Composite story
Pete Crow-Armstrong joins the 40-40 club as the Cubs clinch
Chicago, IllinoisPublished 25 Sep 2026
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Joe Passe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Pete Crow-Armstrong stole his 40th base Thursday at Wrigley Field, becoming the seventh player with a 40-homer, 40-steal season and the first Cub to do it. Chicago beat the Marlins 2-1 and clinched a playoff berth.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong walked to lead off against the Miami Marlins and stole second for his 40th steal. With 45 home runs, he became the seventh major leaguer with a 40-40 season and the first Chicago Cub. The Cubs won 2-1 and clinched an NL wild-card spot. FOX Sports placed the steal in the top of the first; ESPN and the Tribune placed it in the bottom of the first.
Disputed opinions
None yet.
Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong becomes 7th to reach 40/40 mark
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the third player with at least 45 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, joining Shohei Ohtani and Alfonso Soriano.
The game stopped while the crowd and Pete Crow-Armstrong's teammates acknowledged the steal.
Fans chanted MVP as the Wrigley Field videoboard displayed the feat.
Pete Crow-Armstrong's 45 home runs are a career high, past 31 last season.
Opinion
ESPN said the NL MVP favorite has taken his game to another level.
Nico Hoerner said the fans are aware of the 40-40 chase in a fun way.
Cubs Superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong Joins Rare 40-40 Club
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
FOX Sports said the 40-40 club has a new member.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the third player in four years with a 40-40 season.
Shohei Ohtani had the first 50-50 season in 2024.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the fourth player this century with a 40-40 season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong entered Thursday leading the National League with 45 home runs.
Alfonso Soriano had a 40-40 season for the Washington Nationals in 2006.
Pete Crow-Armstrong won a Gold Glove in 2025.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is an All-Star in each of the last two seasons.
FOX Sports listed Pete Crow-Armstrong's slash line entering the day as .280/.373/.577.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has 16 defensive runs saved in center field.
FOX Sports said the Cubs held the No. 2 NL wild-card seed at 87-71.
Pete Crow-Armstrong's OPS is .949.
The Cubs acquired Pete Crow-Armstrong from the Mets at the 2021 trade deadline in the Javier Báez deal.
Opinion
FOX Sports called Pete Crow-Armstrong a superstar.
Pete Crow-Armstrong steals 40th base, joining 40-40 club in one of best Cubs seasons ever
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
CBS Sports listed Pete Crow-Armstrong at .280/.374/.577 with 31 doubles, eight triples, 45 home runs, 107 RBIs, 119 runs and 40 steals.
Jose Canseco, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani won league MVP in their 40-40 seasons.
CBS Sports said Pete Crow-Armstrong belted his 40th career home run a few weeks earlier.
CBS Sports said Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the majors in runs, home runs, total bases and WAR, and the NL in slugging, OPS and OPS+.
Shohei Ohtani's injury has kept him off the mound and put him on the injured list.
Kris Bryant won NL MVP in 2016.
By Baseball-Reference WAR heading into Tuesday, Pete Crow-Armstrong's 9.8 is tied with Ron Santo's 1967 for fourth among Cubs position players, behind Rogers Hornsby's 10.6 in 1929.
By FanGraphs WAR, Pete Crow-Armstrong's 2026 season is second in Cubs history at 10.6, behind Rogers Hornsby's 11.0 in 1929.
CBS Sports said Pete Crow-Armstrong is first in fielding run value and outs above average.
CBS Sports said WAR guidelines treat 5.0 as All-Star caliber and 8.0 as MVP caliber.
Opinion
CBS Sports said Pete Crow-Armstrong appears headed toward MVP as well.
CBS Sports called this one of the greatest individual seasons in Cubs history.
CBS Sports' hunch is that Pete Crow-Armstrong wins the award unanimously.
CBS Sports said the batting numbers show Pete Crow-Armstrong has been one of the best hitters in baseball.
CBS Sports called Pete Crow-Armstrong arguably the best defensive player in baseball.
CBS Sports joked that it is required by law to say WAR is not the only important stat.
CBS Sports said getting into double-digit WAR is generally an all-time great season.
CBS Sports called it a special season for Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Cubs marvel at Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 40-40 campaign: ‘One of the all-time seasons in baseball history’
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Teammates doused Pete Crow-Armstrong in champagne after the clinch.
Kevin Gausman banged his left shoulder on a tag play at third in Wednesday’s loss and was not feeling good a day later.
The Sun-Times asked whether Kevin Gausman could pitch in an opening-round series.
Kevin Gausman’s comments left concern the Cubs could be without him when the postseason begins Tuesday.
Kevin Gausman said he woke up pretty sore and had a hard time sleeping.
