Pete Crow-Armstrong Strengthens NL MVP Lead With 3 Homers and 6 RBIs

Q: How did a pre-game chat with a legendary slugger spark a historic three-homer explosion that could redefine the National League MVP race?

A brief exchange with Sammy Sosa helped set the stage, but Pete Crow-Armstrong’s three-homer eruption was the product of a sustained superstar surge that now has real MVP implications. Before the Cubs’ 150th-anniversary game, Sosa told him in the batting cage, “I want three out of you today,” and Crow-Armstrong later said, “Sammy Sosa told me I was going to hit 3, and I hit 3.” With Sosa, Billy Williams and Alfonso Soriano watching at Wrigley, Crow-Armstrong turned that challenge into his first career three-homer game. He led off with a 435-foot homer off Andrew Abbott, added a two-run shot in the second, and finished with a three-run drive in the seventh. He also singled, giving him four hits, six RBIs and 13 total bases in a 17-5 rout. The performance was historic on its own: he became the youngest player in Cubs history to hit three homers in a game and added to a remarkable total of nine career games with at least 10 total bases before age 25, more than any player since 1900. What makes the night more than a one-game spectacle is how it fits into the broader race. Crow-Armstrong already led the majors in FanGraphs WAR and is pairing 36 homers with 32 steals and elite center-field defense. That all-around value has tightened, and in some evaluations flipped, the National League MVP race. With Shohei Ohtani dealing with another setback in his pitching return, Crow-Armstrong’s daily impact on offense, defense and the bases has become even harder for voters to ignore.

Q: What hidden mechanical tweak transformed a rising center fielder into an unstoppable leadoff hitter currently dominating the major league leaderboards?

The key tweak was subtle but powerful: Pete Crow-Armstrong moved significantly closer to the plate and paired it with a more selective, shorter swing plan. Around mid-May, facing lefties in particular, Crow-Armstrong shifted from standing about 27.3 inches off the plate to roughly 24.6 inches, according to Statcast-cited reporting. That adjustment “shrunk the plate,” in the words used around the Cubs, giving pitchers less room to attack him away and helping him better identify which pitches to cover. Crow-Armstrong himself said it helped him know where pitches needed to start and improved both his outer-half coverage and his ability to lay off pitches he did not want. That physical change worked in tandem with an approach breakthrough. After a conversation with Alex Bregman, Crow-Armstrong became far more disciplined about hunting one specific pitch or one area of the zone and refusing to deviate, even if that meant taking a strike. Cubs coaches linked that to a lower swing rate, a much better walk rate and stronger swing decisions without sacrificing his natural aggression. There were also smaller swing refinements: lowering his hand set, getting the bat more upright, and using a bigger, cleaner stride to shorten the path and improve balance. The combined effect has been dramatic. Since taking over as the Cubs’ leadoff hitter in late May, he has surged up the WAR and MVP leaderboards while turning a former weakness against left-handed pitching into a strength.

3 articles · Updated · CBS Sports · Aug 29

Four hits, three home runs and six RBIs at Wrigley pushed Pete Crow-Armstrong deeper into NL MVP-favorite territory after the Cubs star powered Chicago past Cincinnati.
The 24-year-old already led the majors in WAR at 7.9 before Saturday, and his season line now stands at .282/.377/.567 with 36 homers, 32 steals and 71 walks.
FanDuel odds swung sharply after the outburst, moving Crow-Armstrong to -1100 from -390 while Shohei Ohtani drifted to +650 from +300.
Ohtani's case has softened because a nagging knee issue has kept him off the mound since early July, leaving less two-way value to counter Crow-Armstrong's all-around season.
Chicago still holds the top NL wild-card spot, with the Phillies 1.5 games back and the Brewers 7.5 ahead in the Central, making Crow-Armstrong's surge central to the Cubs' push.

Sources

CBS Sports4h ago

Pete Crow-Armstrong's Three-Homer Game Boosts NL MVP Case for Cubs

Yahoo Canada Sports6h ago

Pete Crow-Armstrong homers 3 times as the Chicago Cubs pound the Cincinnati Reds 17-5 - Yahoo Sports

NewsNation Now4h ago

Pete Crow-Armstrong continues NL MVP push with 3 more homers for Chicago Cubs – NewsNation

11 Sources

How did a pre-game chat with a legendary slugger spark a historic three-homer explosion that could redefine the National League MVP race?

What hidden mechanical tweak transformed a rising center fielder into an unstoppable leadoff hitter currently dominating the major league leaderboards?

Will an unexpected pitching setback for a two-way superstar open the door for a defensive phenom to steal baseball's biggest individual prize?