PHILADELPHIA — Pete Crow-Armstrong is not a goal setter.
The Chicago Cubs’ two-time All-Star didn’t come into this season looking to attain specific stats after last year’s lofty numbers or contend for the National League’s MVP award. That’s just not how he approaches the game.
Crow-Armstrong’s stellar first-half production has been undeniable, however. A 6.0 fWAR that leads all MLB hitters, with no other position player even above 4.8 fWAR. The first 20-20 hitter in the majors and just the third Cub to accomplish the feat in multiple seasons. Tripling his walk rate and cutting down on chasing out of the zone have limited the ways pitchers can beat him.
Arguably, the biggest adjustment that has helped take the 24-year-old center fielder to another level comes from learning to better handle failure.
“You’re never really as bad as you think until you look up at the end of the year and it is what it is,” Crow-Armstrong told the Tribune. “But just making a really conscious effort to be a little bit better in that area because I am starting to see, when I struggled at the beginning of the year, I kept my head above water. And I don’t know if I could have done that last year — I didn’t do that in the second half last year. Everything felt so heavy. But it’s making a conscious effort and a real direct choice.
“If I’m going to work on one thing that I can actively take into every day with me, it should be a part of the process, which is getting past my s−−−. Dealing with failure will always be the hardest part of this game.”
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong reacts as he flies out to end the top of the fourth inning of a game against the White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago on July 26, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Crow-Armstrong’s offseason proved transformative.
He thought he had things figured out, but the final 2 1/2 months of his second full major-league season reminded him otherwise. Crow-Armstrong posted a .216/.262/.372 slash line with only six home runs and 24 RBIs in the second half of 2025. He spent the offseason delving into where things went awry.
And it went beyond the flaws in his swing and approach or the numbers he posted.
“Because as much as it’s my obligation to myself to keep myself in it for the long run, it’s my obligation to my teammates and to the clubhouse as well,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Everybody’s better for me being an easier person to be around.”
His frustrations during those 2025 struggles often manifested visibly. Throwing his helmet to the ground after an out or letting emotion spill over in the dugout after he returned from a fruitless plate appearance wasn’t an uncommon sight. He garnered attention on social media earlier this season following his animated interaction with a White Sox fan in the outfield at Rate Field.
Eyes are always on him.
“I’m not the kind of person that really worries about what other people may perceive me as, but I do think perception matters,” Crow-Armstrong said. “More so for the people that are watching me that really pay attention. The biggest compliment you can receive is that respect from another player and when there’s a lot of moments that kind of made me go, oh, OK, like, you pay attention to guys I run across that appreciate my game enough to say, ‘hey, I want this for you and I think this is how you get there and this is how you stop yourself from being there.’
“Everything we do in here matters and I think how you present yourself matters to a certain extent as well.”
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong works out during batting practice before a game against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Joy can manifest in different ways. For Crow-Armstrong, he feels it most strongly on a day-to-day basis when sitting in the batting cage at the ballpark watching his teammates hit.
“I like appreciating the fact that we all show up, and I know that probably may not always be the case throughout my career, but with this team, I get a lot of joy out of connecting with everybody on that level,” Crow-Armstrong said. “We’re all here to do our work but also hang out and keep things light, and that’s huge for me.”
From the adjustments within his stance to move a little closer to the plate, to cutting down his chase rate through a sudden commitment in May to stop chasing out of the zone, to an uptick in bat speed, the changes at times have been subtle. But they all play a role in Crow-Armstrong becoming one of the league’s best hitters this season. He’s slashing .291/.386/.531 with 21 home runs, 53 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.
The Cubs have tried to make Crow-Armstrong enjoy the good parts of his performance a little bit more and not harp on the bad moments, something hitting coach Dustin Kelly believes he’s getting better at. Kelly has seen Crow-Armstrong improve each day by managing his emotions and understanding how opposing pitchers will be attacking him.
“He’s the guy that the other pitchers, in their pitchers’ meetings, are talking about. ‘We can’t let this guy beat us,’ and he’s handled that really well,” Kelly told the Tribune. “There’s a lot of pressure that comes with that, but the way he’s wired and the competitiveness, he loves that part of it.”
Crow-Armstrong doesn’t dwell on the fact that in every series, the other team is strategizing how to prevent the Cubs’ star hitter from being the X-factor.
“My level of competitiveness probably won’t change whether I acknowledge that or not,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I always step into the box understanding that I am very capable of doing damage and beating the other team, but I don’t really ever give myself that much credit. I also don’t want to give the other people too much credit as to making me think too hard about what’s to come, really.”
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong sprints to first base on an infield single in the third inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 6, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Assistant hitting coach John Mallee has worked with Crow-Armstrong dating back to 2023 in Triple-A Iowa. He’s witnessed over the years how Crow-Armstrong isn’t willing to settle for being average. He expects greatness.
“When he’s missing pitches in the zone that he knows he should do some damage on, and he misses them, he could have a home run and that at-bat chaps him,” Mallee said to the Tribune. “That’s what makes him great, too, because there’s a different kind of determination. ‘I’m going to hit it, and I’ve got to hit it hard. And if I don’t, I’m going to figure out why I didn’t.’”
Signing a six-year, $115 million contract extension in March inherently changes the expectations around Crow-Armstrong. He’s the new face of the franchise with the type of star power and personality teams dream about. With that comes more scrutiny, both performance-based and in how he carries himself, at least externally.
In a lot of ways, Crow-Armstrong doesn’t feel like much has changed, especially away from the field. He follows a routine he’s developed over the last few years and maintains a close circle of friends and family.
“The money is so irrelevant and that sounds so weird to say because it’s so much I never really dreamed I’d get,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But really, in the most humble way possible, not looking at a single dollar that’s come in, living my life the exact same way and playing and working like I haven’t gotten paid yet. It’s kind of a naive and innocent thing to say, but I was always that guy that was like, ‘I’m never going to do this for money, I’m never going to make that the driving force of this thing.’ And I think the people in my life know that.
“The external stuff pertaining to the game, like media attention and more of a responsibility to uphold as somebody that was lucky enough to get paid, that’s stuff I look forward to because I know it comes with the territory.”
Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs celebrate Swanson’s two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Crow-Armstrong has watched teammate Dansby Swanson carry that responsibility for the last three years after the shortstop signed his seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs. Being three lockers down from Swanson in the Cubs’ clubhouse, Crow-Armstrong has witnessed firsthand how to stand up and present for the media and take on that job for the team during good and bad times.
“He’s been so good at consistently finding things that work for him and just sticking to it and hold himself to that high standard,” Swanson said to the Tribune. “A lot of great players and athletes really are their own worst critics, and he does it in such a way that he obviously demands a lot of himself, but he really cares so much about the team and cares a lot about helping us reach our potential as a group, too. So the balance of the two is obviously important, and he’s been pretty good at it.”
Rocking shades and his Cubs All-Star jersey in the home pinstripes, Crow-Armstrong soaked in his second All-Star experience Monday at Citizens Bank Park.
Last year’s initial All-Star Game experience hasn’t lessened the specialness of the honor. Just erased a little of the nervousness he felt at his first Midsummer Classic.
“This is going to probably be a pretty surreal thing every year,” Crow-Armstrong said.