CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said Monday that he regrets the words he used during a heated exchange with a fan.
The incident occurred in the fifth inning of Sunday's 9-8 loss to the crosstown White Sox at Rate Field. Crow-Armstrong was getting up from the warning track after making an unsuccessful attempt to haul in Miguel Vargas' two-run double when he was heckled by a woman standing beyond the fence.
The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong
responded with a vulgar message punctuated by an expletive.
“I think I just regret my choice of words the most and who that affects in my life, directly and indirectly,” Crow-Armstrong said. "I don’t think that any of the women in my life would ever think that I would use those kind of words regularly, especially referring to them.
“So I’m just bummed out about the word choice, and that a bunch of little kids go and probably find their way to social media and see that as well.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he spoke with Crow-Armstrong about what happened.
“He made a mistake, and we’ve got to move on from it," Counsell said before the Cubs' series opener against Milwaukee. “It’s a reality of this job. It happens. Fan interactions happen. You want to try to keep them positive, even when they’re not. Sometimes when it’s a really emotional situation, it’s difficult, but it’s still a requirement of the job.”
Crow-Armstrong is one of Chicago's biggest stars after hitting .247 with a career-high 31 homers and 95 RBIs last season. He also is one of baseball's best defensive center fielders, winning his first Gold Glove last year.
Crow-Armstrong, a first-round pick in the 2020 amateur draft, agreed to a $115 million, six-year contract with the Cubs in March.
“Part of playing is that you’re going to hear some stuff that you don’t want to hear, and the job is to focus on what’s going on in the field and keep your attention on that,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said.
Crow-Armstrong's exchange with the fan was captured on video and widely shared on social media.
“That’s something I should be aware of at all times, that there will be cameras and such on me,” he said. “I’m not always going to let stuff like that fly either. It’s just about being a little more respectful and maybe killing somebody with kindness instead of matching their level of intent.”
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