MIAMI – According to manager Craig Counsell, there have been books written about when players get into the “zone,” and that place is where Pete Crow-Armstrong has constantly found himself this season.
But the types of books Crow-Armstrong is focusing on are the history books.
On Sunday, Crow-Armstrong became the 10th Cubs player to reach 40 homers -- and just the second left-handed batter in club history since Hall of Famer Billy Williams hit 42 in 1970. He is also the first Cub with a 40-plus-home run season since 2005 by Derrek Lee, who hit 46 that season and was celebrating his birthday on Sunday.
The center fielder hit a 84.7 mph sweeper in the middle of the zone off Marlins starting pitcher Tyler Phillips. The ball traveled a Statcast-projected 403 feet to right field with an exit velocity of 111.2 mph. The 24-year old trails only Kyle Schwarber (42) for the Major League lead.
It is also the second-most home runs in a season at age 24 or younger in Cubs history, behind Ernie Banks in 1955 with 44.
With 33 steals on his ledger entering play Sunday, the NL MVP frontrunner also has a shot at recording just the seventh 40-40 season in MLB history.
“He's hitting a lot of home runs at a young age,” Counsell said pregame on Sunday. “Power is more [of] a learned trait than we give it credit for. You know, getting the ball in the air to the pull side is more of a learned part of hitting and an experienced part of hitting.
“Credit to Pete number one with his talent, and I think the coaches have done a wonderful job crafting that and helping him harness it and develop at a very fast pace.”
The 2025 All-Star is slashing .280/.375/.573 with a .948 OPS. He leads the league in Fielding Run Value with +26 and Outs Above Average with 24.