PCA’s Mutual Admiration Society Witnesses Latest Signature Moment

Pete Crow-Armstrong made a point of attending Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks games during the offseason, often appearing alongside fellow burgeoning superstar Caleb Williams. Neither young athlete is lacking in the swagger department, and both have put their respective sports on notice that a new day is dawning in Chicago. To that end, they’ve recruited Bulls phenoms Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson into their cadre. Lyrical Lemonade founder Cole Bennett is also part of the crew, all of whom had front-row seats to watch PCA put in work on Thursday night.

At one point, the mutual admiration society led the crowd in a P-C-A chant, looking all the while like a group of kids who’d just been acknowledged by their favorite player. Maybe that’s because PCA is their favorite player, which stands to reason given the way he’s taken baseball by storm.

are they really your friends if they don’t ride for you like this? pic.twitter.com/wEHBxNIEho

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 4, 2026

“It’s just huge having guys show up and support each other,” PCA told reporters after the game. “And I think what everybody doesn’t see is that we genuinely like each other as well. That in itself, just the friendship alone, is great. I’m lucky to have that.

“But to be able to show the city that we’re all pulling for each other and we all believe in each other is huge.”

They picked a helluva game to watch, a tight contest in which one of their own gave the Cubs the only offense they would get or need. He’s had walk-offs, hit for the cycle, and hammered three homers in a game this season, but being responsible for all of his team’s offense against a pitcher who was dialed in was just as big. Ironically, his performance was only worth 0.1 fWAR in the grand scheme.

Crow-Armstrong is now up to 9.4 fWAR on the season, more than three full wins ahead of Bobby Witt Jr. among position players and two and a half above Shohei Ohtani for the overall lead. He’s lapping the field, and it’s not because he’s some flukey flash in the pan. PCA has worked his ass off to hone his innate talent, and his ability to adjust at the plate and in the field is what makes him elite.

That was particularly important against Brewers starter Logan Henderson, who has found success by fooling hitters with the different velocity and action between his fastball and changeup. Though the four-seam sits just 93 mph, two ticks below the MLB average, it has excellent riding action with good arm-side run. The change has similar ASR, but is thrown 10 mph slower and lands much lower in the zone.

What’s more, Henderson’s offspeed actually has a higher average spin rate (2556 RPM) than his fastball (2333). That makes it difficult, if not impossible, for hitters to perceive the differences between the two until it’s too late. Unless they can pick up a “wrinkle,” as Crow-Armstrong called it, that betrays the nature of the offering. Being ready for the hard stuff and then being able to hold back makes all the difference.

“The last couple of days, I’ve just been really passive,” PCA told FOX’s Ken Rosenthal on the field. “And I think what makes me a good enough hitter is just the fact that I can adjust to those kind of pitches if I’m on the heater. And I think today was all about just getting back on the heater, ’cause I didn’t do that in the last three.

“So just making up my mind that I wanted to hit a fastball and then running into something.”

Run into something he did, and he deposited it 413 feet away for his 39th home run of the season. That puts him one shy of former Cub Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead, and also one shy of becoming only the left-handed Cubs hitter to reach 40 home runs. Even the legendary Sweet Swingin’ Billy Williams accomplished that feat just once, with 42 in 1970 as a 32-year-old. PCA is likely to surpass Williams’ club record at just 24 years old, and I’m willing to bet the man from Whistler, Alabama will be just as happy as those young men wearing their No. 4 jerseys in the front row.

Unless you’re among those who don’t like Crow-Armstrong for whatever reason, a stance I find to be largely performative or just flat-out intellectually dishonest, he’s such an easy person to root for. He’s equal parts brash and introspective, with a balanced blend of confidence and humility that makes him appear both surprised and expectant at the same time. But make no mistake: He’s not surprised.

“I’m just lucky to be here every day,” PCA said when asked about his performance this season. “I’m lucky to see some really hard work pay off.”

“I think deep down I knew I was capable of this kind of production.”