cubs player since 1929, when Cuyler had 43.
Do not fail to appreciate what we are seeing from the presumptive National League MVP. Cubs manager Craig Counsell perhaps said it best:
“You’re shaking your head in amazement sometimes,” Counsell said. “You spend your whole life in baseball and you just don’t see this happen on a baseball field. So you’re grateful to be a part of it. You’re grateful to see things like this and then you’re grateful that the fans get to see a season like this because they’re going to talk about it. They’re going to tell their kids about it, they’re going to tell their grandkids about seasons like this.”
Counsell played in over 1,600 MLB games and was a part of two World Series champions, scoring the winning run in Game 7 in 1997. He’s managed over 1,300 other games. For someone who’s been around baseball that long to say something like this is meaningful, to me at least.
We’re witnessing a Cubs player have a season that’s perhaps not only the best in Cubs history, but one of the best by any player, ever. Don’t take something like this for granted.
I looked around for a PCA highlight video to post here but there are just so many it was impossible to choose. Here’s one of my favorites — his baserunning directly leading to a win over the Blue Jays in August:
