Petecrow leading off shouldn't work
But somehow it does
The Cubs lost again last night. They are 7-19 since the end of their second 10-game winning streak. The season feels over, but thanks to the Rob Manfred Ownership Make-A-Wish Third Wild Card Spot, it isn't, and won't be for a long time. Even after losing NINE straight series, they are just a half game out of that third spot.
So buckle up. We're in this for the duration.
A free swinger with a career .297 on base average and nearly as many career strikeouts (328) as career games played (358) is not a sensible choice to be a leadoff hitter, especially not for an offense like the Cubs' that has struggled to do anything for a month.
And yet,
Our beloved Petecrow Armstrong has been leading off for the last 11 games. It's admittedly a small sample, but that's just about all that's been small about it. In those games he's slashing .356/.444/.689 with four homers, eight RBI and five walks (and 12 strikeouts).
What's equally crazy is that he'd already done it nine times in his career and his 19 game numbers batting in the top spot are equally impressive (.342/.407/.709 with seven homers, 19 RBI.)
Some things you just can't explain. So don't bother.
His overall numbers are back to a point where the NL can actually make their perfunctory pick of a single Cub for the All-Star Game and it won't be humiliating to see him or his numbers being introduced in the pregame.
He's up to .258/.341/.443 with 11 homers, 32 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
The biggest improvements to date have been his notable increase in walks. He has currently walked 23 times in 66 games. His career high is 29 walks in 157 games last year.
To put it more dramatically, through his first three seasons he averaged a walk for every 20 at bats. This year he's walking once every 10.
It's still a work in progress. His 23 walks are good for 83rd in baseball. But look at where he's come from. Last year he was 209th. In 2024 he was 258th.
It helps that he's been on a absolute tear of late, with a .981 OPS over his last 28 games, a 1.185 OPS over his last 14 and a 1.458 OPS over his last seven.
On Saturday, he had an iconic game with four hits and a pair of game tying homers, the second coming with two outs in the ninth, as the Cubs eventually walked it off through the glove of whoever Victor Bericoto is.
There's a reason we love Petecrow so unreservedly.