Kevin Gausman said he is pretty sore and the shoulder will be treated day by day.
Kevin Gausman said he did not know whether he could pitch next week.
Kevin Gausman said he would do everything he could to be ready when asked.
The Cubs finish the regular season with a series against the Red Sox.
The Red Sox series starts with a doubleheader Friday.
Opinion
The Sun-Times called Pete Crow-Armstrong the Cubs’ superstar who had the MVP on lockdown.
Matthew Boyd said watching Pete Crow-Armstrong every night is easy to take for granted.
The Sun-Times called 40-40 the cherry on top of a remarkable season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong said another year like this would leave him content at the end of his career.
The Sun-Times said Pete Crow-Armstrong will need room on his mantle even if the Cubs do not win a trophy.
The Sun-Times said Pete Crow-Armstrong is thinking about more wins.
Pete Crow-Armstrong becomes the 1st Chicago Cub with a 40-40 season — and only the 7th player in MLB history
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
The crowd at Wrigley Field was 35,410.
Pete Crow-Armstrong slid into second easily.
Only Alex Rodriguez and Jose Canseco reached 40-40 at a younger age than Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Matthew Boyd started and helped the Cubs clinch a playoff spot with a 2-1 victory.
Pete Crow-Armstrong saluted the crowd at second with the 40-40 graphic on the scoreboard.
Over a 63-game span, Pete Crow-Armstrong had 44 extra-base hits, including 24 home runs, and 17 steals.
Pete Crow-Armstrong took off on the first pitch after seeing a cue from Tyler Phillips.
Jed Hoyer watched Thursday’s game from his suite at Wrigley Field.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s stolen bases have come less often during his power surge over the last two months.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s nine games with a home run and a steal broke Ryne Sandberg’s Cubs record of seven in 1991.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff homer and a walk-off homer against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on Aug. 17.
Opinion
The Tribune said even Pete Crow-Armstrong could not deny the magnitude of Thursday’s moment at Wrigley Field.
The Tribune said Pete Crow-Armstrong’s speed and power put him among elite multitool players.
Nico Hoerner said the steal was symbolic of the season, with all eyes on Pete Crow-Armstrong and he still executed.
Pete Crow-Armstrong said he tries to play it cool but got thrown off running to the outfield.
Pete Crow-Armstrong said he feels lucky for that approach.
Thursday might have been Pete Crow-Armstrong’s final home game of the year.
Jed Hoyer said he was glad Pete Crow-Armstrong got it done, and that every time he reaches first it is a bigger deal than a homer.
Matthew Boyd said the Cubs witnessed Pete Crow-Armstrong’s greatness on defense and offense.
Pete Crow-Armstrong told the Tribune earlier this month that he is proud of the year and knew he would turn it on.
The Tribune called the 40-40 performance a high point in a season full of them.
Pete Crow-Armstrong joins 40-40 club
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Craig Counsell said Cubs fans have chanted Pete Crow-Armstrong’s initials since he broke into the big leagues.
This season the chants became cries of MVP.
P-C-A chants debuted at Pete Crow-Armstrong’s first game, at Coors Field in 2023.
The initials chant has spread to road cities and grown louder as Pete Crow-Armstrong’s star has climbed.
Fans chanted for Pete Crow-Armstrong at the Tokyo Dome for last year’s opening series.
The chants are a constant at Wrigley Field.
Pete Crow-Armstrong slid in before Marlins second baseman Jared Serna could try a tag.
Cubs broadcaster Jon Sciambi called the moment 40-40 for the soon-to-be MVP, Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Pete Crow-Armstrong pointed to the sky and got a standing ovation.
Fans in the bleachers held flags reading M-V-Pete.
Pete Crow-Armstrong was already the first Cub with at least 40 homers and 30 steals.
Pete Crow-Armstrong tapped his heart when the ovation continued.
Pete Crow-Armstrong went 30-30 last year and is the only Cub to add 30 doubles to a 30-30 season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has 45 home runs, alongside Sammy Sosa, Ernie Banks, Hack Wilson, Andre Dawson, Dave Kingman and Derrek Lee as the only Cubs to hit that many.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the first Cub with 45 home runs in a season since Derrek Lee hit 46 in 2005.
Opinion
MLB.com said Pete Crow-Armstrong added another exclusive club to the list.
MLB.com said Pete Crow-Armstrong has built a strong case for the National League MVP.
MLB.com said Pete Crow-Armstrong has blossomed into the game’s best all-around player this year.
Craig Counsell said he had not seen a player’s name chanted like that since Pete Crow-Armstrong has been in the league.
Jed Hoyer said this is the best position-player season he has seen in his career.
MLB.com said the moment arrived swiftly, in true Pete Crow-Armstrong fashion.